MontrealSoReal - BoyzNaDaze Part Deux - BunBandSemtexTooReal

I've been living a pretty charmed life as of late. I got to admit it, the people I've met and the opportunities I've had in 2005 have surpassed pretty much every year previous. Sure there have been more monumental occurences in my life than seeing Devin the Dude in Montreal in Amsterdam, Screwed Up Click in New York, etc... but I mean man, I'm really enjoying where this road's been taking me. Thank you Information Superhighway for all you've done for your boy.

Hold Up...

For those of you who have been digging that internet sensation by the K-Otix called "George Bush Don't Like Black People (With Respect Due to Kanye West In So Many Ways)" you've got TO CLICK HERE to download the Slowed and Chopped Version by DJ Ryno. The boy kills it. K-Otix slowed and chopped is almost weirder to me than the Transplants slowed and chopped. Who'da thunk it back in our days on Holly Hall Mic? Shit, go get dat.

Anyway before I get into telling you about this whole Montreal trip I gotta give it up to Dan Seligman and the Pop Montreal Good Good Folks, Dave One, Get Low, Chromeo, Josh Martinez and Industry Posse, Harris Rosen and everyone involved in making this trip possible. And thanks so much to Mary Catherine for saving the day on a windy monday morning at the Bank of Canada. SoReal.

And to whoever put HoustonSoReal on the flyer, I do so appreciate that as well. Wow.


Anyway yo, we did that. Devin's first headlining gig in Montreal was off the chain. Small venue, overpacked the fuck out with a gang of people who knew every Devin lyric in the book and who obviously had been waiting a long time to see das Dude.

We stayed at the Hotel Godin, see view above, and I seriously recommend that place. It's a bit pricey I guess, but classy and hip as fuck and right in the middle of everything and across the street from a gas station with a walk in Beer Cooler. EssoSoReal.


Stepped off the plane in Montreal and met our man Dan Seligman who came bearing gifts (cough) and dropped us at the hotel where we quickly and swiftly met up with my man Harris Rosen. See above. Harris is my man since 1997 when I first went to the Canadian Music Conference and didn't know a soul. My people at 4080 told me I needed to link with him, so I did, and man, me, him and Whitey Don smoked out for like 4 days straight and we've been friends ever since. He publishes the dope lifestyle magazine Peace! that I write for on occassion. Fool assigned me to interview Gorgeous Dre some years ago mayne. Feel the real. Good to see you Harris.


We smoked like a motherfucker, which made getting this shirt even more surreal. I need to call SeligmanSoReal and get the name of the artist again, cuz um, man, I don't remember quite a lot it seems.

That fucking hash.

Thanks God for it. Why don't Americans get the hash thang mastered? For me at least.


Chromeo killed it. Dave 1 is ATrak's brother. Cath ATrak tonight on Saturday Night Live like right now and LIVE IN HOUSTON NOVEMBER 25TH at a location to be announced (with the Houston debut of Oxycottontail, Rapid Ric, Bavu Blakes, Grit Boys and more), this week. Like big announcement coming this week. Check back non stop. Serious, Houston finna be revolutionized and your boy gonna start getting real active right here at home.


I love how Chromeo starts their bio off just like this right here: "Crossing the Gaza Strip of Sexxx Jams Chromeo is Pee Thug and Dave 1: best friends since their Montreal adolescence, virtuoso musicians, walking hip hop encyclopedias, and the only successful Arab/Jew partnership since the dawn of human culture."


So fun, and for a fun guy like me... shit was a breath of fresh air. Actually that's a terrible way to put it cuz that joint was a smokey fuckin' haze, but I mean, you know what I mean. Get you a Chromeo jam tape and feel the real.


Dave 1 and Devin das Dude


Again.


Devin hit the stage once again to the title track from his last album "To the Xtreme." SoReal.




Motherfucking killed it.












Peep rapper Subtitle right there in the crowd.

And man seriously, some of the realest bloggers in the history of that internet came together in one place at one time (and another down the street, more later).


Rory Thems Finest and Chris Lemon-Redulator!


Respect the blogosphere. Where motherfucking jamokes like us can actually seem cool, hip and with it. I mean, we are. You can't even see my Dirty South Representer T-Shirt from Top Dollar Clothing. Damn, I'ma have to wear it in Aarhus. More on that in a minute.


AJ is the big homey I met thru my big homey Harris. She does big things with big clothes. Jams to Bloc Party. And is funny. HAAARRRRRIIISSSSoReal


Josh Martinez was in the house as well. He met Devin I think at this past SXSW. Devin's a fan of his and the Chiccarones for real and I think there's a collabo in the works.

Funny story. Me and Harris and Devin were walking up and down Saint Laurent in search of a place to eat, our stoned minds not making the swiftest decisions. We stopped in front of a deli where the mounds of meat kind of made my stomach turn, so I suggested we go to a Brasillian joint across the street. Just then Harris' phone rings and AJ (see above) suggest we meet at some joint called Sphia I think. Anyway, we go in there, all like, stoned and dressed down like a mug and it's like all upscale and classy and discomforting and then menu was full of $15 cheeseburgers and top of the line steaks and yadda yadda yadda so I says to the guys, "Come on man, we can't do this, lets find some fucking french fries (Poutine) or whatever the fuck the proletariat eat in this city and make it happen." So we walk out the door and two guys come running out after us like "WAIT WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" We tell them that we were gonna look for something a lil more low key and they were all like "Nonsense come join us." Turns out, there's Josh Martinez with like 10 Canadian music industry big wigs including the biggest booking agent in Canada or some shit (forgive me for forgetting all names involved cuz um, I explained that already - I make a great international tour manager in countries that have hash) and we sit down and eat while everyone conversed and were really really nice to us. Thanks to all y'all, when I find your business cards I'ma shout you all out.

I ate a pizza with eggplant all over it and drank water. Had to.


Then after the show we met the Kopz Krew, big um, artists in the city. Not trying to blow up y'alls spot, but y'all PUT IT DOWN! Great to meet y'all.

Then after Devin we went to party with them boys Caps and Jones who were spinning down the street. Literally down the street. Man, Dan Seligman was telling me how he wished that we could have combined the two events, and man, that would have been throwed.


They silly. Also realest bloggers. Click link above.



Anyway, that was that. Two days later and my laundry basket reeks of smoke. Don't know how we made it through customs. But we did.

NEXT WEEK, HoustonSoReal Posse (um, me) and Devin the Dude hit Aarhus, Denmark for the AARHUS TOOK IT FESTIVAL! Dev's performing with Cormega at Club Train or some shit Friday October 7th. You in Denmark? Come holler at us! I'd love to meet you. I love it when people stop me and say "HOUSTONSOREAL." I get so fucking hyped for that. Say it in Danish. And buy us beers cuz I can't afford yo damn prices over there Kroners...

fredag 7. oktober Kl. 20.30
ENTRÉ: DKK 175,-
PARTOUT: DKK 400,-

Also on the bill Cas and Rent Mal. The night before they have Talib Kweli and the night after they have Boot Camp Click. Pretty sure we'll be there for Boot Camp Click as well.



AND TODAY Wow, this is TooReal. I hollered at my man Semtex on the ol instant messenger and he told me that he had just interviewed Bun B on BBC 1xtra. I was like woooorddd lemme hear this. I been waiting for that to happen for some time. Just so happened they were both in the Bahamas for the Mix Show Power Summit.

Anyway, Bun and Semtex shouted me out hard when they talked about Dizze. I almost fainted. I don't know, it got me hype.

Everything getting me hype these days.

Anybody in Moscow reading this??? See you December 2nd with the whole crew. HoustonSoReal World Tour getting Realer by the second. Details asap...

Go listen to the Semtex Show here and peep the Bun B realness.

See you soon. Wherever you are. I will.