Bronson Avenue’s Dep barbershop was burning up with energy on Oct. 4 because of a showcase of hip hop talent all under the auspices of the musical collective known as 808s Creative State.
More than 60 attendees listened to Ottawa’s Prince Juno, Atlanta’s Emanuel Dorris and New York’s and others in the event that was part of the collective’s Bonfire series of concerts.
808s Creative State is a North American-based collective of hip-hop enthusiasts. With representatives across the United States and Canada, the group brings together indie artists from different cities and hosts concerts for the artists to perform for familiar and new audiences. For The uninitiated, 808 refers to a loud, low-frequency bass drum sound, also known as the ‘808 kick.‘
One of the artists featured in the Ottawa show was Prince Juno, a 21 year old rapper from the capital.
“I’m super excited for tonight and feeling good,” he told Capital Current before his performance. “I’m looking forward to making connections, having fun and good vibes.”
Juno described his sound as “very Uzi (Lil Uzi Vert), Future, and Young Thug inspired. But I wouldn’t limit myself to trap [music].
“It’s very melodic too, sometimes.”
Trap beats and hard 808 drums echoed in the packed barbershop, audience members bobbed their heads in unison, singing along to familiar lyrics and absorbing new ones.
The Ottawa event was the seventh Bonfire show in Canada and event organizer, Callum Ullrich, said it may have been one of the “most ambitious” yet.
“We’re pulling artists from a lot of different U.S. cities,” he said. “We try to pick artists whose music we genuinely enjoy and are excited about.”
Ullrich has organized 808s Creative State concerts in Montreal and Toronto, along with the Ottawa show.
“People who buy tickets, show up, and get to hear a bunch of different artists that they wouldn’t have necessarily heard before. …
“I get really invested in music. I feel like it’s very important to me, so seeing that the shows that we do can connect the artists with new fans, or connecting people, the audience, with music that they haven’t heard before is always important for me,” he said.
Among Dep Barbershop’s headbopping crowd was enthusiastic fan, Andres Manrique, a Carleton University graduate.
“Everybody was participating, everybody was jumping, bopping their heads, so I think it was a really engaged crowd. Everyone I talked to had a really good time.”
Connecting artists with fans was the best part of the night for Ullrich.
“The highlight of the event is always talking to audience members who are finding music that they didn’t know about, who say, ‘Oh my God, that guy was so good! He killed his performance!’”
The show came to a close at around 1 a.m. with rap lyrics and trap beats escorting the very warm and very happy crowd out into the cool night along Bronson Avenue.
“I think it’s cool that 808s Creative State is doing these shows and starting to build a community here in Ottawa,” Manrique said. “It’s necessary, and there’s not a lot going on in the hip-hop scene yet, so it’s great that it’s starting to grow.”
