After releasing her Life Lessons Poetically LP alongside local trio Black Wax last year, Ottawa's King Kimbit (aka Kim Nguyen) brought the collaboration from the studio to the stage on Megaphono's first night. A staple of both the city's spoken word and live music communities, Nguyen slid between singing and speaking verses while the band backed her up with arrangements rooted in soul and jazz.
Though pitchy at points in her singing, Nguyen's vocal inflections in her spoken word delivery had the crowd hanging on every line, lending her poetic pen to everything from the ills of education and labour systems to her own battle with asthma. Black Wax, made up of bassist Peterson Altimo, guitarist Robbie Rigg and drummer Salah Adam, were careful to never let their instruments overpower Nguyen's voice.
The set culminated with "Perspective," which saw Nguyen push her voice to expressive heights before guitarist Rigg went from playing gentle harmonics to flashing some serious solo skill.
Though pitchy at points in her singing, Nguyen's vocal inflections in her spoken word delivery had the crowd hanging on every line, lending her poetic pen to everything from the ills of education and labour systems to her own battle with asthma. Black Wax, made up of bassist Peterson Altimo, guitarist Robbie Rigg and drummer Salah Adam, were careful to never let their instruments overpower Nguyen's voice.
The set culminated with "Perspective," which saw Nguyen push her voice to expressive heights before guitarist Rigg went from playing gentle harmonics to flashing some serious solo skill.