KRS-One

From the moment the Blastmaster’s voice reverberated around the venue doing a soundcheck from somewhere backstage, it was going to be a special night. KRS-One came on stage name-checking a slew of Toronto artists, got down over a dancehall riddim and had the crowd wilding out singing the entire first verse of "MCs Act Like They Don’t Know” all within the first five minutes, but the show just got better as it went along. As well as performing a slew of his classic material, he invited b-boys and b-girls on stage for "Step Into The World,” freestyled incessantly and even incorporated graffiti by tagging his name on T-shirts, but the energy level hit the roof when he spotted the RZA in the crowd and demanded that "the King” make his way to the stage. RZA rhymed over Wu-Tang’s "”C.R.E.A.M.” before hugging KRS and deciding to bounce. And then for the climax, KRS waded through the crowd into the sound booth in the middle of the Opera House to perform but when his mic cut out he managed to silence the rammed crowd and used his booming voice to perform written and freestyle rhymes a cappella, only to bring back the beat for "The Bridge Is Over.” Simply put, this was a classic hip-hop show.