Chali 2na (photo: Kim Jay)
There was a dance party last night in Victoria, BC. That might not sound very impressive; dance parties happen all the time, right? Not like this. Local heroes the Funk Hunters brought their new homeboy and hip-hop legend Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 to rock a jam-packed club with one of the funnest shows I’ve seen in a long time.
Before I go any further, proper respect needs to be paid to opener Mat the Alien. Dude has been at for years and can really play damn near anything the situation calls for. He opened the evening’s festivities with one of the happier sets I’ve seen from him, sprinkled all over with his tremendous scratching abilities, a key feature of any DJ I’m likely to really dig. There’s a reason this guy has been a mainstay act in the area for so long.
Understandably, the house was filled with Funk Hunters shirts and hats, everyone seemingly there for the Funk Hunters. Victoria is their stomping grounds; the home base. But we all know why we were really there, to see our friendly neighbourhood baritone, Chali 2na.
Funk Hunters (photo: Kim Jay)
The Funk Hunters, flanked on either side by their band, had the energy at a good level, like they always do, but when Chali stepped out onto stage, the crowd hit another level. He danced with us, had his tongue out of his mouth way too much and, most importantly, rapped his ass off like only Chali can. I’ve seen Chali countless times (it’s even been less than a year since I last reported on him here) and he seemed extra invigorated with new mixes and support for some of his best tracks.
“Step Yo Game Up” and “Lock Shit Down” (remixed as “Do This For You”) were both welcome retouches on classic Chali tracks, but the most impressive reworking of the night had to be “Guns Up.” They turned it into a slow-burning, all-out reggae jam, complete with just a little drum ‘n’ bass around the chorus. I don’t like drum ‘n’ bass generally, but if Chali 2na is rapping, I like it just fine. I was worried this show would be almost all Funk Hunters and very little Chali, but they shared the stage for a large portion of this funkiest of nights.
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