If you weren't at the Upper Deck on Thursday, November 16th then you missed the tightest hip hop show that Fredericton has seen yet! On this East Coast leg of Choclair's Coast to Coast tour, the duo of Mastermind and Choclair kept the Deck bouncing all night long. My night was made even more complete, as I got to interview both Mastermind & Choclair after their shows. In fact, my interview with Choclair turned into conversation lasting until the wee hours of the morning. Quite an amazing night!

This nation wide tour, including the stop here in Fredericton, was the result of several factors. "Well, we're on the same label (Virgin records) and Chocs had to headline a tour...," stated Mastermind. "It's a good way for me to be introduced to his audience, with him being a gold plus artist (over 500, 000 albums sold). Because not everybody in Canada's gonna know me. I've got a wide-scale release ('Volume 50: Street Legal') and he's (Choclair) on my lead single ("Bump!"), so it just tied in. It's a family thing." When I asked Choclair if he went out of his way to make sure that Fredericton was on this tour, his eyes lit up: "We made sure that we put Fredericton on there. Because the last time we came here, it was really hot," (in reference to his June 1st performance at the Upper Deck). This statement, coupled with the general vibe from these two artists, provide evidence that Fredericton is quickly becoming known as an East Coast hip hop hot spot.

As the crowd started to gather in anticipation of the performance, a buzz lingered in the air. This buzz surrounded the common question: "Who is Mastermind?" In a sentence, Mastermind is one of the most prominent DJ's in Canada. "He's dope!," echoed Choclair. "It's the situation where Mastermind is one of Toronto's longest running DJ's. Everybody respects what he's been doing. He was the first DJ to have a hip hop show on commercial radio (in Canada). He's been doing this for 13 years. In Toronto, I don't think anyone will ever say: 'I don't know who Mastermind is.'," added Choclair. As a result, he's the first Canadian DJ to release a hip hop mix-CD on a record label in Canada. In fact, Virgin Records signed him to a deal requiring him to put out two mix albums per year. And after hearing Mastermind's mainstream debut release, 'Volume 50: Street Legal,' it made me realize that he is a blessing to Canadian hip hop.

Mastermind's 'Volume 50: Street Legal' is a tight compilation and according to Choclair, it is "unlike a lot of other records, (because it) is mixed straight off the turntable." Indeed, Mastermind's mixed-CD was smooth as ice, flowing fluid from track to track. "See I've always had a philosophy that you can do some cutting and scratching, but you want to keep it to a minimum because people still want to hear the song. It's ultimately about the song by adding a bit of flavor to it," explained Mastermind. The combination of freestyles, original tracks, and street-credible hits make this mixtape a must-get for any hip hop heads. Especially for those feeling the Canadian hip hop movement, because Mastermind "went into this with the concept of upping the ante as far as Canadian hip hop was concerned, to showcase the talent." The album features a diverse array of big name American and Canadian artists, including N.W.A., Ice Cube, Kardinal, Rah Digga, Choclair, Ghostface Killah and more. When I asked Mastermind if he'd had any trouble getting record labels to give him permission to put artists' material on his mixtape, he quickly responded, "Oh yeah, the album got pushed back 3 times because we were waiting on people. Either a manager doesn't get back to you on time or a record label won't give you the clearance or their legal department takes a lot of time. (As a result), there were some original tracks that didn't get to happen. We were supposed to do more collaborations: Xzibit, Pharoahe Monch, M.O.P. were supposed to be on the album." So these excluded tracks are something to look forward to on his next mixtape.

At around 11 pm, as the crowd's anticipation was beginning to peak, Mastermind took to his turntable. Surprisingly, Virgin Records Promotions and National Street Team Co-Ordinator, Kevin "Ice" White also took to the stage providing the MC'ing for Mastermind's DJ'ing finesse. Ice got the crowd involved, while Mastermind's sweet bass beats got the people up on their feet and their heads bopping. For 45 minutes, they did their thing. Mastermind intertwined big rap hits with tracks off his album so smoothly that I could barely take a pause to catch my breath. His performance was hot for two main reasons: Firstly, his skills far surpass those of most DJ's, what with his 10+ years of experience as a DJ. Secondly, he knows what tracks people want to hear. What with his 13 years of radio experience, Mastermind spun all the hottest joints. Not necessarily the biggest hits, but the tracks with life, the ones that won't fizzle after a couple months. This deadly combination generated an energy-filled crowd response.

The highlight of this act was the playing of the first single off Mastermind's album entitled "Bump!" This tracks features Choclair & Mr. Roam, and when it hit the speakers, everybody got up on the dance floor. After the show, when I asked Mastermind about the response to "Bump!", he excitedly informed Lee Roy Brown (Choclair's DJ) "Oh yeah!! Hey dude, we played "Bump!" and the song, they were singing it." This is made amazing by the fact that the video for the single hasn't even been videotaped yet. "The funny thing is that it's doing better than I thought," added Choclair. When the song came out we thought it was an alright song. But the reaction that we've been getting is a bit more than what I expected. We're going to shoot the video next Wednesday (Nov. 22). Then the video will probably be out a week or two after the shoot." So watch out for "Bump!" It's hot and there's no doubt it'll hit #1 on Much Music after the video is released!

After Mastermind's performance, I asked him what he'd been feeling the crowd. His response was overwhelmingly positive, "shit was hot! I've never been out here before and it was a good time. When you go on tour to places you've never been it's kinda hard to feel up the crowd, especially being a DJ. You're never sure what tracks you should bring to play because you don't know what people are going to be into. They (the crowd) got down to everything we did! It was hot man!" Even Kevin "Ice" White reciprocated these feelings, loosely stating "man, they were even buying me drinks! Shit was off the hook..." But this was only a small sign of what was to come for Choclair performance...

While I was still interviewing Mastermind, Choclair took to the stage. Accompanied by his lyrical partner and virtual sidekick, Solitair and his DJ, Lee Roy Brown, I scrambled to fit in all my questions so that I wouldn't miss too much of the show. I quickly asked Mastermind, whom he would pick to work with, if he could select any artist at all. "A guy like LL Cool J," hesitated Mastermind. "He's a real down to earth dude. He's always friendly with me. He'd be a great guy to work with." And as for Mastermind's plans for after this tour: "I work fulltime at the radio station back in Toronto so I'll be on the air a lot. Still promote and do gigs and such in Toronto. Then start working on the next mixtape," concluded Mastermind.

By the time I made it back to the second floor of the Upper Deck, I discovered quite a few more people than when I'd left. Everyone was scrambling to get a peek of the Canadian rap phenom by the name of Choclair. Last year, Choclair became the first Canadian rapper to sign an American record deal. Thus pole-vaulting his career to the international level with the release of his debut album, 'Ice Cold' last November. Since then, he has gone on to do over 150 shows throughout North America & Europe. So, with the night's performance already in full effect, I slowly worked my way towards the front to get a closer look.

Choclair proceeded to enthrall the crowd with tracks from his gold debut album 'Ice Cold,' along with some new material and a few short covers. Highlight tracks included the my favorite Choclair song, "Takin' It In," along with "Northern Touch," "What It Takes," and his recent hit singles "Rubbin'" and "Let's Ride." All of which received hyped crowd reactions. All in all, the performance lasted over an hour and left all the hip hop heads in awe. After concluding his last track, I thought the night had ended. But to my delight had only just begun. With Choclair on the sidelines chatting with the crowd, DJ Lee Roy Brown took center stage pumping up the dance party atmosphere by throwing on all the hottest joints. The vinyl was burning with Lee Roy Brown mixing up hits ranging from "I Wanna Love You (Give It To Me)", "What's Your Fantasy", "Between Me & You", "Ante Up" and a ton more.

After the show, I asked Choclair about his plans for after the tour. "I'm just heading to the studio to work on my next record.... I'm already four songs deep," added Choclair. He also told me not to necessarily expect "some big collaborations, but just some decent ones.... At the same time I'm trying to represent where I'm from, Canada, 100 percent, because we get respect for that around the world.... I was in France, and they were playing nothing but Canadian hip hop on their hip hop stations." Keen listener and Choclair fan, Kempuga Ruganda couldn't help but ask "Even artists like Kardinal...?" Choclair excitedly responded, "Oh yeah! Kardinal, Frankenstein, Saukrates, Brassmunk... A whole bunch of Canadian groups that probably a lot people haven't even heard of. They're playing them over in France, England and Germany. And maybe I'm the only one they're actually gonna know or relate to because I'm there and able to promote my work. That's my thing: To let people know what's going on (in Canada)." Indeed, Choclair has done more for Canadian hip hop than any other rap artist. He took the first step forward, opening the door for his allies and laying the foundation for a Canadian hip hop infrastructure.

Other minor plans for after his Coast To Coast tour, include shooting the video for Mastermind's first single, "Bump!" Added Choclair, "I've got a few groups with projects that I'm working on now. Solitair and a few other groups that I'm gonna put out. I'm just trying to build up the scene up here (in Canada)." Watch for Choclair's next record to hit stores in "late summer, early fall of next year." As well, Choclair expected to "probably have a video out by June or so. And a street single out by (this) February."

When I asked Choclair if he thought the crowd was as hype as the last time he was in Fredericton (June 1st), he replied, "...it was a little bit thinner. But you know what, it's because of exams and school. But it was still good. I was definitely into it." And indeed, despite the slightly smaller crowd, the show was sensational. Choclair and Mastermind really know how to put on a great show... or should I say clinic. I also strengthened by belief that Choclair really is a down-to-earth individual, whom I have no doubt is representing Canadian hip hop to its fullest. I still marvel at the personal touch Choclair delivered while in conversation. He could have cut me off after 10 or 20 minutes, but instead me, him, and two other ladies talked for nearly an hour and a half. Mastermind was equally outgoing and went out of his way to ensure a smooth interview.

Without a doubt, Mastermind is one of the most talented Canadian DJs and Choclair, one of the most talented emcees. This was proven without question at their show at the Upper Deck on Thursday, Nov. 16th. For those who came out to experience the amazing skills of this unstoppable duo, it was a night that I'm sure you won't soon forget!

Check out Mastermind online at: mastermind50.com .
Check out Choclair online at: choclair.net .
To view the full interviews, check out: come.to/the213page .

Troy Neilson
This review was written November 21, 2000