by SCOTT C

Nomadic Massive know how to start the year off right, as they embark on a series of five monthly shows at Café Campus. The first show, called Retracing the Foot Prints, jumps off this Sunday, Jan. 22, and will feature performances by special guests Los Paisanos from Cuba, Area 23 from Venezuela and Foreign Beggars from the U.K. What you get is a well-rounded international hip hop show, headlined by one of Montreal’s hardest working crews. The doors open at 8 p.m. and $10 gets you in. Next month, the Nomadic family is set to release their new EP Oasis with another show at Campus, but more on that later.

Island City Monsters kick it into high gear this year with the release of their new CD Legendary Gatherings. They’ll be teaming up with their Toronto counterparts this Friday at Lounge Eleven, where the official launch for both Legendary Gatherings and Rhythmicru’s new mixtape Super Toke will be taking place. Make room on the stage for performances from Eye 2 Eye, Memo, Meta4ce and Rhythmicru, as well as DJs Mana, Twitch, Sagewondah and DJoolz. Five dollars will get you in, but $10 will bag you a CD ta boot!

Saphir rolls out the sounds of Montreal breaks original Sase One tonight, Thursday, Jan. 19, when he headlines a night with DJs Dialect, Bias and Nick Osicka and a special live PA with Basement Wigger. Any self-respecting junglist with an ounce of local pride, or anyone who purports to live for breaks, should not miss this night. BW takes the stage for an early set at 11:15 p.m., and it’s two-for-one beers and free entry before midnight, so get there early.

Later tonight, check out DJ Manifest at Circus, where he’ll be holding down the night shift in the hip hop room with DJ Melo from 2:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. He’s getting ready to officially launch his brand-new mixtape, Stop Look and Listen, which has been doing the rounds in the city. The mix features original tracks produced by Manifest, featuring FP Crew, D-Shade, Imposs, 1Man, Sabrina Jean, Manchilde, Dunny Brass and more, as well as released tracks from Masta Ace, Kardinal Offishall, Nas, Kanye West, Ghostface and many more. Check out www.djmanifest.ca for info on where to buy the CD around town and online. n

Seven reasons to go back to the lab:
1. Maybe Watson
2. 1Man
3. 7D
4. Velvet Trench Vibes
5. Metrix
6. Paco
7. Sikh Knowledge

JE NE TROUVE PAS ÇA DRÔLE... fathead@videotron.ca

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