By Vanessa Tam
At first glance, it may seem odd to have the headliners for the 39th Annual Vancouver International Jazz Festival Grammy be award winning rapper Killer Mike, jazz futurist Kassa Overall, and hip-hop artist Odario.
Possibly because the first impressions of a Hip Hop show usually bring up visions of sneaker culture, sweaty club nights and big chains while the thought of a Jazz show more often brings up ensemble musicians, fancy outfits and theatre seating.
The history of both genres, however, are way more connected than previously thought. Rooted in the sounds of Ragtime and Blues from the early 20th century in New Orleans, Jazz and Hip Hop both evolved from a style of music that was based in storytelling, personal expression and the improvisational mastering of an instrument and/or the English language.
The two genres continue to influence each other to this day, with many Hip Hop artists sampling, looping and layering Jazz instrumentals to create the backdrops to their lyrics. Jazz artists are also known to access the lyrical connections and flow from Rap and Hip Hop when building their compositions.
All that being said, it feels just right to have these headliners in to celebrate the 39 years of Jazz in Vancouver, fitting even.
Killer Mike
Atlanta’s favourite son Killer Mike gets recognized as many things – a rapper, an advocate for the disenfranchised, an entrepreneur, a Bernie Sanders whisperer, and for his widely lauded advocacy work on political and social causes – which yielded him Billboard’s inaugural 2020 Change Maker Award. Most recently his critically lauded 2023 album MICHAEL earned him three Grammy Awards (Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song & Performance for “SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS”) for its complex portrait of Black southern masculinity.
Date: Saturday, June 29, 2024
Location: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Time: 7:30PM
Tickets: Available online for $59-$99
Kassa Overall
“Raw, underground, and chaotic,” Kassa Overall is “one of modern jazz music’s most audacious futurists” (Pitchfork). The GRAMMY-nominated emcee, singer, producer and drummermelds avant-garde experimentation with hip-hop production techniques to tilt the nexus of jazz and rap in unmapped directions. Since his 2019 debut, Overall has established himself as a rhythmic innovator and a visionary poet who addresses the injustices of the carceral system, the pharmaceutical industry, and anti-black racism, while wrangling with the perils of his own mental illness.
Date: Saturday, June 22, 2024
Location: Downtown – Georgia Street Stage – 750 Hornby St. Vancouver, BC
Time: 7:30PM
Tickets: Free to attend
Odario
A hip-hop artist, music curator, storyteller, and all-around renaissance man, Odario is embedded in the beat and submerged in the bass. The Guyanese-born Odario Williams was raised in Winnipeg, where he became a pioneer in Peg City’s fast growing hip-hop community and founded the acclaimed Grand Analog. Today, the Toronto-based Odario is one of Canada’s coolest voices, both on-stage and as the host of CBC Music’s Afterdark, a nightly radio show that’s full of avant-flavours and infectious vibes.
Date: Sunday, June 23, 2024
Location: Downtown – Georgia Street Stage – 750 Hornby St. Vancouver, BC
Time: 7:30PM
Tickets: Free to attend
