Cityreal – January 25th at the Commodore
CITYREAL’S HIP-HOP/BLUES OPUS, GOOD MORNING BLUES
Vancouver-based rapper/ producer, Cityreal is back on January 22nd with his latest album Good Morning Blues, a masterfully crafted hip-hop/blues duet with blues veteran, Wes Mackey. After nearly five decades as a professional musician, Wes, who has backed the likes of Muddy Waters John Lee Hooker and Stevie Wonder, lends his stripped-down soulful voice to Cityreal’s socially conscious lyrics and melodic beats to create something both nostalgic and inspired.
Since the release of Cityreal’s self-produced debut album The Beginning, he has earned three Western Canadian Music Award nominations (including best Hip-Hop Recording of the Year for this project) and has collaborated with other notable artists such as Swollen Members, Saukrates, Moka Only, D-Sisive, and Kyprios of Sweatshop Union. He has toured relentlessly across Canada, the United States, and France, captivating audiences in clubs, concert halls, and festivals, sharing stages with names like K’Naan, Ice Cube, Ghostface Killah, Tech9ne, Three 6 Mafia, Warren G, Dilated Peoples and many more. As a producer, he has worked with Madchild, D-Sisive, and Snak the Ripper.
Good Morning Blues was recorded in Vancouver at multiple studios; and features Juno nominees D-Sisive and Madchild (of Swollen Members). Both Cityreal and Wes were heavily influenced by the gritty, dark and simplistic sound of the very early blues musicians, pioneers such as Leadbelly, Robert Johnson and Albert King. “The concept for the album was to pair traditional blues elements with modern production and sampling techniques,” says Cityreal, and the result is one of the more unique Hip-Hop albums created in recent years.
The first video from the album, “Passing Me By”, perfectly showcases what these artists bring to the table together. Says Cityreal, ““I wanted to spark discussions on what’s happening in our city, specifically on the poverty and unfortunate living conditions in the downtown east-side. So I got stats from the homeless count Vancouver does every three years, along with images from the community and an affordable housing protest, it seemed to be the perfect message for this track and our position on more supportive housing in that community.” The video was nominated earlier last year for a Western Canadian Music Award for Best Multi-media piece.
Cityreal – Passing Me By (ft. Wes Mackey) Official Video
Cityreal will be back on the road in 2013 and he is currently writing and producing his second solo album with the help of Toronto piano prodigy and composer Todor Kobakov set for release later in the year. Stay tuned for details!
Tracklisting
Good Morning Blues
Lines
Hell Hound (ft Madchild of Swollen Members)
Deliverance
Angel (ft D-Sisive)
It’s Time
Old Hannah (Interlude)
Midnight Sun
Passing Me By
Play The Blues for you
Bonus Track: Carolina
