It's Hieroglyphics Y'All!

Those that are fans of the band will know that the title is not a testament of my poor grammar, despite the occasional dangling modifer. The line is from the song "You Never Knew," which was responsible for turning me on to Hieroglyphics in the first place. On tour to support bandmate Opio's latest release Vulture's Wisdom, the guys made their way to Vancouver and cranked out rhymes spanning from their fifteen year career to a packed Richard's on Richards .

Opio's latest solo effort is a fine display to the rapper's immense talent and fulfills his self-professed title as the "Original Lyricist." In recent interviews, Opio has stated how lyrics have become secondary to an artist's image, but Vulture's Wisdom forces the listener to pay attention to the message behind the rapper's rhymes. At only thirty nine minutes long, the album gets straight to the point and challenges the current state of hip hop, such as taking jabs at current artists such as Kanye and Pharrell on the West Coast beat inspired track "I Need a Money Tree."

The Hieroglyphics crew brought some classic tunes from their breakout album Third Eye Vision to Richards, opening with personal favourite "Classic." Years ago, I was under the impression that hip hop was dead and there was no substance within the genre, and though that statement holds true to many of the artists frequenting Muchmusic, Hieroglyphics was a breath of fresh air. The band actually had a positive message behind their music and upon listening to their albums it was obvious that the music was their first priority.

The crew threw it down at Richards and had each crowd member channeling their inner rapper, including myself. The positive vibes behind Hieroglyphics make them an instant standout, and as they asked us to put our peace signs up in the air before they left the stage I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of satisfaction in knowing that hip hop is most certainly not dead.

Special thanks to Gavin Rhodes from Audible Treats.