Last Saturday, FTB  went to see the 25 year old Jersey rapper  Cakes da Killa at PHI Center. The show opened with WASIU ft. Dear Lola & KD II Times.

It started off with a small crowd until Cakes took over, dressed in Rad Hourani and ready to turn the heat up. His performance was strong, carefree and intense and featured some of his old tracks such as Serve it up, Goodie Goodies and Truth Tella.

The crowd got the chance to vogue with him. When he finished, the crowd was left wanting more!

Click on the image below to open the gallery:

Cakes Da Killa @ Centre PhiCakes Da Killa @ Centre Phi

*Photos by Bianca Lecompte

Raw and carefree is how we can describe the sound bestowed upon us by Cakes Da Killa. With the release of Hunger Pang in June 2014 (and even with his first releases in 2011), this young Jersey rapper has provided some with more than they would have bargained for or even can handle.

Most importantly, he has given some of us a voice and sound within the rap genre. Vulgar? Cakes Da Killa is only being himself, raw, honest, hard, providing music for LGBT people of color looking for relatable music and homophobes something to choke on.

He has gained a lot of attention over the past few years, making the rounds on blogs and known radio shows and receiving more than honorable mentions from MTV and more. With all this success, don’t expect him to change who he is. The music is still raw and the content is still Queer.

But this does not mean that he wants to be set apart from the rest of the players. Giving us impeccable delivery and spitting scripture within his lyrics, he could go neck to neck with any.

As for his beats, he takes us beyond high hats and basic basslines. A heavy mix of electronic sounds merge more than they clash.

Cakes Da Killa is coming back to us with more of his goodie goodies (with WASIU ft. Dear Lola & KD II Times and Visuals by Jason Voltaire) this Saturday, November 28, 8pm @ Phi Centre, tickets available on the Phi Centre website

La Nuit Tribe | Dévoilement de la programmation from Centre Phi | Phi Centre on Vimeo.

In the mist of all festivities taking place during La Nuit Blanche, Centre Phi will be hosting La Nuit Tribe, a series of live shows, visual arts and comfort food, in other words the place to be. Headliners will be none other than A Tribe Called Red AfrotoniX and Arthur Comeau.

To start the evening, cinephiles will be happy to know A Tribe Called Red have selected Rhymes for Young Ghouls by Jeff Barnaby for your viewing entertainment. You will also be treated to a live installation created by street artists Swarm and Red Bandit and a video installation by Red Bandit.

The night wouldn’t be complete without some serious evening snacks. Comfort food will be prepared by Manitoba restaurant for all the foodies and hungry people out there.

This is winter and this is Montreal, so expect the place to fill up fast. You, however, can guarantee your spot as FTB and Centre Phi are giving away two tickets. All you have to do to participate in this giveaway is:

1)Like both the Centre Phi  and Forget the Box pages on Facebook,

2) Comment on this post by letting us know what you like most about winter in Montreal (yes, sarcasm is acceptable).

3) Hit the share button

We’ll announce the winners of the draw on Friday the 27th and tickets will be available the evening of the event at Centre Phi.

Three years ago, Zola Jesus came to Osheaga and I was dying to see her. However, due to the fact that it was raining heavily, the show got shut down after the first song; safety comes first. Ever since, I remained curious to see her live and Blue Skies Turn Black finally made it happen at Centre Phi last Friday night.

The opening band was quite a discovery by itself. The Deradoorian sisters are talented multi-instrumental artists. A mix of beatboxing, heavy drums, synthesizers and seductive voices, leading you into a trippy journey. When they announced their last song, fans would have had them stay a little longer.

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This was the perfect intro to the whole Zola Jesus, a psychological experience. The Gothic Godess reminded me of Dead Can Dance and iamamiwhoami — a mix of baroque pop, dark wave, electronica and experimental rock. Going back and forward between mellow tunes to serious headbanging sessions while the drummer brought the house down. She was running all across the stage if she wasn’t immersed into her trance or gracefully delivering a memorable performance. At some point the whole venue went quiet when she started singing without the microphone and a little after that, she took a stroll trough the crowd. She also told us about her love for Montreal and mostly of her love for our bagels a.k.a. the best bagels. Pfff…take that, NYC! If you want to hear some of her latest work, her 5th album Taiga is out now.

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Click on the photo to launch the slideshow. Photos by Bianca Lecompte.

Deradoorian + Zola JesusDeradoorian + Zola Jesus