BRANTFORD – An event hosted at Club N.V. in Brantford was supercharged with local talent and attracted a large audience to see Onyx headline in the flesh on Thursday, March 30, with opening artists such as Mugg Shot, Chief Mojo, DJ NME and more.
Onyx formed in 1989 out of Queens N.Y. with a different style of rap than they have now. The rap group today consists of Fredro Starr and Sticky Fingaz, both notoriously known for bringing rap to mosh pits with their antics that could only be compared to heavy metal. The group is well known for their raucous single “Slam” which became an unlikely hit on MTV and pop radio.
Promoter Shayne Maracle said that the show went smoothly, despite the snowstorm warning.
“Tonight’s going well,” he said. “There were a few hiccups in the beginning, but I think it kind of fixed itself. The weather was a bit of a detriment, people were terrified of this snowstorm we had coming that never showed up. But, ticket sales were actually phenomenal for the event—it’s just the snow.”
“The people that are here wanna see the show and they’re excited so that’s all that matters to me.”
Majority of the crowd braved the weather, and many came to support the local artists as well as see the headliners Onyx, who had never performed in Brantford before. Maracle explained that hosting Onyx was an opportunity he couldn’t miss.
“From start to finish, I knew Onyx was coming through Canada ’cause they’re getting ready for a big festival with Insane Clown Posse,” said Maracle. “I was contacted by the agent and I thought ‘Onyx is something I’d always wanted to see near my home town’, and I knew a lot of people do like Onyx. So, I just jumped at the chance to bring them down.”
When asked how he thought the headliners felt before going on stage, Maracle said, “they’re excited”.
“I was speaking to them just a little while ago, they’re excited. They’ve never been here before and it’s always nice to come to a new market and be able to approach fans that have wanted to see them for so long.”
Maracle mentioned that some of the opening artists for the night, including Chief Mojo, have been Onyx fans themselves.
“When I approached him with the opportunity to open he jumped at it,” he said. “What I like seeing is where I can bring people’s favourite artists down. I’ve done a bunch of events in the past and I don’t want to pigeon hole myself into only one genre.”
Maracle explained that he wants to be able to promote different types of rap artists and much more in the future. He especially enjoys opening up opportunity for local artists.
“The majority of the other artists I’ve worked together with them a few times,” he said. “I just want to promote local music as well. I want them to be able to say ‘I opened for a bigger artist’ and that kind of gives them that plateau to be to launch their careers off of.”
“If artists are interested in opening up, just reach out to me,” he said.
SKM Promotions is available for contact on Facebook and Instagram, and keep an eye open for future shows.
