Big Daddy Kane came to Montreal, twenty years after his last visit, on my birthday. I nearly didn’t go. I’ve had my share of rap artists landing in Montreal decades past their prime. I won’t name them now, but in the last few years a slew of rappers have performed here way too long after their hottest material. I’ve gone because the prices have been right, the chances of getting autographs were high and the sheer nostalgia still had enough to lure me.

So I went to the Toronto Comic Art Festival this past weekend.  One of the guests was Kagan Mcleod.  Dude does a wicked comic called 'Infinite Kung Fu' as well as amazingly beautiful pieces for the National Post.  He's also getting well known in rap circles for his ‘History of Rap’ poster.  I purchased the first incarnation in 2003 which had about 80 heads.  The newest version has over 200, but on both sheets, the female rappers are few and far between.  As someone who pays attention to the girlie rappers, I found the whole thing a little disheartening.  There are scads of awes

Leave it to K-os to come up with the idea of a “pay what you want” concert.  I learned about it days ago and saw him playing video games with an E-Talk correspondent on the eve of the concert.  I was thrilled when I found out I was one of the lucky CJLO staff that would see him at L’Olympia.

I am possibly the biggest Mark Ronson fan at CJLO, in Montreal and maybe in Quebec.  I admire his production, his albums and his own radio show has been influential on me this year.  His playlists are practically musical treasure maps.  One night while listening to his show, he mentioned a group and played one of their tracks.  Being a disciple, I paid attention to the group name and the track.  Months later, the "Girls & Weather" arrived at the station and it is fitting that I get to review The Rumble Strips' debut CD.

Common Existence finds New Jersey’s Thursday at a crossroads: having been ditched by major label Island after their less-than-stellar studio album (2006’s A City By The Light Divided) and ending back up on their former home Victory Records, the band released a b-sides/rarities compilation in late 2007 entitled Kill The House Lights, and then last year dropped an EP with Japanese band Envy.