Chali 2na at Bluesfest

I should start off by making it clear that there is nothing queer about hip-hop artist Chali 2na.

However, if you are a marijuana advocate who digs rap, Chali 2na is an act you must catch next time he’s in town. If not for his smooth, electronic-infused rhymes, then for the secondhand weed fumes.

After a bouncy opener, Chali 2na asked the Bluesfest crowd, “Do you want to get high?” As any bystander could smell, the crowd already was.

Chali 2na was a founding member of legendary hip-hop outfit Jurassic 5. I recall blasting “What’s Golden” from my mother’s Honda Civic while driving around Kanata during my high school years. After Jurassic 5 disbanded in 2007, Chali 2na hit it out alone, releasing Fish Outta Water in 2009.

So if you are the kind of queer who shrugs off stereotypes by disliking Gaga and listening to white rappers after Labour Day, check out this Chicago-born Islamic blazer.

Lock Shit Down

Algonquin College journalism grad. Podcaster @qqcpod.

Keep Reading

Pythia

‘Canada’s Drag Race All Stars’ premiere recap: I need to talk to a slay person

Ladies and gentlemen, Nearah Nuff is back in business
Madonna

Gay aging is complicated. Madonna is showing us the way

“Confessions II” is the Queen of Pop’s latest middle finger to people who think her age makes her irrelevant. Queer people should take notes
The cover of Perverts

‘Perverts’ shows the cost of sexual self-censorship

Mac Crane’s short-story collection follows queer and trans characters who are both stuck—and free
Sun

Rosalía’s ‘Lux’ tour taught me things I didn’t even know I could know

After years of pining, I finally went to the Catalan superstar’s concert. I wasn’t ready for what it did to me
Advertisement