Toronto’s History became a venue-sized time machine on December 2nd, pulling the crowd straight back into one of the most important eras in hip-hop for a party fans will never forget. Raekwon and Mobb Deep brought their joint 30th Anniversary Tour to the city’s Beaches neighbourhood, celebrating two landmark records released in 1995: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… and The Infamous. For anyone who grew up on grimy New York rap or studied it later like sacred text, this was a bucket-list show.
It was definitely the hottest ticket in town for a lot of the old hiphop heads in Toronto that helped shape that culture as it also influenced theirs. This is why it was fitting for Kardinal Offishall to surprise MC kicking off the night with a quick DJ set from Mastermind, both city legends in their own right. And with Mastermind rocking a “LOUD” varsity jacket with the colour way of the New York Knicks, Raekwon and Havoc were reminded to shout him out later in the set as Loud Records back in the day gave them the start they needed. Mastermind made sure to show the love back by rolling in a cakes onto the stage in the shape of that classic New York fitted cap.
After some classic spinning to start things off in true Toronto fashion, Raekwon and Mobb Deep’s Havoc stepped onto the stage after an epic intro score from Matrix supported by DJ Scratch and drummer Medrick Greely. Both donned leather football jerseys of sorts with 30 on the front to commemorate the two albums with Havoc in that Hell On Earth red colourway and Rae in that Wu-tang yellow along with a joint and liquor in a glass in hand. It was like two superheroes walked out on stage with a common goal – to celebrate the impact this music made on others and most importantly, the impact on themselves.
Throughout the night, Raekwon and Havoc shared moments on stage that highlighted the mutual respect between the two camps. It was to the point that it didn’t even feel like they were separate acts which made the show and the tour make a lot more sense. Overall, the show was nonstop and high energy for 90 mins straight with the two masters of the mic alternating through verses from each album like it was a conversation and with OB4CL at 18 songs and The Infamous at 16, the selections were deep which was an absolute treat for everyone in the venue. Even people waiting in line to buy merch were rapping along to these classic bangers as they came. Like Raekwon said that night, you gotta make some noise for real hiphop. The two also made sure to encourage each other’s new material with Havoc sharing a couple of tracks from The Alchemist-produced Infinite that came out back in October as well as a verse from Bear Hill, a song from Rae’s The Emperor’s New Clothes from back in July.
A majority of the time though, Raekwon’s portions of the night leaned fully into the cinematic world of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… of course. Joined by longtime collaborators in the audience (to his surprise), he ran through classics like Incarcerated Scarfaces and Criminology early in the set with sharp delivery and obvious pride. Raekwon’s storytelling still hits with clarity, and his command of the stage showed why the album remains a cornerstone of East Coast rap. When Ice Cream dropped towards the end of the set (with expert timing after Mastermind’s cake came out), the crowd went nuts with this additional reminder as to why they call him the Chef.
The night carried extra weight with the Mobb tracks Havoc curated for the audience. With Prodigy’s presence felt in every bar and beat, Mobb Deep’s selections was as much tribute as it was celebration. Havoc held the stage with a steady, commanding presence, backed by booming drums and stripped-back visuals of New York motifs that let the music speak for itself. Tracks like Survival of the Fittest and Quiet Storm landed just as hard as they did three decades ago, reminding everyone how timeless The Infamous really is. Temperature Rising saw Prodigy’s verses done in acapella to let the crowd bask in P’s lyrical prowess, and it seemed like History answered back without missing a word. Though The Infamous had the majority of the spotlight, Havoc also treated Toronto with a performance of Get Away from 2001’s Infamy and continues to show how much he understands the fans and what lyrics they want to hear. Supported by Big Noyd throughout the night as well (with a bottle of Hennessy in hand), some of NY’s finest was really on Canadian soil that night.
Both artists took moments to thank Toronto for riding with them all these years, acknowledging how far the culture has traveled since those mid-90s Queensbridge and Staten Island days. Brooklyn also made an appearance with a surprise performance from the East coast native Cormega who got Raekwon’s praises calling him a “scientifical genius”. The love was really there for Toronto as the duo kept this bit going of the venue telling them they have to wrap it up but it’s really hard to imagine telling these legends to get off stage. The two wanted the crowd to feel like they got their money’s worth and then some but with the amount of fun being had on stage, it’s not hard to imagine that the duo never wants this night or the tour to end.
Because the tour was focused on honoring albums that reshaped hip-hop’s sound, aesthetics, and attitude, the last part of the set didn’t feel like about nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake but to also add more reasons to celebrate. This included a section dedicated to Prodigy and Ol’ Dirty Bastard welcomed by Maze’s We Are One as the duo paid homage to their brothers as “fallen soldiers”. A rendition of P’s Keep It Thoro and ODB’s Shimmy shortly followed to honour their memories with the crowd more than on board and partied to pour one out for the lost legends. Then like a barrage of bullets, the set came to an end with performances of C.R.E.A.M., Got It Twisted, Triumph, and of course, the quintessential New York banger Shook Ones, Pt. II – a satisfyingly balanced way to end a show that didn’t feel like it needed to end but as all good parties go, there must be an afterparty somewhere downtown if you had the energy.
By the end of the night, History felt less like a concert venue and a little bit more like a living archive. Seeing Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… and The Infamous brought to life in this victory lap tour reminded everyone why these records are still listened to and will never die. Thirty years later, Raekwon and Mobb Deep proved these albums are beloved foundational relics like texts cemented in history books and Toronto was there to listen to every word. The tour that started in Portland back in November saw its end in Miami Beach on December 15th.