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Chali 2Na’s new project “Against the Current”
Chali 2Na, the quick-witted baritone from on-hiatus rap group Jurassic 5, has five “genre-bending” EPs in the hopper to release throughout 2012 as part of his new project called Against the Current. Check the trailer and press release below:
With his distinctive and widely beloved baritone voice, Chali 2na has established himself not only as one of hip-hop’s preeminent and charismatic personalities, but has also garnered renowned praise as a highly respected artist across a myriad of mediums. Today, he has announced his latest project, Against The Current, a 5 EP installment that will be released throughout 2012. Breathing new life into his musical history, the project’s sound is heavily influenced by his history; from the blues music he was raised on and the hip-hop he produced as a member of Jurassic 5, to the urban-Latin music he created with Ozomatli and his love for performing live. Each EP will be a fusion of these experiences, and also include Chali’s trademark spitfire rhymes. A trailer for Against The Current, featuring snippets from the project’s first single and title-track, has been released today, and can be viewed here.
Fans can catch a preview of Against The Current this winter as Chali will be hitting the road for a nationwide tour (full routing below). Kicking off February 9th in Oakland, CA, the tour will encompass nearly 30 dates before wrapping in Austin, TX for a series of showcases at this years’ SXSW Music and Film Conference.
More details on Against The Current will be revealed in the coming weeks!
Chali 2Na 2012 Winter Tour
- February 9, 2012 Oakland, CA The New Parish
- February 10, 2012 Santa Cruz, CA Moe’s Alley
- February 11, 2012 Reno, NV Cargo
- February 12, 2012 Boise, ID The Reef
- February 14, 2012 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom – Lola’s Room
- February 15, 2012 Victoria, BC Club 9one9
- February 16, 2012 Tofino, BC Tofino Legion
- February 17, 2012 Cumberland, BC Waverly Hotel – The Bridge
- February 18, 2012 Vancouver, BC The Rio Theatre
- February 20, 2012 Whistler, BC Garibaldi Lift Co.
- February 22, 2012 Nelson, BC Hume Hotel – Spirit Bar
- February 23, 2012 Fernie, BC The Northern
- February 24, 2012 Golden, BC Rockwater Bar & Grill
- February 25, 2012 Calgary, AB Hifi Club
- February 27, 2012 Ketchum, ID Whiskey Jacques
- February 28, 2012 Victor, ID Knotty Pine
- March 1, 2012 Bozeman, MT Zebra Cocktail Lounge
- March 2, 2012 Missoula, MT Top Hat
- March 4, 2012 Avon, CO The Snowball Festival
- March 6, 2012 Kansas City, MO Riot Room
- March 7, 2012 St. Louis, MO 2720
- March 8, 2012 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue
- March 9, 2012 Kallamazoo, MI Bell’s Brewery
- March 10, 2012 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
- March 12, 2012 Asheville, NC Asheville Music Hall
- March 13, 2012 Nashville, TN Exit In
- March 14, 2012 Knoxville, TN Cider House
- March 16 & 17, 2012 Austin, TX SXSW *Shows to be announced soon!
Be sure to visit www.Chali2na.com/shows for the latest additions!
New music from a rap master. Sign me up. I won’t be hitting his tour this time, but I caught him at WOW Hall in Eugene last fall (where the photo at the top of this post was from)… knock out great show!
~Dan – np: John Zorn – Film Works XVIII: The Treatment
REVIEW: Chali 2na @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 11/16/11)
Chali 2Na is a rapper that commands an album. His deep baritone and unrivaled flow were a staple on Jurassic 5’s albums. His height and booming voice also command a room. I’ve seen Chali many times with J5, but for various reasons, I’ve always missed him when he’s brought his solo tour through town.
This show was going to fall into that same trap… until the Michael Jackson-tribute Cirque du Soleil show set for Wednesday, November 16th got canceled and moved to only being on Tuesday the 15th (my review of the Eugene MJ Cirque show here). “Yay! I could hit Chali’2 solo show!” In fact, had the Cirque tickets not been so much, I would have bailed and gone to see Chali anyhow…
What makes Chali so good? Well, check out the video for “Step Yo Game Up”…
There was a DJ I didn’t catch the name of as an opener, and then tour opener MTHDS went on late (10pm or so). They were good and got the smallish WOW Hall crowd warmed up. I was worried that the crowd for Chali 2Na would stay low, but I guess a lot of people were downstairs during the earlier sets as the floor got a little more packed during Chali’s show…
more photos below
Chali hit the stage around 11:15pm with his live band the House of Vibe. They were a three-piece rock format with “Brew” on keys and vocals… there was also a drummer and bassist (didn’t get their names). It was a fresh take to see a live band with a rapper… most times I’ve seen rap in a live setting, it’s been to DAT or a DJ.
Setlist: the first hour…
- Unknown
- “Mister DJ”
- Comin’ Thru
- Don’t Stop
- F.O.W. (Fish Outta Water)
- International
- Guns Up
- Welcome to the Fish Market
- Freedom [Jurassic 5]
- Quality Control [J5] w/ MJ “I Want You Back” & “I’ll Be There” (snippets)
- What’s Golden [J5]
- Step Yo’ Game Up
- Righteous Way
- …
I bailed around 12:20am… caught about an hour of Chali’2 set. Great show, wish it would have started earlier – especially for a Wednesday night. I loved that he threw in a few Jurassic 5 tunes. Keyboardist “Brew” sang a few Michael Jackson ditties in the middle of J5’s “Quality Control”… the crowd ate it up!
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Chali 2Na’s Site
- Chali 2Na’s Social Media Links (see below)
- MTHDS’ Site / Facebook / MySpace / Twitter
- House of Vibe’s Site / Facebook / MySpace / Twitter
- WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Check out more tour dates on Chali’s site HERE.
Next show for me… Over the Rhine @ the Aladdin Theater in Portland tonight (11/17).
~Dan – np: Causing A Tiger – How We Held Our Post
CHALI 2NA PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Chali 2Na – Step Yo Game Up (video)
Jurassic 5 / Ozomatli rapper Chali 2Na just released another video from his latest album, Fish Market Part 2… this one for “Step Yo Game Up“…
Directed by James Kapner
~Dan – np: My Brightest Diamond – Shark Remixes 
two videos… Flaregun & Chali 2Na
Two cool videos, for different reasons… first up, from a friend in Cincinnati, Ryan Adcock. He’s got a new band with Craig Dockery called Flaregun. The debut album, Ten Sundays, has a couple of songs that are a bit Jebus-y for my tastes (especially compared to Ryan’s earlier work), but the album as a whole is really good. This debut video for the song “I Seek You” is pretty cool…
Flaregun’s Ten Sundays album can be had at CDBaby (or locally in Cincinnati).
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Next up, totally different style coming at you from Chali 2Na from Jurassic 5. It’s his lead-off single (“Lock S**t Down” with Talib Kweli) from his debut solo album, Fish Outta Water. I always loved Chali’s baritone, quick delivery. Some of the effects in this video are a little cheesy, but overall, it’s a pretty damn fun video…
Fish Outta Water is out now…
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy – On Stage: 6/19/09 (late set)
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
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