Edmonton
Classified
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 (9:00 PM - 2:00 AM) | 
Diesel Ultra Lounge 11845 Wayne Gretzky Drive Sout Edmonton AB
Anfer Party
The Official
Classified
The Official
Classified
.jpg)
What does the most acclaimed hip-hop artist in Canada do after reaching a new pinnacle of commercial success? In the case of the platinum-selling Enfield, Nova Scotia-based rapper Classified, the answer is return to his roots.
"The commercial success helped me reach a new audience, but when I went back into the studio after being on tour for 15 months, I just wanted to make something banging again," says Classified of what would become Handshakes and Middle Fingers, the hotly-anticipated follow-up to Self-Explanatory, the best-selling album of the rapper’s ten-year-career. "I love being able to spit for lots of new people, but what really got me hype when I started to think about writing this record, was to go back and drop another hip-hop album again."
Handshakes and Middle Fingers is a musical hip-hop album about balance. Through boom-bap beats, catchy choruses and dirty drums, Classified uses his unparalleled wit, lyrics and diction to examine the fine line between mainstream success and the underground. This is, without a doubt, the Classified album that fans have been waiting to hear.
“I’m adamant / I won’t become extravagant,” he raps on Classy, the album’s declarative opener, which sets the stage for the razor-sharp party that follows. Life is hard on Handshakes and Middle Fingers, but it’s not without its just rewards. Rock hard new songs like Passion, Run With Me and High Man find the artist at once both boastful and reflective, spitting about the balance between a family life where Classified is the proud father of two young daughters, and life on the road where he performs hundreds of dizzying sold-out shows a year. "Seems like the only reoccurring theme in my life is the ups and downs," says Classified, who was born Luke Boyd and has sold more than 70K records and been the recipient of 4 (nominated for 10) East Coast Music Awards. "I got new people out there now checking for me, but from being a rap star to getting old and from going out on the road partying to waking up hung-over, tired and missing my home, this album more than anything is about life being the gift and the curse."
Something wrong with this listing? Report a problem 
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 (9:00 PM - 2:00 AM)
Diesel Ultra Lounge 11845 Wayne Gretzky Drive Sout, EdmontonAB
