The new Cityreal song “F*ck Stephen Harper” was inspired by the results of the recent federal election on May 2nd. The whole song, including the beat, was done the day after the election.

On Tuesday April 19th the Hip Hop community is coming together for a very important event. We are giving back to the community to raise funds for the tragedy that has occurred in Japan. A collective group of artists are getting together @ The Cellar in Vancouver to perform and donate their time for the bigger cause. It is clear that it is a horrible thing has happened in Japan, and we are in the position to give back and help fund in the areas that need the most attention. We are teaming up with World Vision. The organizer of this event, Craig MacMillan has a direct relationship with the Director of Western Canada, so it is ensured that the money will be processed properly and get sent to the right spot. We realize that money is tight for everyone, and you may have donated to numerous other foundations or events, so all we are asking is you donate what you can afford. Your support is greatly appreciated and all proceeds go to World Vision Japan Earthquake / Tsunami Appeal. No matter how small it may seem, the giving of your energy to this cause will contribute positively, and that is what is important.

We suggest you get down early, as were not doing any presales for this event, as previously mentioned we don't want to force an entrance fee price on you. The doors will open @ 9pm, the capacity of the venue is only 200 so space will be limited. Once we reach capacity there is not much we can do and I would hate to see you get left outside on such a epic night for the Vancouver hip hop scene.

Cityreal playing at CMW
 
March 11th - Toronto, ON
@ Global Village Backpackers
Cityreal will be performing in Torono, ON on March 11th at Canadian Music Fest. CMF is Canada’s largest new music festival.  It is the festival component of CMW, which spans over 5 nights of performances, with over 800 showcasing bands at over 55 live music venues in downtown Toronto. Now in its 29th year, Canadian Music Week (CMW) is the single longest running and premier conference focusing on the business of Music, bringing together Sound Recording, New Technology and Broadcast for one spectacular week of events. CMW combines informative, intensive conferences, a cutting edge trade exposition, a film festival, award shows & Canada’s biggest New Music Festival – Canadian Music Fest.

For all of those who haven’t turned there attention to the Arab world in the last few weeks, I urge you to check it out. There is a democratic contagion spreading that started in Tunisia, moved to Egypt and is now spreading to other Arab nations such as Yemen. It all involves populations that have had the same governing leaders and parties for over 20years, now demonstrating for democracy. This is a remarkable turn of events that could set off a very significant change in both life in the Middle East and the balance of power in world politics. Most of the attention is directed at Egypt right now as its long standing dictator is such a crucial ally of the West in its endeavours to re-shape the Arab world into a society that reflects traditional western values and therefore financially benefits the West. Western governments are stuck in between there stated principles of democracy and there vested interests in the region. 

 The last time an Arab population was given the freedom to vote after years of oppression was Palestine in 2006. That resulted in a Hamas victory which shocked the world. For those who don’t know, Hamas is an organization that has fought for the liberation of Palestine for over 20years. It was traditionally an armed and social movement but agreed to become a political party in exchange for a sort of cease fire with Israel. As soon as the victory was announced, all western governments (right wingers of course) formally rejected the victory and refused to recognize Hamas as the official governing party. This was done to prevent a serious shift in power that would have happened if Hamas would have been recognized on the world stage. Instead, because of the reactions of the West, Palestine fell into civil war and has never recovered since (dejavu eh).  Former US President Carter called western rejection of Hamas's election victory a criminal act.

The fall of the current Egyptian government would likely not result in extremist being elected but would definitely result in the loss of some control that the west has over the Arab world and therefore have a dramatic effect on many world issues such as Israel, the price of oil, the “War on Terror”(what a fuckin oxymoron…war is terror) and many other globally significant concerns. Furthermore this ideology is clearly spreading. My prayers and full support are with the protesters. So if your not watching this unfold now, you should! This is defiantely history being written.

Sorry, just felt like sharing that. Now back to your regularly scheduled program of music and rapidy raps.

Cityreal