Rapper Chris Hamilton, also known as Illtone, is bringing the hope and his rhymes back to Powell River when he rocks an all-ages show on Saturday, May 18.
The 26-year-old rapper from the Comox Valley has had his fair share of struggles. He started drinking at 10, stealing liquor from his parents. From there he moved to smoking pot at 12, and by his mid-teens was regularly taking ecstasy and cocaine. All the while he wrote rhymes, but it was just a hobby, he said. He co-founded the Vancouver Island-based hip hop group Broken Logic.
Hamilton moved to Vancouver for work at 21 and was introduced to a wide range of artists who inspired him to step up his hip hop game.
By January 2012 he was ready to deal with his addictions, so he checked himself into a rehabilitation facility. His journey to sobriety inspired the lyrics on his debut album, Bringin’ the Hope Back, which was released on URBNET Records at the end of February this year. As a graduate of Pacific Audio Visual Institute, he recorded, mixed and produced the whole album himself.
Hamilton has been clean and sober for more than a year now and aims to keep it that way.
“It’s all about getting back to living as the person I was before, rediscovering who I am and getting back with my music,” he said.
The rapper calls himself an abstract hip hop artist. “I touch on different genres,” he said. “It’s rock influenced with electro and I bridge the gap between old school and new school hip hop. I like to mix it up a bit and keep it interesting.”
He teamed up with some of Canada’s best vocalists on the album. It features vocals from Juno nominees Jasmin Parkin of Mother Mother, and Kyprios (formerly of Sweatshop Union). Also on the album is Skryptcha, a talented Australian MC from Australia’s Obese Records.
Hamilton has watched his music’s popularity rise with the release. Two tracks on the album broke the top five on Canadian university campus radio and he has opened shows for some of the top acts in Canadian hip hop.
“I wasn’t looking for this project to be a huge hit, it’s an underground hip hop project, but it has exceeded my exceptions,” he said.
He is currently in the middle of his month-long tour of BC to promote the album. He usually plays with his backing band, King’s Landing, when performing shows in Vancouver, but on his whirlwind BC tour he is only bringing his DJ.
Hamilton said he likes all-ages shows because it gives younger people, who are not allowed into bars, the chance hear live hip hop.
For more information about Hamilton and his music, readers can visit his website to hear his songs, follow him on Twitter @illtone or find him on Facebook.
Hamilton will present his all-ages show at 9 pm on Saturday, May 18, at the Royal Canadian Legion, Powell River Branch 164, 6811 Alexander Street. Tickets are available at the door only and are priced on a sliding scale from $15 to $10.
