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www.mistermckee.blogspot.com
The "Never Say Never Tour" Blog
by Mr.McKee.
(Mr. McKee is a booking agent based out of Toronto that has toured many top acts in Canada including: Rihanna, Black Eyed Peas, G-Unit, Busta, The Roots and many more)
In November of 2008, Canada laid witness to one of the biggest concert tours of the year that featured some of hip hop's most interesting artists all together on one stage...and even one tour bus for 3 weeks. Some of hip hop's biggest rivals managed to set their past differences aside and came together on the "Never Say Never Tour" which featured Detroit's D12 and Royce da 5'9 alongside Joe Budden and some of Canada's brightest stars in Classified (who just inked an album deal through Sony) and Peter Jackson (one of the hottest new talents out of the Toronto area). Many hip hop fans often scratch their heads after witnessing a tour like this and ask why there aren't more tours like this? Why cant more hip hop acts join forces and give fans some real value for their concert dollar? As the booking agent responsible for putting together this tour, I too often wonder why more artists and their management teams dont do the same. I can't speak on future tours like this but I can lay out the ups and downs and in and outs of how this tour came together:
I have represented Royce da 5'9 for several years and toured him in Canada in support of his 2004 Koch release "Death is Certain" and have done a handful of dates for him in the US and Canada since then. Royce's long time manger Kino and I had discussed putting together some Canadian dates for Royce to help re-introduce him to Canada as he hadn't toured up here for some time and for many well documented reasons. At the same time, I was in the infant stages of planning Royce's dates, D12's new manager Rico got in contact with me about setting up a D12 solo tour. I then mentioned this to Royce's manager who had discussed with me their recent settling of differences and thought it may be a good idea to get D12 & Royce involved on the same tour. I then reached out to Obie Trice's management and asked them to be apart of an all Detroit artists tour and they agreed since I had toured Obie in Canada coast to coast on 3 seperate occasions as well as various spot dates for Obie on both sides of the border in the past few years and all tours were a big success. I had several conferences calls over the next few days with all 3 management teams and all agreed that their differences had been set aside.....and that this tour was something that the fans would be ecstatic to come see.
After several weeks of work lining up the tour with over 20 clubs and promoters across Canada for Obie, Royce, D12 with support act Peter Jackson....all shows were on sale and doing well, special work permits had been paid for and processed for the few parties that had various issues in getting across the border into Canada. Obie was not one of those people that we applied for a permit for because in the 3 previous tours I had booked for him, he never had any issues getting in and out of Canada. With about 1 week left before the tour was to start and several shows already sold out, radio & print ads purchased, flyers printed etc, immigration officials made me aware that Obie would not be allowed through the border and that if he came on the tour bus and tried to enter Canada, the entire touring party would be turned away.
You can imagine the feeling in the pit of your stomach after receiving a phone call like that after 3 months worth of work & now facing the possibility that the past few months of your life were more than likely a complete waste of time and you will have to return all deposits to the promoters and will now not make a single penny for your troubles....never mind the lost future wages as several of these clubs will not be quick to work with you again. Many people watch shows like "Entourage" and characters like "Ari Gold" and think being an agent is all glamour and Hollywood parties and on occasion it can be.....But the vast majority of the time is spent dealing with major headaches like how to keep a 20 plus city together 1 week before your headliner has been pulled from the tour!
Kino & Rico got on their phones immediately in hopes keeping this tour together for the sake of their own artists and quickly came up with the idea of getting another recent rival in Joe Budden to jump on this tour last minute along with Canadian artist Classified, who has quite a following of his own in Canada and had previously worked on a song "Unexplaianable Hunger" with Royce.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqkjJYA4rYw (video of Royce/Class)
Getting Budden involved in the tour created another set of conference calls to insure their past beefs had been resolved seeing how it would be 13 people all together on one tour bus for the next 3 weeks......thankfully they all agreed their beefs were a thing of the past & that they were re - Swagg News
By Edith Zikmann
What is being called one of the biggest tours in Canadian history, the Never Say Never Tour, kicked off with a bang at the Big Sexy in Oshawa Nov. 14.
The club was jam-packed with hordes of fans there to see some of their favourite artists, including D12 and Royce da 5’9.
Obie Trice dropped out of the tour and was replaced by Classified and Joe Budden, making the show even bigger and better.
It was the first day of the tour for local Canadian Hip-Hop Artist Peter Jackson, who is set to accompany the tour for 10 days as it travels across Canada from Alberta, Manitoba and B.C.
Opening acts included 9-0 Nickel, Mad Ill, General, GFive and the Illish Fam, Tha Smugglerz and High Def.
Jackson marked the day with the release of his EP The Introduction, which he passed out to the crowd of screaming fans. Fans were pleased, gloating about the free give-aways.
“Peter Jackson was off the hook, I even got a free CD,” said Nathan Lee, an attendee at the show.
“I started enjoying the show as soon as Peter Jackson got on!” said Conrad Lasecki who also attended the show.
When Classified got on stage the crowd went wild as fans pushed to get as close as possible to the rapper.
“Oh my God, I LOVE HIM!” screamed one young fan.
“He is SO HOT!” screamed another.
Royce da 5’9 followed, drawing even more screams from the crowd as he appeared on stage with flashy jewelry, sunglasses and a black graphic tee.
Altogether, fans were pleased with the show,
“The show was great, a lot of big acts. I had a lot of fun,” said Conrad Lasecki.
Edith Zikmann
COOL FACTOR: Kid Vishis and Royce da 5’9 pose while live on stage at the Big Sexy in Oshawa Nov. 14. Local rapper Peter Jackson promoted his new EP “The Introduction” which he passed out for free.
- Edith Zikmann
Discography
Peter Jackson Has two singles out right now off of his first EP,
Singles r -Paper Boy Ft. Royce Da 5'9
Come On Over Ft JmorE
Peter Jackson has had music featured on 50 plus Mix Cds across the world and also put out 5 of his own mix cds.
Photos
Bio
At the age of fourteen, Michael Smith, also known as Peter Jackson, began his rap career. What started as a childhood hobby soon developed into a full-fledged passion, some may even call it an obsession. Growing up in a middle class, predominantly white suburb of Toronto, Peter Jackson would have to struggle to gain respect for his talent. He emerced himself in all aspects of Hip Hop culture and was captivated by this rapidly growing industry. Family members were shocked to find that this once "less-than-ambitious high school student" was now dedicating his free time to reading and studying the dictionary in order to expand his vocabulary. It wasn't long before Peter Jacksons bedroom, and the rest of the house for that matter, was littered with scraps of paper with his lyrics scribbled all over them.
Peter Jackson always believed that Hip Hop and emceeing would be his life and was determined to convince others to believe in his dream as much as he did. In one song his lyrics sing, "I can't, I won't, I will not lose, I gotta win". This played out to be Peter Jacksons mantra in life. It's his do-or-die attitude, which sets him apart from other artists emerging today. He is young, confident and ambitious. He entered a recording studio for the first time at the young age of fifteen; unimpressed with what the producer could do, he set out in search of someone who would take him seriously. It took Peter Jackson over four years of constant hard work before he met the producer who would change everything.
At the age of fourteen, Michael Smith, also known as Peter Jackson, began his rap career. What started as a childhood hobby soon developed into a full-fledged passion, some may even call it an obsession. Growing up in a middle class, predominantly white suburb of Toronto, Peter Jackson would have to struggle to gain respect for his talent. He emerced himself in all aspects of Hip Hop culture and was captivated by this rapidly growing industry. Family members were shocked to find that this once "less-than-ambitious high school student" was now dedicating his free time to reading and studying the dictionary in order to expand his vocabulary. It wasn't long before Peter Jacksons bedroom, and the rest of the house for that matter, was littered with scraps of paper with his lyrics scribbled all over them.
Peter Jackson always believed that Hip Hop and emceeing would be his life and was determined to convince others to believe in his dream as much as he did. In one song his lyrics sing, "I can't, I won't, I will not lose, I gotta win". This played out to be Peter Jacksons mantra in life. It's his do-or-die attitude, which sets him apart from other artists emerging today. He is young, confident and ambitious. He entered a recording studio for the first time at the young age of fifteen; unimpressed with what the producer could do, he set out in search of someone who would take him seriously. It took Peter Jackson over four years of constant hard work before he met the producer who would change everything.
With the help of Dave Sheldon, Peter Jackson began feverously creating track after track in a small home based studio. With 120 songs, hundreds of freestyle battles, and countless basement performances later, Peter Jackson would headline his own show. Not only was Peter Jackson the main performer of the event he was also responsible for putting the entire show together. He was the one who designed the flyers and posters, he graveled to store owners to sponsor his show, and pounded the pavement promoting his dream. Not only did the show go off as planned, Peter Jackson filled the club making his inaugural performance a hit with over 500 for his first show.
This young artist is tenacious and determined. His lyrics are insightful and he is willing to challenge the boundaries of the Rap and Hip Hop industry we know today. Peter Jackson doesn't claim to have come from a life of hardship, nor does he tell stories of struggling with a dysfunctional family. He grew up in a loving two-parent home and was given every opportunity in the world. Peter Jackson went out and still did everything he had to do to get a little bit more, never really satisfied, he went out and hustled and worked his butt to the bone. Yet his music examines issues that many youth and young adults can relate to. At times his rhymes are hard and unapologetic, but he can also captivate a club with a beat and an unforgettable hook. When he spits the words to one of his ballads, tears are flowing before the end of the first verse.
There is no doubt that Peter Jackson can go toe-to-toe with the big acts. He has opened up for artists such as Beanie Man, Joe Budden, Dipset, Llyod Banks, Kardinal Offishall, Bishop, Nas, Rupee, Elephant Man, Wu Tang Clan, and Rich Boy. He also has a remix track with Lil'Mo and Jim Jones on the Fly Society mix tape with P-Flex. Peter Jackson demonstrates the maturity of a man twice his age and wisdom beyond his
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