A longtime dream for lakecity hip hop artists Bryan Delaronde (Bioson) and Nick Hennigar (Saint Nick) is now a reality as they prepare to embark on a tour through Western Canada.
Billed the Watchu Hatin’ For Western Canada Tour Bioson, an emcee, and Saint Nick, a DJ, will be putting their talent on display alongside First Nations emcee, Illiano of Winnipeg, Man., during the tour, which will see the trio rip up four cities in just one week.
“We had talked about a tour for years and then one day Bioson made a post on Facebook asking booking agents to e-mail him if they wanted to see us in their city and the response was insane,” Hennigar said.
Combined, Delaronde and Hennigar have close to one million views on their music on YouTube.
Hennigar has filmed and edited many of Delaronde’s music videos, while Bioson, meanwhile, has worked with the likes of popular underground hip hop artist Esoteric of Boston, Mass., Mad Child of Vancouver’s Swollen Members and none other than the son of legendary NWA rapper Eazy-E, Baby Eazy-E, to name a few.
The tour kicks off this Friday, July 15, in Williams Lake at CJ’s Southwestern Grill with a 7 p.m. start, before shifting into Kamloops the following evening, July 16, at the Dirty Jersey.
Next, they perform in Prince George on July 19 at Wing ‘n’ Things, before wrapping up in Abbotsford on July 22 at Gators Pub.
Hennigar said anyone attending Friday evening’s show in Williams Lake will be in for a treat.
“People can expect high energy, and a lot of people,” he said.
“We’ve just about sold out that show.
Photo: Bryan 'Bioson' Delarone
“Illiano hasn’t been here in a couple years so he’s really excited and he’s really well known in the Cariboo [because of his First Nations heritage].”
Hennigar was most recently the DJ during the Canada Day Skate and BMX Jam in Boitanio Park, and is also a member of a Quesnel-based group, D4TC (Down 4 The Cause).
“Basically we’re hip hop artists who do charity events,” he said.
“We raised $7,000 at a show in Quesnel for a four-year-old girl’s double eye surgery, then another $2,300 for another girl’s wheelchair modifications the day before Canada Day.”
He’ll also have a DJ booth setup at August’s Revelation Music Festival in Forest Grove.
Tickets for the Williams Lake show will be available at the door and are $10.