Hip Hop fans in Lethbridge owe a ton to James Nishima (DJ Booda), a local promoter who consistently brings quality shows to a city barely scraping the 80,000+ mark – let alone the percentage of hip hop fans that makeup the local population. I met James through one of the former supporters of CKXU – Lethbridge’s local indy radio stations, when we struck a deal to photograph one of the local acts coming through.

Since that evening I’ve been fortunate to shoot Naughty by Nature, Kardinal Offishall, Raekwon (of Wu Tang Clan fame), and now Tech N9ne. Tech and his crew certainly didn’t disappoint, his years in hip hop back him well – a seasoned performer with intense flow, clarity and precision on the mic.

Some of the dangers of shooting in a nightclub are the distraction of drunk patrons, the lack of shooting space, and the nightclub egos getting in the way of making great frames. Shooting solo with thousands of dollars of camera gear strapped to your back can be an unnerving experience, but I roll up my short sleeves, sport my tattoos and make a mean face to give this big boy some “working room”.

I shot from the crowd last night as administration was being quite strict with stage access, thank god for height – being 6’5″ really helped in this situation (the poor people behind me). I look forward to the next big show Booda brings to town, the small venues – quality shows and great access makes for fertile ground for photographers looking to increase their portfolio of live music shoots.

Some frames from the show:

Related posts:

1. Scenes from the Underground