Kyprios returns to the Waverley Hotel on June 8 with an award-winning live band/hip-hop collaboration and special guest Tonye Aganaba.
On a road trip to New York City with Prevail from Swollen Members, aspiring MC/actor/poet Kyprios was compelled to lengthen his stay in hip-hop’s Mecca. Studying theatre at HB Studios in Greenwich Village, hitting monthly rap battles anywhere in NYC and participating in poetry slams at the Nuyorican Poetry Cafe, the young artist was learning amongst the most reputed craftsman and developing his trade amongst them.
Winning a poetry slam with a controversial spoken word piece Hate, Kyprios headed back to his hometown of North Vancouver to transfer his education into practice. Kyprios released the independent EP Mic Tease that would be the catalyst to get him performing numerous club shows and begin to host a weekly open mic poetry series dubbed Come With It in Vancouver.
During this period, Kyprios was also a founding member of the two time Juno-nominated Sweatshop Union. While working within the group, Kyp maintained his solo identity and continued to write and record his own material.
This output included three tracks featured on the Local 604 album, which was released by BattleAxe Records. BattleAxe also selected Kyp’s song Master for inclusion on their Lyrics Of Fury compilation.
Kyprios moved back to Vancouver, rejoined Sweatshop Union to begin a rigorous touring schedule and put out the Juno-nominated United We Fall, and the critically acclaimed Water Street albums.
He recently released a new solo offering entitled 12:12?, which propelled him into a radio competition for $100,000 in Vancouver, through the Peak radio station called the Peak Performance Project. Kyprios eventually went on to win this prestigious competition and recognizes this experience as the most informative/beneficial of his career.
Kyprios has toured all over North America solo and as part of Sweatshop Union with the likes of The Black Eyed Peas, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, The Roots, Rakim, Living Legends, Swollen Members and Jurassic Five to name a few.
His soulful live band, the Chaperones, features a dynamic cast of players capable of supporting the range of emotions Kyprios explores from the tender poetry of Sadder Days to the challenging spoken word of Hate to the slammin’ party vibe of Ignorance is Beautiful.
Aganaba is a dynamic and sultry singer-songwriter born in the United Kingdom, and raised in Canada. Now based in Vancouver, she has lent her voice to an ever-increasing collection of music spanning all genres.
Most recently, she gained notoriety within the electronic world following her No. 1 Dubstep track [Beatport] - So Good with Vancouver super producer Hirshee.
For more about the musicians, visit http://kyprios.com and http://tonyeaganaba.com.
Tickets are available at Bop City, the Waverley Hotel or by phone at 250-336-8322. Doors open at 9:30 p.m.
— Cumberland Village Works