DORIAN GEIGER
Arts Writer

Quitting your job, selling your worldly possessions and boarding an RV for five weeks in summer to travel across Canada with your friends is a tempting prospect ”“ and one that the Victoria indie hip-hop group Pocket Kings have made a reality.

Formed in 2007, the Pocket Kings have emerged as one of the west coast’s finer hip-hop acts and members Scram, Tainted Saint and Part-time Steve have sacrificed a lot but are excited to roll through the prairies of Saskatchewan in early July as part of the group’s Unnatural Disaster tour, named after their most recent LP.

“In Saskatchewan, we hope to bring our style of hip hop to an already vibrant scene that we know will accept us as real Canadian hip-hop,” said the lyrically feisty Scram via email from Penticton, B.C., last week.

The Vancouver Island rappers will be making a Saskatoon cameo at Amigos on July 17 alongside Queen City products Pimpton and Kid Kriss, as well as special guest Jiddles.

“We have given up everything we own to go on this tour ”“ jobs, cars, material belongings ”“ and have set out to become the flashiest hobos Canada has ever seen,” added Scram.

“I’ve sold both my cars ”“ one was my low-rider ”“ as well as my chrome chopper bike, the rest of the electronics, art, snowboards to do this,” said other Pocket Kings’ frontman Tainted Saint of the sacrifices he’s made to put his music on the road.

In an era where everyone seems to be a rapper or emcee, the Pocket Kings had to struggle to get their foot in the door on the obscure Canadian hip-hop scene. Sacrificing everything they had to their name for music seemed to be a brilliant solution.

“I basically have the clothes in the RV and that’s it,” added Tainted Saint.

However, gambling is a component of the Pocket Kings roots so the group should feel natural laying all their cards on the table in the face of their cross-Canada excursion.

“We were playing a fair amount of poker at the time, cleaning people out, and if you’ve ever played poker, you know pocket kings are a pretty deadly hand, plus our studio was on Kings Road (in Victoria),” revealed Saint as to the origin of hip-hop collective’s name.

The Pocket Kings all met up through hip-hop battles in Victoria. Despite their underground beginnings, their music is not typical hip-hop and tends to draw fans from many genres.

They present a variety of colourful sounds ”“ from a Sublime-esque swagger to lyrically intelligent hip-hop, the universal genius of the Pocket Kings are for an expansive demographic. Mellow songs like “Dayawns” or “Ms. Officer” that can be found on the Pocket Kings MySpace page, boast the perfect vibe for a lazy summer afternoon on the porch.

Pocket Kings are becoming more sought after on their home turf too and recently have done shows with Warren G, Wutang’s GZA, Blue Scholars, Common Market and Sweatshop Union.

“The geography, climate and people seem to be a whole new world two provinces over. It’s always great to have the chance to play to new crowd and gauge responses. But mainly I am excited to see the women!” added the wily Saint about his anticipation to travel to Saskatchewan.

See the Pocket Kings with special guests Pimpton, Kid Kriss and Jiddles at O’Hanlons in Regina on July 13 and on July 17 in Saskatoon at Amigos. They continue their tour with Thunder Bay on July 22, Montreal on July 29, Toronto on July 30, and Ottawa on July 31.