Snoh Aalegra - Toronto 2018

Updated: Mar 23

This painting of Snoh Aalegra is made using an Acrylic Silver Screen style on Birch Wood, the original size is 12x16 inches. The portrait was completed on December 15, 2015.

If I have a clear memory of it, I first discovered Snoh Aalegra in 2015 through the Okay Players website. The first song I heard from her was Emotional produced by, none other than the legendary RZA from Wu-Tang Clan. Growing up in the '90s with hardcore sounds on heavy boom-bap drumming, this song is a sweet way to give a new life to the sounds of my youth. The original production of RZA is on Raekwon's album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." The song titled "Verbal Intercourse" Featuring Ghostface Killah and Nas. This production by RZA is itself sampled from the song titled "If You Think It (You May As Well Do It) by The Emotions. The Emotions are a Chicago-based R&B trio who have been thriving since the '70s as a leading team. The trio is composed of Sheila Hutchinson who is the leading singer, and her two sisters Wanda and Jeanette.

So that first song triggered my mind and made me do some further searching on her. I watched interviews and read articles to know where she came from and what she stood for as an artist. My first impression was "A gorgeous woman with talent, who seems to have her head on her shoulders". I remember sending myself a link to keep her in mind, and to follow the path of her career. However, it was not til 2016 that I started to have a closer look at Snoh's journey as an artist. This is by listening to her EP titled "There Will Be Sunshine" released in 2014. My three favorite songs on the EP are "Paradise" and "Bad Things" featuring Common and "There Will Be Sunshine". The producers of the EP are Stelios Phili, Leven Kali, No I.D.

In 2016, Snoh released another EP titled "Don't Explain" which in my opinion is one of her best works. That one feels like a soundtrack and perfectly fits the notion of the Cinematic Orchestra that Snoh often spoke of. The flow and the rhythm of the album are harmonious, everything blends perfectly, the voice and the sounds. You can listen to all the songs successively like scenes of a movie.

For a period of time, I have been immersed in her music, and have been diligently following her on social media.

2018 is the year I officially met Snoh Aalegra during the "Feels" North American Tour. The "Feels" album was released in 2017. This was quite a journey for me, on the 26th of September 2018, I woke up early to travel from Ottawa to Toronto by train. I roamed in the city during the day, til the doors started to open at the Adelaide Hall for the concert that would start at 8:00 PM. It was not my first time in Toronto, I still enjoy visiting there.

I was part of the Meet & Greet group. So I was waiting in line to meet her. We spoke for a moment, I offered her a gift and took two pictures with her as you can see below.

The items you can see below were part of the Meet & Greet package. However, I got myself a Vinyl that Snoh signed before the show, and a long-sleeved tee after the show. I was looking for a hoodie B.U.T. there was no more left.

It is the beautiful Mereba that opened the show. I just got to know her there and saw her live performance on that day. I remember her performing the"Black Truck" song. I really like Mereba. She has a large spectrum of musical flavors to offer and in the past years, I have witnessed her mature and flourish artistically in a tremendous way. Her latest works are the album "The Jungle Is The Only Way Out" released in 2019, and the EP AZEB released in 2021.

Snoh Aalegra performed songs from the album "Don't Explain", also obviously from the "Feels" album, then she treated the crowd with an exclusive performance of the song "Find Someone Like You" from the album "Ugh, Those Feels Again" which would be released in 2019. She also performed some cover songs. The Adelaide Hall is an intimate space its capacity is less than 500 people. Therefore, it offers a warmer ambiance. I could've been easily close to the stage, however, I stayed a few meters back. I can say that I really enjoyed the show, the band definitely played their part.

Following "Feels" Snoh Aalegra released two albums, "Ugh, Those Feels Again" (2019) and "TEMPORARY HIGHS IN THE VIOLET SKIES" (2021). The latest is a single titled "Forever" released in August 2023.

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You can take a look a the videos below.

All I Have - Band Introduction