skulK!d Lights a Match in Ottawa's Downtown Core with Rage Rap-Focused Event GHETT0 G0THIC
With an aim to provoke the 9-5 lullaby of the National Capital Region, rage rap artist skulK!d invites you to the second edition of GHETT0 G0THIC on Friday, February 28th at Club SAW. When night falls, GHETT0 G0THIC’s lineup of disruptive performers and DJs hailing from so-called Ottawa will swarm the beloved artist-run centre’s stage. This next installment of GHETT0 G0THIC will see performances by Treus Jones, Wes Calliope, Namix Kilowatt, skulK!d, Expired Youth, and a B3B DJ set from GothBitch, TTRILLS, and PC.
Conceptually celebrating the unity of hip hop, punk and gothic aesthetics, the night also features a pop-up shop from local punk-inspired brand The Craaft and encourages attendees to embrace its crepuscular theme: Fuck Marry Kill. Suggested attire includes wedding dresses, veils, leather, lace, blood-soaked and tattered clothing, and red/black/white monochrome.
The event series is the brainchild of skulK!d, the moniker of Ottawa-based hip hop artist, producer, DJ, event programmer and youth mentor, Tafari Hall. Paying homage to the New York warehouse club movement of the same name—created by Harlem’s DJ Venus X in 2009—Hall’s rendition of GHETT0 G0THIC acknowledges the relationship between tenets Black culture and gothic culture, previously reflected on by the concept’s original founder.
Tafari Hall AKA skulK!d, photo courtesy of the artist
“Venus X’s thoughts on the connections between Black and Gothic culture have had a huge influence on me as an artist,” explains Hall. “Despite Black artists exploring darker themes through music, the space hasn’t been claimed historically by Black people. Suffering and trauma have followed me, and other Black artists, throughout our lives, and I wanted to create a rebellious outlet to explore these experiences while immersed in a thematic environment, as gothic elements have always intrigued me,” he adds.
Like Venus X, Hall’s beginnings in the music industry began with DJing. Now performing predominantly as a solo artist, Hall is inspired by alternative rappers dominating cloud rap and trap circles, such as Playboi Carti and Trippie Redd, fashion brands like HPA, as well as filmmaker David Lynch. Having recently retired his previous pseudonym Yung Heat in favour of his skulK!d persona, the spirit of GHETT0 G0THIC wholly personifies Hall’s stylistic shift and musical aspirations.
“With Yung Heat, I felt like I was going down a road of conformity. I wasn’t having fun, I like to call it selling out. skullK!d is embracing my inner child; my act of defiance against parts of myself that prioritize the needs and feelings of others over my own,” says Hall. “I think the hip hop scene [in Ottawa] has been very curated. I don’t want to subscribe to that, both in my sound and with what I bring to the community. Of course, I’m extremely privileged in my ability to experiment with my music. It’s not my means of putting food on the table and paying the bills.”
While Hall moonlights with his artistic and curatorial pursuits, his primary calling is leading Produced By Youth, a by-and-for Black youth music mentorship program, of which he is a founder. While Hall notes that hip hop and its practitioners are being more widely celebrated in Ottawa, he feels there are few outlets that encourage experimentation and challenging the status quo.
“While Produced By Youth is a space for people in hip hop and rap to experiment and rebel, we are limited in our ability to reach the entire Black community of Ottawa. I also don’t think GHETT0 G0THIC is necessarily going to solve all the issues affecting the local music scene, whether it be the lack of venues or opportunities. That said, I can lead by example and share the resources available to me to help others push the envelope, perform, book events and make noise. I’m hoping it will be enough to inspire others to continue the work or do more,” explains Hall.
As the original stomping grounds of Produced By Youth, Club SAW continues to be Hall’s venue of choice to host GHETT0 G0THIC and other programming. A longstanding resident of Ottawa’s historic Arts Court building (the former Carleton County Court House, now home to artistic organizations of all disciplines) SAW Gallery and its adjacent programming spaces has supported politically and socially engaged mediums since its inception in 1973. Since relocating to Arts Court in 1989, the artist-run centre’s activism-oriented mandate has rendered evermore palpable due to the history of its walls.
skulK!d performing at Club SAW, courtesy of the artist
On Club SAW, Hall shares: “Being able to operate and reclaim radically in this institution, a City of Ottawa building, where unthinkable atrocities were brought upon Black people, Indigenous people and people of colour, is truly one of the most unique experiences of programming [arts events] Ottawa. The space nurtures creativity and gives back to the community,” he adds.
Acting as the connective tissue for Ottawa’s subversive and gloomy, GHETT0 G0THIC will see protégés and collaborators from Hall’s inner circle deliver “unholy, unruly and unforgettable” performances from 8:00pm ‘til late. General admission tickets are available for $15 for a limited time.
skulK!d
Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (she/her) is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of Also Cool Mag. Aside from the mag, she is a music promoter & booker, and a radio host & DJ.