Friday, December 28, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
New Video: Price - Dreams To Reality
The visuals for emcee/professional soccer player Price's new single Dreams To Reality off his sophomore mixtape No Boundaries, hosted by Statik Selektah.
Samo's 2012 Toronto Hip-Hop Yearbook
Album: The Closers - Rich Kidd & Son Real
Mixtape: Cakey Pocket$ - Raz Fresco, hosted by DJ Holiday
Single: Syke - Rich Kidd
Anthem: Money Made Me Do It - A-Game x Luu Breeze
Video: Angels - P.Reign
Feature: Mr. Parker - Kardinal Offishall feat. Shi Wisdom
Performer: JellyTooFly
Producer: T-Minus
DJ: Lissa Monet
Host: Trixx
Manager: Addy Papa
Concert: Juicy J @ Opera House
Radio Show: Royalty Radio
Venue: Opera House
Breakout Emcee: C-Flowz
Breakout Producer: Wondagurl
Top 10 Memorable Moments in Toronto Hip-Hop This Year (Good, Bad & Ugly)
10. Reema
Major signs to Brick Squad Monopoly
9. Lauryn
Hill performs intimate concert for OnexOne charity 
7. Blake Carrington wears daughter Story around his neck during City on my Back Stylus Cypher
6. Lamar Taylor & Hyghly Alleyne win MMVA’s best hip-hop video for “The Motto”
5. Drake graduates high school and attends Jarvis Collegiate Institute graduation
4. DJ Lissa Monet becomes first female to win Stylus’ Toronto DJ of the Year
3. Raekwon
and Ghostface close off NXNE by performing at Dundas Square in front of 25,000
people
2. P Reign
releases “Angels” single/video in memory of Shyann Charles & Joshua Yasay
killed in the Danzig shooting
1. 15 year
old Wondagurl wins Battle of the Beatmakers
Year after year we hear it: "It's MY year!" Get familiar with some of the artists that really put on in 2012.
Rich Kidd - The OG
Thank you to everyone interested in pushing
our culture forward. It was a proper 2012 and I'm anticipating what is to come for the Toronto hip-hop community.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Q&A with Haley Small
HOW HAS IT BEEN FOR YOU AFTER RECENTLY SIGNING TO EBONY SON MANAGEMENT? It’s been awesome! I met Jay Dixon, who is my manager now, two years ago, and we were working together on and off and eventually we decided to unofficially partner up and try and get things going for my career so that worked really well. We recorded a lot of music. He came down to Toronto and I went to LA, we took a bunch of different trips and then after a certain period of time we felt like having more of a team on board would have been great. His brothers are Chaka Zulu and Jeff Dixon from Disturbing Tha Peace and Ebony Son is obviously owned by DTP so he showed them the music and I went down to Atlanta and met them and they were down to come on to the project. We decided to join forces and it’s been great because it’s another bunch of people working towards the same goal. Ever since then, I’ve just been going back and forth to Atlanta and recording with different producers.
HOW ARE YOU USING THIS NEW DEVELOPMENT TO PROPEL YOUR CAREER? Ebony Sons, obviously being owned by DTP and having the success of Ludacris, they have a lot of connections, so using it to get heard and have the right people hear what I’m doing and get to know me. The advice from people that have been a success story already has been great, letting me know what I need to be doing and working with different people that can shed insight on different things vocally, musically, business wise and promotion wise.
WHAT WAS SOME OF THE ADVICE YOU WERE GIVEN? The last time I went down to Atlanta, I felt like I really found myself, which is something that I feel artists have to take time to do. For me, I grew up mimicking people and not really knowing what I want to sound like. Eventually, I realized I needed to find my own sound. I worked with a guy named J-Rel in the studio for about a week and he helped me define my sound and really pushed my limits in the studio, which helped me, grow vocally. When I got back to Toronto, I felt different, that my voice was defined and I knew more where I was going.
WHAT CAN PEOPLE EXPECT FROM YOUR UPCOMING SHOW AT REVIVAL ON DECEMBER 29? I know a lot of people haven’t heard a lot of my original music, because over the years, I’ve created so much, but I never put anything out, for a lot of different reasons. I was always scared to put music out, because I didn’t really know my sound, but over the past year and a half, I’ve really found that sound so I really want to share that with everyone and put on a good show and have fun. I want people to get a sense of who I am, through the show.
The Closers finale and launch of The Music Biz App
Jen Holness, owner of Hungry Eyes Film & Television, who produced The Mu$ic Biz as the company’s first app ever, explained that the game is a simulation of the music industry from production to management to music. “You are a music mogul. You can create music. You run your label. You manage your artists,” she stated. The app will officially be available December 12.
Rich Kidd, who put on an incredibly energetic show with his Closers comrade Son Real, is featured in The Mu$ic Biz, which is why Hungry Eyes and XMG chose to launch the app at the tour finale of the two emcees, explained Holness.
The wall-to-wall supporters at the venue welcomed Rich Kidd home with an incredible amount of support, providing energy that is usually unheard of for a Toronto crowd, but was well deserved for the pair who had hit up 12 cities on their tour together.
Rich Kidd and Son Real have both contributed to the Canadian hip-hop industry and garnered a name for them independently, but as a pair, The Closers reached the number three spot on iTunes for hip-hop sales. Son says they have accomplished what they planned to when they decided to unite for the joint album. “We did something that was innovative and definitely worth it. I don’t regret anything about it,” he said.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Interview with Miles Jones
HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE GROWN SINCE YOUR LAST ALBUM RUNAWAY JONES IN 2009? I think my taste for music as a fan has changed a lot since 2009. That has created a new bar for me as a creator as far as challenging myself and not staying in that hip-hop bubble, which is so easy to do, for any genre really. I started experimenting and listening a little bit more to song arrangements and structure in other music and try and apply that to what I was doing when I was creating and writing.
WHAT WAS THE VISION BEHIND YOUR LATEST PROJECT THE JONES ACT PART III? It kick-started with the single that I recorded about a year after I dropped my Runaway Jones project in 2009 and it was a song called “All Lies” and I was singing on the hook instead of getting someone else to come and sing the hook and you can say it created the blueprint to the theory and concept that I had for this record where I wanted to be able to kind of step out of myself. I find that it is a lot easier for me as an artist and as a creator to not only have to be necessarily myself in the way that, the way a writer writes a script, or the way a director directs a movie, it is sort of creating this character or imaginative space where you can allow yourself to express all these different sides. I was going through a lot… My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and I was dealing with that and a few things career wise that were changing and I felt that music was my outlet during that time and I was able to use The Jones Act as an escape and you can hear that in the record.
WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE WHEN PUTTING OUT THE NEW ALBUM? A challenge is always picking which songs that the industry wants to hear as your “single” or your hit and when you’re so close to a project and you’re so attached to something, it’s really hard to be objective and really feel what’s right for yourself and also what is right for your audience or for what the media is going to write about. I think that’s a constant ongoing challenge. For this project, we did something a little bit different. I had a comic book writer create an issue of a comic to a song called “Catch Me in the Rye”, which is track four on the record and it turned into an actual comic that we showcased at this comic convention and it spawned into this comic series. There is going to be other comic books written to go with each song on the record so it’s cool having the hit song and the music video, but I think for this record, I wanted to do something different and do something to make the listener think a little bit more and dig a little bit deeper than the traditional ways that we are told that we are supposed to consume music… It’s still a challenge to really push some of these ideas… My team and I are trying to figure out how to get these ideas to the forefront and inspire other artists to try these things as well.
Q&A with After The Smoke frontman Rob Coin
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF COLLABORATING IDEAS IN A GROUP DYNAMIC? I think we all bring something to the table since we are all open-minded when it comes to music and art so usually the process starts when one of us has a spark and someone contributes to that idea in their own way. It is just finding that balance between the different ideas that come up with something new. Usually I handle the songwriting and the producer takes over in terms of the beat direction… It’s a progressive idea and I think we all strive for each song to be extremely different from the previous work.
WHAT IS THE MOTIVE BEHIND AFTER THE SMOKE’S WORK? Destroy and rebuild. Everything we do is about deconstructing the visuals or deconstructing the sound and seeing how we can build it back into something new. We are not afraid of failing, we’re not afraid of falling and we take that motivation by doing something outside of the box without fearing if it will be a pop song or hit single versus building something that we like. With that as the spinal cord for our entire movement is how we’ve been building so instead of having a shotgun effect and going after everyone, we just been pinpointing our own sound and hopefully people have been gravitating towards that sound.
WHAT IS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR UPCOMING PROJECT MICROWAVES? Right now, it’s really an out of body experience type of vibe that I’m going for right now. It’s about being under the influence, whether it be drugs or under the influence of where you come from, who you hang around, or the society that you’re developing in. We are taking people on a journey sonically and visually so if you listen to our music or watch our videos, it puts you in a different place and a different state of mind. You can see what we see through our vision and that’s where we’re trying to take people.
WHAT WAS THE JOURNEY LIKE IN PUTTING THE MOST RECENT PROJECT TOGETHER? I wanted it to reflect something completely different from White Girls and Red Velvet Cake, our previous EP, and I think where the previous project was disjointed, I think this one is definitely an adventure. It’s less lyrically driven and more instrumentally driven. Microwaves is frying your brain. As soon as you pop in the album or take a listen, it’s going to take you on a trip. It’s highly influential.
WHAT IS A MAJOR LESSON YOU’VE LEARNED FROM THE INDUSTRY ON YOUR JOURNEY THUS FAR? Fuck everybody, except your home team. I’ve been able to meet a lot of people that I looked up to since I was younger as far as getting into the music and trying to strive to be within the music industry and I realized that there are a lot of smoke and mirrors and people aren’t how they seem. You can do a lot of your stuff on your own, granted there are a lot of advantages being a part of a major label when it comes to promoting, but if you want to take the extra step and go the extra step as far as marketing… then you can actually make a lot of things happen for yourself. It’s a very self-motivating experience if you’re able to take on that extra task.
Friday, November 30, 2012
For The Love Of Music Atlanta
At the 595 North in Atlanta, Dani and her co-host, Nick Da Host, welcomed artists of different genres from their home state as well as North Carolina, Missouri, California, New York and even Ontario, Canada who were taking part in the concert, all for the love of music.
“I see the struggle that a lot of independent artists have,” says Jacobs. “They don’t really have the opportunity to have a concert at a venue to showcase their talent so I felt that it was something that they work hard for and definitely deserve… My drive is just putting that love back into the music, not for fame or for fortune, but definitely for the love of music.”
The artists on the bill appreciate Dani’s approach. Not only were they truly grateful for the opportunity to share themselves with a new audience, they are grateful for the radio play on Jacobs’ show.
“It is very important that we all come together as a unit and help each other out to get to that next level. I think that it’s wonderful that they can bring a lot of independent great artists out and just have a great show and see people for who they are and what they’re doing,” says Ray.
The long list of artists entertained the crowd with their own unique sounds and styles bringing hip-hop, R&B and even dance to the bill, all receiving great feedback from the accepting crowd. The energy was inspiring and supportive, a vibe that is rare to find in the competitive nature of hip-hop, especially with so many artists in one room, but no one had anything to prove as the music spoke for itself.
“It’s not every day that a Canadian artist gets Atlanta exposure, it’s not every day an Oakland artist gets Atlanta exposure with Atlanta being the mecca of hip-hop right now,” says Rel. “It’s a pretty good look for all these artists and it’s a pretty good look for me. It’s a great melting pot of a lot of great people and a lot of different origins.”
Toronto’s own Price finished off the night with an energetic set and represented for his hometown in the Dirty South. No matter where in the world each artist was from, they all shared one unique trait – a love for music.
The Return of The Known Unknown
In an oversaturated music market, the key to success is originality and finding your own lane. Toronto’s own multi-talented artist Tika Simone has done just that with the comeback of her “The Known Unknown” showcase series that returned Sunday night at the Crawford and featured two up and coming Toronto artists who will headline the event, Derek Wise and Jelly Too Fly.
Jelly has become a staple in the Toronto hip-hop scene and is continuing to create a buzz throughout the USA with her new project King and an unmistakable stage presence that is hard to forget. It is safe to say the Toronto femcee kills every stage she performs on, so to kick-off the new “The Known Unknown” series with Jelly is a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Toronto artist Derek Wise is creating quite the buzz online as well with his latest project Vacay and was approached by Tika to be a part of the event. As his first ever performance as an artist, Derek says he is humbled by the opportunity.“It means a lot to me, because it lets me know that I’m on the right road. It’s definitely a good look,” he says. “[The event] does what it says. I’m unknown. I’m a new voice so this event will let [Toronto] know who I am.”
Tika took time away from the event series to rebrand it as a spotlight for up and coming Toronto artists. The event, which began in 2010 as Intimate & Interactive grew into something that Tika never even, expected. She returned with a bigger and better series for the city.
“Our mission is to prove that in Toronto, we actually have support for our own and are capable of supporting our own and not just our own on a large scale but on a small scale where people are generating their own attraction in the city,” Tika says.
“It’s really turned into this magnificent thing and I needed to figure out a way to not only showcase artists, but to bring it to Toronto on a bigger scale. We decided we are going to show the actual process that we go through and we are doing that through a reality web series.”
Tika says this web series will air weekly and will feature viral auditions, showcasing artists vying for a slot on the bill of the next event.
The multi-talented Tika humbly states that she is proud of her work on the project, the fruition of the event and every artist that she has gotten a chance to work with during the process. She says she hopes the series will take place monthly, along with seasonal larger scale events.
“I’m more of an idea person, I’ve never been really successful at the cultivation, but this is one of the few things that I can say I really worked my behind off on it and it came to be something very lovely and very close to me,” she says.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Toronto Hip-Hop Show Etiquette
How to be a Toronto hip-hop fan in 10 easy steps:
10. Show up three hours after the show is supposed to start and you'll be there on time
9. Stand by the wall/bar for all opening acts but turn all the way up for the headliner
8. Clubbing gear is acceptable. Ladies, wear your highest heels, because it only makes sense
7. Twitpic/Instagram every highlight of the show or else you weren't there and it never happened
6. When the artist says, "make some noise" or "put your hands up", don't do it. You are too cool for that
5. Don't pre-roll your spliffs/blunts. Make sure to roll up at the venue so everyone can see how live you are
4. Go Ham for free gear
3. When the DJ spins, spit along to every track you know except Drake's verses
2. Record the show on your phone instead of enjoying it live
1. Keep a permanent screwface. In fact, act like you are having zero fun and hate music altogether.
Or, you can just skip the show altogether and just hit up the after party...
By following these 10 simple steps, you'll be able to fit in at any Toronto hip-hop show!
9. Stand by the wall/bar for all opening acts but turn all the way up for the headliner
8. Clubbing gear is acceptable. Ladies, wear your highest heels, because it only makes sense
7. Twitpic/Instagram every highlight of the show or else you weren't there and it never happened
6. When the artist says, "make some noise" or "put your hands up", don't do it. You are too cool for that
5. Don't pre-roll your spliffs/blunts. Make sure to roll up at the venue so everyone can see how live you are
4. Go Ham for free gear
3. When the DJ spins, spit along to every track you know except Drake's verses
2. Record the show on your phone instead of enjoying it live
1. Keep a permanent screwface. In fact, act like you are having zero fun and hate music altogether.
Or, you can just skip the show altogether and just hit up the after party...
By following these 10 simple steps, you'll be able to fit in at any Toronto hip-hop show!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Video Interview with ATL's J-Rel
Interview with rapper J-Rel at the "For The Love Of Music" concert in Atlanta
Sunday, November 18, 2012
New Single - Dreams To Reality
Check out Price's new single "Dreams To Reality" off of his upcoming mixtape "No Boundaries", which will be hosted by Statik Selektah. He is bringing back true lyricism and an original flow on a knocking beat from Germany's Rato Beatz.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
On The Rise Interview
My interview with DJ Hotshot at On The Rise Radio CHRY 105.5FM on my personal journey and insight on the Toronto hip-hop industry.
Robin Givens' Stage Play "Joy in the Morning"
All lights were on Robin Givens at the opening night in Toronto of her play Joy in the Morning at The Queen Elizabeth Theatre Saturday night as she stepped off the stage and into a new role that she has never played before.
The renowned actress wrote and directed the full-length play by taking her mother’s book and worked with her to transform it into a live performance presented by Exclusive Entertainment Events and G98.7 FM. The cast, who had only four days to rehearse, featured several Torontonians including Canadian singer Divine Brown, and touched the crowd with its undeniable talent of acting and singing, while telling the powerful, yet comedic, story of love and forgiveness.
“Your story is your story. We are more the same than different. There really is only one story,” Givens said before the show began.
With limited props and only 96 hours of preparation, the talented cast performed the compelling story of Grace Edwards, who lost her husband in a horrible circumstance and must in turn forgive him and begin again to find herself. The cast sang out beautiful hymns, which echoed throughout the theatre.
There were many technical difficulties throughout the show, but the crowd was amused by the performance nonetheless. The characters and music got people out of their seats and they laughed, shouted and sang along with the actors throughout the story.
DJ “The Mailman” George Fynn presented Givens to the crowd and congratulated the cast after the show. “The show didn’t go unhinged. It wasn’t without hard work and trial to get this right. Every one of these people put their hearts in it to bring it to you,” he said.
Even with a few hiccups along the way, the hard work of Givens and the immense skills of the cast and crew are to be commended, as it is hard to believe the short amount of time they had to put together the compelling production.
“You can uplift people with the arts. I got my first big job in Toronto in an HBO movie when I was 16 years old and in many respects, Toronto has been very much home for me and I felt very comfortable here. So I want to offer my thanks in hanging in there with us,” Givens said to the audience during the play’s intermission with a hyper energy, strutting around the stage with her mic in hand, and apologizing for the imminent tech issues. “It’s a wonderful story, with [Toronto] talent.”
The renowned actress wrote and directed the full-length play by taking her mother’s book and worked with her to transform it into a live performance presented by Exclusive Entertainment Events and G98.7 FM. The cast, who had only four days to rehearse, featured several Torontonians including Canadian singer Divine Brown, and touched the crowd with its undeniable talent of acting and singing, while telling the powerful, yet comedic, story of love and forgiveness.
“Your story is your story. We are more the same than different. There really is only one story,” Givens said before the show began.
There were many technical difficulties throughout the show, but the crowd was amused by the performance nonetheless. The characters and music got people out of their seats and they laughed, shouted and sang along with the actors throughout the story.
Even with a few hiccups along the way, the hard work of Givens and the immense skills of the cast and crew are to be commended, as it is hard to believe the short amount of time they had to put together the compelling production.
“You can uplift people with the arts. I got my first big job in Toronto in an HBO movie when I was 16 years old and in many respects, Toronto has been very much home for me and I felt very comfortable here. So I want to offer my thanks in hanging in there with us,” Givens said to the audience during the play’s intermission with a hyper energy, strutting around the stage with her mic in hand, and apologizing for the imminent tech issues. “It’s a wonderful story, with [Toronto] talent.”
Triple F Life Tour
Social media sites such as Twitter and Tumblr had declared last Wednesday as National Brick Squad Day, it was only appropriate that the squad hit up Toronto the same day for its Triple F Life tour at Kool Haus. The show included performances by Wooh Da Kid, Toronto’s own 17-year-old femcee Reema Major, who was just recently signed to Brick Squad Monopoly and headliner the “Flex” screaming, dread-shaking capo Waka Flocka Flame.
Upon entering the venue, it was hard to believe that it was only Wednesday as Kool Haus was crowded with the triple F life – friends, fans and family – who came to party with the squad members, all of whom took turns exciting the crowd with their southern bangers.
This was no show, but rather a jam, as each performer made sure his/her first priority was connecting with the crowd. Usually concerts drag on for hours, as the artists take forever to reach the stage, creating long intermissions for the DJs to spin, but Brick Squad knew its purpose and succeeded at just that – turning up.
Wooh Da Kid opened up the show to a jumping, screaming mass of people as his two chains sparkled underneath the stage lights and announced that this was his first time in Canada, before jumping right into his set, performing tracks like “King Of Da Jungle” and “No Romance”.
The anticipation of Reema Major’s performance was buzzing throughout the night as the first lady of Brick Squad was recently signed to the label and had yet to perform in her home city since. The young artist entered the stage dressed in a colourful outfit with a lollipop in her hair and chain hanging from her lip to her ear, performing her hit, “I Am Legend” with intense energy. But to many people’s surprise, the crowd was unable to hear her voice over the music that blasted through the speakers. The city still showed her love however, as she repped the 416 onstage.
A sea of smartphones snapped and recorded as Waka hit the stage performing tracks off his latest album such as “Let Dem Guns Blam”, “Round Of Applause” and “Rooster In My Rari” with an unmistakable energy connecting with his fans by wearing their hats and jumping into the crowd, shaking his trademark locks as the beats vibrated through the bodies of each audience member. The audience came alive, giving back just as much energy to Flockaveli as he gave them, ending with his major hit “Hard In Da Paint” and that’s exactly what the crowd was.
Photos By: Martika Gregory
This was no show, but rather a jam, as each performer made sure his/her first priority was connecting with the crowd. Usually concerts drag on for hours, as the artists take forever to reach the stage, creating long intermissions for the DJs to spin, but Brick Squad knew its purpose and succeeded at just that – turning up.
The anticipation of Reema Major’s performance was buzzing throughout the night as the first lady of Brick Squad was recently signed to the label and had yet to perform in her home city since. The young artist entered the stage dressed in a colourful outfit with a lollipop in her hair and chain hanging from her lip to her ear, performing her hit, “I Am Legend” with intense energy. But to many people’s surprise, the crowd was unable to hear her voice over the music that blasted through the speakers. The city still showed her love however, as she repped the 416 onstage.
Photos By: Martika Gregory
Q Parker Q&A
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BREAK OUT FROM THE GROUP AND INTO YOUR SOLO CAREER? It feels wonderful. I like to say that 112 put me in the best position to start my venture into my solo career. You know how it is as a professional athlete to go through high school ball and college ball to finally reach the NBA, I feel like 112 prepared me, and any of us for that matter, for a solo career so I’ve been enjoying it, I’ve been implementing a lot of the same strategies and ways of doing things that 112 and Puffy instilled in us. I’ve been having fun with it.
WHAT WAS THE RECORDING PROCESS LIKE FOR THE MANUAL? I have my own studio so as I think of ideas and as I think of things I want to say, I just go in the studio and get with the producers and have a conversation about what we want to do with this particular song and from that point on, let the creative minds go in and do what they do. Once I come up with the lyrics, I just go in there, open my mouth and let it come out as it may.
WHAT WERE THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES FROM RECORDING THE MANUAL TO WORKING WITH 112? With the group, I go in and do my verse or background vocals, and then I tag the next man in. But with The MANual, it’s all me and that is something that at the beginning, I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to take on that task, but once I got into the thick of things, it became easy for me. I accepted the challenge, because as a solo artist, you have to do it all. You have to reel [listeners] in, you have to keep their attention, you have to take them somewhere and when it’s done, you have to have an experience with them musically and that’s something that I didn’t have to do so much as a member of 112, because I played my role. Whenever my number was called, I stepped up and assumed my position, but as a solo artist, everything is on your shoulders… Once I finally decided that I wanted to do a solo record, my mission was to service my female fans. I felt like there needs to be somebody that can directly speak to ladies and not to knock any other male artist, but I’m taking on that task. I know and understand what ladies want from their man from the perspective of their man. I know ladies want to be talked to, touched, made love to, treated and catered to a certain way and I’m expressing my views on that through my music.
HOW HAVE YOU GROWN SINCE THE PUBLIC LAST SEEN YOU? I’m much more mature. I’ve been watching how the landscape of the music industry has changed and just be able to adapt, adjust from my older teachings of the industry and implement them to my way of doings things now. During that time away, it gave me a renewed sense of determination and focus. I wanted to come out here and show that I am a viable part in this industry and that I can compete musically with the big dogs and so far, I think [my team’s] been doing a great job.
WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU FIT IN WITH TODAY’S R&B? I think I have some things that separate me. My voice is my voice. When you hear my voice, you’re going to hear the remnants of 112, but you’re also going to hear and really know who Q Parker is and I believe that if you put me toe to toe with any other male artist, I can definitely stand on my own.
He Has Risen tour
Smashmouth Entertainment lined up a bill stacked with creative artists, who each brought a whole other level of hype to the amped audience. Toronto’s own Jimmy B set the night off right by proving himself as a performer as he connected with the crowd by using his charm, before The Antiheroes hit the stage, bringing lyricism and their underground vibe to an already energetic night of hype hip-hop.
“These guys really know how to perform and put on a show for Toronto so it was really dope to see,” said Sha Prince of The Antiheroes about Flatbush Zombies & Smoke DZA. The Toronto hip-hop duo opened the show at both the Ottawa and Toronto stops of the He Has Risen tour and enjoyed learning from the other artists on the bill.
Cashius Green brought a different element and energy to the stage, wearing a one-piece ski suit hanging around his waist and rocking the crowd in a wolf mask at one point, as the venue soaked in his unique energy.
The Brooklyn badasses, Flatbush Zombies, performed tracks off of their D.R.U.G.S mixtape, such as “Thug Waffle”, but started off their set by paying dues to Canada by playing the country’s national anthem. Their set was on a next level of intense as the crowd went insane after the group members admitted they were on acid.
It is surprising that Wrongbar is still standing after such an interesting and creative night of high-energy artists. Each artist held his own as it was clear that this new age, rock star lifestyle of hip-hop is here and the artists are taking no prisoners.
DJ Drama "Street Quality Music" Listening Party
At a time in hip-hop where many artists are following oversaturated trends and releasing watered down lyrics, DJ Drama has brought it back to the essence of the streets with his new album Quality Street Music. The legendary DJ blessed Toronto by making an appearance at a private listening session of the LP at Liberty Studios last week, sharing insight on the production of each track and his vision behind the new project.
“This is the first body of Quality Street Music and for me, as far as albums go, it is my most polished, consistent, creative, collaborative effort thus far,” Drama said. “I feel like the response has been really good. The feedback has been really good and that’s what I’m most proud of.”
When defining what quality street music is, Drama listed names like Meek Mill, Nas, Yo Gotti and Fabulous. “[Quality street music is] a lot of people that define the culture and define music that comes from the streets that you don’t necessarily hear on the radio… It comes from word of mouth and people spreading it around and from there, building on and becoming bigger and better,” he said.
During the intimate listening session with some of Toronto’s music industry professionals, DJs, producers and artists, Drama shared album cuts that featured production from heavy hitters, including homegrown T. Dot talent T-Minus and Boi-1da and appearances from Fabulous, Nipsey Hussle, Young Jeezy, Jadakiss and more. Guests grabbed a beer and a patty and circled Drama, vibing to each track while a projector displayed clips from videos from the album such as “My Moment” featuring Jeremih, Meek Mill and 2Chainz, which was shot in Toronto during Caribana. Everyone had an opportunity to meet with Drama and each other, while enjoying the sound of some amazing hits from some of the hottest in the game.
Photos By: Martika Gregory
“This is the first body of Quality Street Music and for me, as far as albums go, it is my most polished, consistent, creative, collaborative effort thus far,” Drama said. “I feel like the response has been really good. The feedback has been really good and that’s what I’m most proud of.”
During the intimate listening session with some of Toronto’s music industry professionals, DJs, producers and artists, Drama shared album cuts that featured production from heavy hitters, including homegrown T. Dot talent T-Minus and Boi-1da and appearances from Fabulous, Nipsey Hussle, Young Jeezy, Jadakiss and more. Guests grabbed a beer and a patty and circled Drama, vibing to each track while a projector displayed clips from videos from the album such as “My Moment” featuring Jeremih, Meek Mill and 2Chainz, which was shot in Toronto during Caribana. Everyone had an opportunity to meet with Drama and each other, while enjoying the sound of some amazing hits from some of the hottest in the game.
Toronto’s own DJ Mensa says that Drama is one of the most influential DJs that he has come across and has earned his longevity in the game by adding his own element to conventional methods of his craft, like being politically aware and reaching out to artists that a typical mixtape DJ wouldn’t.
“He has a personality and he puts out a vibe that he is very much aware of the streets, but is also aware of global affairs as well and he is a more intelligent DJ. I really admire his work. In terms of branding, he is spectacular in terms of branding rappers, being a barometer of the streets and a tastemaker in that regard. He is a pioneer,” says Mensa.Photos By: Martika Gregory
Manifesto 2012 Launch Party
The centre was filled with hanging art pieces, as people inside the packed venue took time to soak in the beauty and creative messages from each creation.
Toronto artist Mark “Kurupt” Stoddart, who has participated and showcased his art installations at the Manifesto art showcase for three years, says it is important to start the festival with a combination of art, dance and music, because it expresses the heart of the hip-hop community.
Along with the art exhibit, the event featured a live art show, during which a number of graffiti artists were given an opportunity to create canvas pieces live at the launch.
Twenty-three-year-old street artist Malcolm Yarde not only had four pieces in the art exhibit, but also took part in the live graffiti showcase along with many other graffiti artists. “[Launching Manifesto with an art show is important] to get people that are out there taking advantage of the freedom of expression and get them some shine, because we’re out here in the streets – Queen Street, Kensington Market, any street in downtown Toronto, doing what we do best – letting our feelings out with colour. To give us a nice little spotlight is a blessing and a great way to start it off,” he says, while creating his live graffiti art piece on canvas.
The merging of different art platforms to celebrate the launch of Manifesto was successful and the night set off a great vibe for the rest of the festival.
Lauryn Hill OnexOne concert
Talib Kweli said it best, “Ms. Hill, you got skills, that’s a gift, it’s real, get ill, what you spit got the power to uplift the hill.”
As part of a fundraiser for the OneXOne foundation, Kool Haus was transformed into the Diesel lounge last Saturday night to host Ms. Lauryn Hill’s intimate showcase.
Olunike Adeliyi, Toronto-born “Flashpoint” actress smiled amongst many other celebrities such as Kristin Kreuk, Jully Black and Jeremy Jack Bieber on the Diesel red carpet before entering the OnexOne foundation fundraiser. She said she’s excited to have the opportunity to support the OnexOne charity.
“It’s people helping people; one helping one; that is such a great concept. It’s always an honour to be a part of a charity that wants to reach out and help,” she said.
Kardinal Offishall set off the high energy night of performances with his hits “The Anthem”, “Numba 1” and “Beautiful” before bringing out Maestro Fresh Wes, Jully Black, Shi Wisdom and K’naan as surprise guests. K’naan surprised the crowd by performing his new unreleased track “The Seed”, which the audience soaked in.
Up next, Scratch from the legendary hip-hop group, The Roots, performed a melody of tracks through the art of human beatboxing, which had the crowd entertained, even though the anticipation of Lauryn Hill filled the venue.
Canadian singer/songwriter Jully Black, who performed at the show, said Lauryn Hill impacted every aspect of her career. “How hasn’t she [influenced me]? The reality is that she’s been singing and rapping for such a long time, but being someone who was raised in the church and hearing her voice on “Joyful Joyful”, I was able to start reciting those songs at a young age and performing those songs… Just being a soul singer. It’s really nice to hear how long her music has stood the test of time,” said Black.
The deafening screams filled Kool Haus’ packed Diesel lounge as Lauryn Hill took centre stage wearing knee-high fringed black Louboutin boots and a black see-through sequined dress. “You missed me?” she said. “I missed you too.”
The soul queen herself performed hits from her chart-topping catalogue of musical masterpieces such as “Lost Ones”, “To Zion”, “Superstar”, “Final Hour”, “Ex-Factor” and “Ready Or Not”, with a stage presence almost extinct nowadays. She led her band the entire show, as it watched and read her every gesture, as her performance was obviously genuine. She was just as lost in the music as the packed audience that sang along to every word. It was a spiritual performance from the heart, and it was apparent that both her and those in attendance knew that the stage is where she belongs.
Watching from the side of the stage was two of her six children, whom she brought out to the stage and introduced to the welcoming crowd who waved. Her 10-year-old son, Joshua, spit a verse for the crowd who supported and cheered him on. She performed an emotional and powerful performance of “Killing Me Softly” before exiting the stage. She returned moments later to an uproar of screams from the crowd to bless the crowd with a bonus performance of “Turn The Lights Down Low”, “Could You Be Love” and “Doo Wop”.
It was a night of legendary performances in the name of charity.
Photos by: Michelle Green
As part of a fundraiser for the OneXOne foundation, Kool Haus was transformed into the Diesel lounge last Saturday night to host Ms. Lauryn Hill’s intimate showcase.
Olunike Adeliyi, Toronto-born “Flashpoint” actress smiled amongst many other celebrities such as Kristin Kreuk, Jully Black and Jeremy Jack Bieber on the Diesel red carpet before entering the OnexOne foundation fundraiser. She said she’s excited to have the opportunity to support the OnexOne charity.
Kardinal Offishall set off the high energy night of performances with his hits “The Anthem”, “Numba 1” and “Beautiful” before bringing out Maestro Fresh Wes, Jully Black, Shi Wisdom and K’naan as surprise guests. K’naan surprised the crowd by performing his new unreleased track “The Seed”, which the audience soaked in.
Up next, Scratch from the legendary hip-hop group, The Roots, performed a melody of tracks through the art of human beatboxing, which had the crowd entertained, even though the anticipation of Lauryn Hill filled the venue.
The deafening screams filled Kool Haus’ packed Diesel lounge as Lauryn Hill took centre stage wearing knee-high fringed black Louboutin boots and a black see-through sequined dress. “You missed me?” she said. “I missed you too.”
The soul queen herself performed hits from her chart-topping catalogue of musical masterpieces such as “Lost Ones”, “To Zion”, “Superstar”, “Final Hour”, “Ex-Factor” and “Ready Or Not”, with a stage presence almost extinct nowadays. She led her band the entire show, as it watched and read her every gesture, as her performance was obviously genuine. She was just as lost in the music as the packed audience that sang along to every word. It was a spiritual performance from the heart, and it was apparent that both her and those in attendance knew that the stage is where she belongs.
It was a night of legendary performances in the name of charity.
Photos by: Michelle Green
Skratch Bastid Q&A
It is safe to say that the Canadian DJ, Skratch Bastid is one of the busiest DJs in the country. While other DJs rely on promoters to book them for events, Skratch hosts his own, such as the second annual Bastid BBQ, which took place at the Steam Whistle Brewery in Toronto last month. Skratch also stays busy touring – he just came back from Australia and Ireland and he’ll be playing at this year’s Manifesto Festival – as well as putting out mixtapes. His latest project, Soul Sisters Stand Up, was released earlier this summer. Currently, Skratch is preparing to head off on another tour, as well as embark on side projects like production for Canadian emcee, Shad. The Canadian jack-of-all-trades spoke with Urbanology Magazine about his busy schedule and why he’s proud to be a Canadian DJ.
WHY DO YOU FIND IT IMPORTANT AS A DJ TO HOST YOUR OWN EVENT?
I don’t think it’s a prerequisite, but for me, it’s just an opportunity to do things from my perspective and bring people the things that I wanted to bring to them. I guess, for me, it became a thing that I wanted to give back to other artists who hosted me in their cities and people in the city here that just want me to do it my way. I wouldn’t say that you have to do it that way, it’s fine to work with promoters, but for me, I had a whole bunch of ideas and a whole bunch of things I wanted to do my own way, so I just decided to do it myself.
WHAT DID YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT PUTTING OUT YOUR LAST PROJECT, SOUL SISTERS STAND UP? I just like the vibe of all the songs; it’s really positive music; cool music from an interesting time; the ’60s and ’70s and women and all the things that they went through during that period. It’s a really cool time. It was a concept mix so it’s a challenge to stick to a concept… It was a challenge to put limitations on it and because of the limitations the final product is stronger, because the vision is stronger and you can see the subject more accurately.
WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED TO STAY SO BUSY? I love my job, I love music and I’m very thankful and happy that music is my fulltime job and just giving back to the people that come to my shows and to the musicians. My job motivates me, because I always want to keep playing great music… and all the people I meet on my travels.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE KEY CONTRIBUTOR TO YOUR SUCCESS AS A CANADIAN DJ? I think it’s just that I love this country from the biggest city down to the smallest town. I have played in all the provinces and one territory. I still haven’t made it to Nunavut or the Northwest Territories, but I’ve basically been to every corner of the country to play shows, whether it’s the huge stage at Dundas Square or a tiny pub in rural BC. I’ve done a lot of touring and I can say that we’ve got some great people in the country and they supported me back. I’m from Halifax, which is considered one of the smaller cities in the country, but my time spent there was really valuable, because everywhere I go, I meet people from Nova Scotia and they are like, “Hey, I remember when you played here,” and I think people underestimate that that goes a long way, because when you show people love, then they give it back, and that’s kind of a rule of thumb… I’m really proud to be Canadian and I’m really proud to be a Canadian DJ, I guess that resonates with people across Canada.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR SKRATCH BASTID? [This month] I will be touring universities across Canada, I will be doing my “Skratch Of All Trades” video show for the universities, but in the coming months, I’m going down to South America for some shows and then touring the States. As far as projects, I’m working on the new Shad album and that’s my priority as far as production goes… And you’ll definitely hear another mixtape come out of me in the not so distant future.
WHAT DID YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT PUTTING OUT YOUR LAST PROJECT, SOUL SISTERS STAND UP? I just like the vibe of all the songs; it’s really positive music; cool music from an interesting time; the ’60s and ’70s and women and all the things that they went through during that period. It’s a really cool time. It was a concept mix so it’s a challenge to stick to a concept… It was a challenge to put limitations on it and because of the limitations the final product is stronger, because the vision is stronger and you can see the subject more accurately.
WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED TO STAY SO BUSY? I love my job, I love music and I’m very thankful and happy that music is my fulltime job and just giving back to the people that come to my shows and to the musicians. My job motivates me, because I always want to keep playing great music… and all the people I meet on my travels.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE KEY CONTRIBUTOR TO YOUR SUCCESS AS A CANADIAN DJ? I think it’s just that I love this country from the biggest city down to the smallest town. I have played in all the provinces and one territory. I still haven’t made it to Nunavut or the Northwest Territories, but I’ve basically been to every corner of the country to play shows, whether it’s the huge stage at Dundas Square or a tiny pub in rural BC. I’ve done a lot of touring and I can say that we’ve got some great people in the country and they supported me back. I’m from Halifax, which is considered one of the smaller cities in the country, but my time spent there was really valuable, because everywhere I go, I meet people from Nova Scotia and they are like, “Hey, I remember when you played here,” and I think people underestimate that that goes a long way, because when you show people love, then they give it back, and that’s kind of a rule of thumb… I’m really proud to be Canadian and I’m really proud to be a Canadian DJ, I guess that resonates with people across Canada.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR SKRATCH BASTID? [This month] I will be touring universities across Canada, I will be doing my “Skratch Of All Trades” video show for the universities, but in the coming months, I’m going down to South America for some shows and then touring the States. As far as projects, I’m working on the new Shad album and that’s my priority as far as production goes… And you’ll definitely hear another mixtape come out of me in the not so distant future.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Q&A with Brother Ali
A lyrical artist like Brother Ali should be considered more of a hip-hop philosopher rather than an emcee. The Rhymesayer artist is set to release his upcoming album, Mourning In America and Dreaming In Color this week and has a lot to say. He took the time to speak with Urbanology Magazine about the upcoming project, as well as his new tour, to let his fans know what he has been up to and what to expect.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO NAME YOUR UPCOMING PROJECT MOURNING IN AMERICA AND DREAMING IN COLOR? It kind of came together, because I was in a place where I was really blue and feeling heavy and weighed down by a lot of stuff in my own personal life. But really the climate and the situation socially that we have right now, it’s really troublesome – so much despair, so much pain, so much death. It seems like the public conversation is going in the wrong direction. We’re really caught up talking about ornamental things and not really talking about root causes for a lot of the pain. I really felt like Obama had the right message and was the right candidate in ’08. I contributed a lot of time and money and energy into speaking and canvasing, knocking on doors and all of that and the direction that things have continued to go since then just left me feeling really helpless in a way and not sure about what to do about what was going on and so I said I was going to make an album called, Mourning In America and shift the conversation to things that I thought should be talked about. Now, while that was going on, I also had personal reasons for that too. In 2010, I spent 10 months on the road; I married and had kids so that almost broke my family up. My father passed away and my good friend and label-mate passed away, both while I was on tour… All of these things going on at the same time were adding to that feeling as well, so at the end of that year, I made my pilgrimage to Mecca and really felt like I had a new chance to kind of re-align my life to what my priorities are. I decided that I wanted to take a year off the road, go home and make an album and do the things in the community that I always wanted to do… Just re-claim my life a little bit, so I came home and did that… I came to this sense of hope that in this bad time that we’re in, a lot of people are falling into poverty, but at the same time, we are seeing people now who used to feel like they were above all of this pain, now they’re in it and there are new alliances being made between race and class that I’ve never seen happen before; seeing people work together now, because the situation has put them in proximity to each other. So I said, forget Mourning In America, I’m going to make an album about the possibilities out here and I’m going to call it Dreaming In Color. Overtime, I realized that they were both necessary; dealing with the pain and suffering and also the hope and the possibilities for change all on one project.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THIS PROJECT AND THE MUSIC YOU HAVE PUT OUT IN THE PAST? This is my first album that is mainly a social/political album, where in the past, everything has just been really personal. I had political moments on other albums and I had personal moments on this album, but the theme shifted, definitely.
WHAT EXCITES YOU MOST ABOUT PUTTING OUT THIS NEW PROJECT? There was a period in rap where you were literally only allowed to talk about four subjects and I think we’re starting to see a re-surface of people, not necessarily categorized as conscious or political, but we’re just seeing the kids that are coming out now are just smart and insightful people. I feel like there’s more space to talk about music now. I think the timing is really good.
WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT BEING ON TOUR? The tour life is the time that you’re on stage, which is a spiritual and transcendental thing if you put all of yourself into it and try to do it in an artistic way, connecting with the people on stage. Our following, they call it a cult following, but it’s really a personal connection that we have with people.
Urban Mic Kick-Off
Some great music and a great meal sounds like the perfect date. In the heart of the Eaton Centre’s new Urban Eatery last Thursday night, the mall kicked off its new Urban Mic program, which will feature Toronto artists showcasing their music in a concert series. For the launch, Toronto songstress Shi Wisdom treated the eatery to her immense talent.
Meredith Vlitas, Senior Marketing Director at the Eaton Centre said the mall staff wanted to bring more energy to the mall experience. “What we wanted to do was really bring some energy and some life into the Urban Eatery,” she said. “… We feel like we’re the only ones in Toronto that could do something like this. It’s very urban, it’s very cool and it embraces all the different sounds that are going on in the city.”
The event’s host, Devo Brown from Kiss 92.5 FM, killed rumours that the program was started due to the shooting at the centre this summer, but shared that it is a great night out with friends for students and young professionals in the downtown core. “A lot of people were talking about the shooting here, but that’s not why this program started. This program was a concept from a long time ago. It just made sense to start it when school started back up with Ryerson so close, George Brown being downtown and U of T and all that; so to get the students involved and to let some people that no one’s really heard of shine.”
Shi Wisdom performed tracks off her EP LVSPK such as “Penny”, “Take the L” and “Bad Mood”, and as always, the crowd welcomed her and took in her soulful sound. She also gave away merchandise throughout the show as audience members answered trivia questions about her.
“It’s really awesome. I never thought the Eaton Centre would even have an event like this, and to be the person that kicks it off – I feel really honoured and special. It’s something that’s probably going to be a staple for a lot of independent artists here, that will be able to have a voice in the city, so to know that I’ve set that off, it’s an accolade for me,” said Shi after her performance, while taking pictures with and signing autographs for fans.
Up next on September 20 to 23, Urban Mic will feature artists in a Canada’s Walk Of Fame showcase.
