106 & York 2012

There was no greater way to spend the kick off to Labor Day weekend than to take in great music, art, and dance with some of Toronto’s most talented artists at the 5th annual 106 & York Festival presented by UrbanArts, Highclass, N.I.S.E and Manifesto.
Talented artists of many different genres and art forms such as rap, R&B, spoken word, beat boxing, dance and theatre all showcased their craft to a great turnout of people at the York Woods Theatre.

Comedian Femi Lawson, who entertained the crowd with his hilarious antics and skits throughout the night, hosted this year’s event. “One thing that differentiates 106 from other events in the summer is that it is a youth-led event. It unites different talent from different parts of the city – from the east to the west, from the north to the south. 106 started as a festival that would celebrate diversity and it continues to do that,” he said.


Incredible beat boxer Faz opened up the show and introduced the crowd to, what he calls, his “many personalities” through his music, surprising the audience by beat boxing into a harmonica. Talented singer Obidiah followed, speaking to the crowd with his powerful track “Immigrant Song”.
Supreme Swiss, Freeway Freddy and Jaek Delarge amped up the audience with their tracks and spoken word artist Yusra Khogali impacted the audience with her piece on video vixens. Amazing dance crews The League and Sweetie Pies stole the show with their charismatic choreography before emcee C-Flowz spit his tracks for the crowd, while Nomanzland presented a moving skit on gun violence.

Jelly Too Fly, who also performed last year, said it was her pleasure to come back and rip the stage again. Performing tracks off her latest project, King, Jelly entered from the back of the theatre and had the crowd on its feet. “[The energy is] very supportive. It’s all love… You feel the acceptance that you feel is more so like a family,” she said, following her hype set.

Headlining artists Shi Wisdom, JD Era and Rich Kidd all performed amazing sets. Shi even invited JD Era onstage to perform their hit “Mount Olympus” before an intense Hot 16s cypher, which included emcees Kemikal, Lola Bunz, Church Chizzle, and Gramz G, ended off the show.
Every single artist brought something unique and entertaining to the night with his or her crafts.
Singer Thea Monroe who performed a cover of Beyonce’s “I Miss You” says she was humbled to perform alongside some of Toronto’s most talented.
“It’s great… because with all the violence that has happened, it’s just great to have the youth come together,” she said. “It shows that regardless of what end of the city you’re from, we are all united.”

Photos by: Martika Gregory