Andreena @ The Known Unknown

Tika Simone and The Remix Project presented January’s The Known Unknown with a “Naked and Stripped” show at Toronto’s Wrongbar, welcoming the return of Andreena from her hiatus to the music scene and the showcase of other relatively new Toronto talent.
The Queen Street venue was crowded with music supporters who escaped the deep chill to partake in a night of local talent.
An interactive board with a live Twitter feed created an opportunity for those in attendance to tweet their thoughts on each performance and engage with others not only in person, but also through the social network, creating a multidimensional cyber event.
The packed house mingled in person and online as DJ Lissa Monet and Starven Marvin spun hip-hop and R&B hits, before host Marlon Palmer began inviting the performers to the stage to display their talents.
The Remix Project, which celebrated the graduation of its 9.0 class in November, worked with Tika to incorporate some of its talent such as R&B crooner Vanessa Lu and hip-hop artist Never.
Highlights of the night included performances by soulful singers, Juvon Taylor and Owen “O’Sound” Lee, as well as up and coming rappers John River and Sola.
Toronto’s most recognized hip-hop music enthusiast, Mindbender was in attendance to show his support for the city’s music scene.
“Toronto is probably the best talent treasure chest of music, dancing, skill, artistry and creativity maybe in the world right now,” he says. The devoted hip-hop head was most looking forward to the return of Andreena, as a loyal fan and peer. “Anyone who knows what good R&B, soul, music, singing, performing, dancing, power and strength is, they should know the name Andreena Mill, straight up.”
The Known Unknown founder and long-time friend of Andreena’s, Tika Simone welcomed the talented singer to the stage, sharing that, “It is difficult to watch somebody peak and fall and not get the support from her backend that she deserves and I wanted to make it my mission to ensure that nobody forgets her name, that nobody forgets who she is, and we all remember that she is from here and she represents Toronto to the fullest,” she said, before handing the mic off to Andreena.
In a two-part set, Andreena reminded the packed venue of her skill level by belting out tracks from her upcoming album Naked such as “Boss Bitch” and “My Boo” with her band and accompanied vocals by O’Sound. With an undeniable voice, stage presence and hit after hit, it was undoubtedly apparent that Andreena is back with a vengeance and The Known Unknown was just her first step in securing her takeover.

Erik Flowchild makes a comeback

Erik Flowchild returned to the Toronto music scene with the release of his latest mixtape The Chixtape 2 earlier this year and a show at The Rivoli earlier this month, with performances by Redway, Brandon Dramatic and a beat battle featuring some talented upcoming Toronto producers. DJ Soul Child spun the 1s and 2s throughout the evening, as host Marlon Palmer kept the crowd entertained with his comedic antics.

Brandon Dramatic, who performed four tracks with his distinctive lyricism and jazz and soul influenced sound, also executively produced Flowchild’s The Chixtape 2 and was featured on two tracks. “We’re good friends, but we also work well as musicians,” he says.
Flowchild hit the stage to perform tracks off his mixtapes Valedictorian and The Chixtape one and two, with a live band, which included drums, keys, bass and saxophone players. His entire set was high energy and emotion-filled as he was able to show the audience the pain he had been going through with his stage presence and delivery.

Flowchild put on the event not only to celebrate the release of his latest mixtape, but also to launch the comeback of his career and to thank those who had stuck by him through the darkest time of his life. He had created a buzz in the city, when he was younger, but took a musical hiatus over the last few years to deal with a clinical depression that had caused him to lose sight of himself and his purpose.“When everything stops happening for you at once, you kind of lose sight of what to live for and a depression hit me. It was the darkest moment in my life and I was just somehow able to overcome it by looking really deep and telling myself that, ‘I have a purpose, I’m supposed to be doing music,’” he explains. “… When I was going through my depression, I was at one point very lost, very scared, but I was able to at one point just sit and take in what was going on and look at it and actually analyze why I was feeling the way I was feeling and once I was able to do that, I found a new place as an artist and as a person.”

But with the time he spent while away from the industry to re-evaluate himself and embrace his depression, he was able to come back stronger than ever, with a unique sound and a greater understanding of who he is and what he is meant to do.
“[I make] very honest music at this point. I came from a place where I was trying to be honest and positive and because of that, I tried very hard to hide the dirt in my life but when you become an artist, you realize that there’s a lot of things that you have to talk about for people to feel you. It’s one thing to talk about things in a positive light, but life isn’t always like that and I think I found a niche.”