Boiler Room Toronto

A secret location, Toronto hip-hop, beers and blunts, along with a live international video stream was a recipe for greatness last Friday night as the legendary Boiler Room TV streamed its first ever Toronto episode.

Toronto hip-hop heads packed themselves into a boiling hot room with no AC (which didn’t just mean Air Conditioning, but rather, air circulation in general), on the third floor of a top-secret location on Queen Street, to show the world through live stream our flavour and immense talent that we serve up. T Dot heavy spitters such as Rich Kidd, Smash Brovaz, Raz Fresco, The 6th Letter, Tre Mission, Tona, Adam Bomb and more took part in a lyrical cypher, with red cups and backwoods on deck. Each rapper showcased their skill and delivered incredible verses that proved why they belonged on such a heavy-stacked bill.

The room vibed and mingled at the secret guest list only showcase, while DJs Mensa and Skratch Bastid spun some classic records before Rich Kidd turned the vibe up with his always entertaining live performance of his In My Opinion single, “Syke”. Raz Fresco showed the live stream what he could do with a performance of “And It Don’t Stop” as the night went on.

The private party was a testament to the raw talent and laidback, tightly-knit, purely hip-hop vibe the urban community embodies in the city and it was about time the rest of the world was able to witness it.

ThisIsWalder.com showcases TDot Spitters

Anyone can make a music blog nowadays. It takes no effort to sign into WordPress, post a video and rant about any topic under the sun, but it takes a nonstop grind and a serious passion to turn a blog into a household name and use that name to make a positive impact for the artists that blog covers. Toronto’s hip-hop blog ThisIsWalder.com attempted just that by supporting homegrown talent at its Showcasing Toronto event hosted at Revival last Sunday night.
Many of the city’s top spitters such as JD Era, Tommy Spitz, Raz Fresco and Peter Jackson hit the stage with that TDot flavour as Flow 93.5 FM’s Dames Nellas turned the night into a jam, spinning party tracks between sets.
Daniel Minichini, one of the organizer’s of the night’s events, said the motive of the showcase was to add exposure to Toronto talent and showcase buzzing acts, who play an influential role in the character of our Toronto hip-hop community.
From Juno award nominated emcee JD Era to the young Bakersclub rapper/producer Raz Fresco, each act was vastly different from the next and original in their own right, but together represented the identity of hip-hop in the north.
“[Hip-hop] is such a niche market and it’s so focused on the diversity of the scene. Starting from the roots, we have so many hip-hop artists that are coming from so many different places in Ontario and I think the root comes from the nature of our city. It is very musical and it’s very artistic,” Minichini says.
Mr. OneTwoooo, Tommy Spitz took a break from his musical hiatus, and proved that he hasn’t missed a beat during his time away and performed new, unreleased music for the audience. The self-proclaimed ‘Top 5 in Canada’ emcee chose the Walder showcase to return to the stage because of his respect for the blog and its contribution to Canadian hip-hop.
“[Thisiswalder] didn’t treat me like a promoter trying to make money off an artist or money off of a show. This is Walder is hip-hop,” Spitz says.
The support wasn’t fully there in numbers at the venue, but by eliminating the American headliner and turning the focus on local talent, Toronto is one step closer to recognizing the underappreciated skills we harbour. ThisIsWalder.com took the culture off the screen and onto the stage, where it belongs and no matter the turnout, demonstrated that the blog really does support Canadian hip-hop.

Raz Fresco Stylus Spotlight Series

Toronto’s own artist/producer and founder of the Bakers Club, Raz Fresco is only 17 and has already been nominated for a Stylus award (Artist Mixtape of the Year) at this year’s show. He will also be performing at tonight’s nominee party at The Mod Club along with artists such as JRDN and Shaun Boothe. The young artist sat down with Urbanology Magazine to discuss why he is looking forward to the experience, which will be his first time attending the DJ Stylus Awards, and the role of DJs in supporting artists like himself.
WHAT DOES STYLUS MEAN TO YOU? I’m just starting to really understand it. It’s a symbol in the Canadian hip-hop scene right now, because it’s independent and it shows where the city’s at and it shows what is going on. It’s like a time capsule.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST AT THIS YEAR’S AWARDS? It’s dope that I’m nominated for [MCMXCV]… and just going [to the awards]. I’ve never been there before, so I’m just trying to take everything in and that’s what I’m looking forward to, just to soak everything in.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM AT THE NOMINEE PARTY? That’s going to be dope. The people who are there that don’t know about my music are going to be introduced to it, because I know I’m going to do a dope set and have the joints off my new project and some of the big joints from before and just getting new fans. I’m always looking forward to new people starting to eff with the [Bakers] Club.
WHAT DOES THE DJ MEAN TO YOU? Breaking records and just being a bridge. The DJ can be mainstream and have that direct link to the underground as well by doing the mixtapes. An artist can do that, but a DJ is more solid. It’s meant to be like that. It’s a direct correlation between the mainstream and the underground. DJs bridge that gap, break a lot of records and push a lot of projects. They co-sign artists and give artists a lot of spotlight.
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE CANADIAN DJ? DJ Starting From Scratch, just because I met him at FLOW and he was cool; he showed me love. He seemed like a cool guy and he has clout. I just have love for all the DJs.

Raz Fresco - Cakey

Local artists bring diversity to Canadian Music Fest

The McKee Agency hosted its third annual showcase during the 30th annual Canadian Music Week Festival on the third floor of Faces Nightclub on Saturday, March 24. Featured artists ranged from Peter Jackson and Raz Fresco to Queen of Hearts. McKee, a booking agency founded by Chris McKee which represents North American hip-hop, R&B and pop artists, delivered the audience an energy–filled, genre-blending event.
Special guests R&B artists Rufus and Tuzzy both performed with sweet, soulful vocals, while the triple threat group Queen of Hearts charmed the audience with its pop melodies, dance and beauty. Raz Fresco added his hip-hop flare to the mix as he grabbed the microphone, ready to shut the place down. He commanded the attention of the venue and brought along Bakers Club brothers, The 6th Letter, Chill Will and Prime rapper Buck Rogers to perform new material off his upcoming mixtape Cakey Pocket$.
Peter Jackson and dancehall artist Trinity Chris closed off the show allowing attendees to dance, with their upbeat energetic sets and powerful voices, which boomed through the nightclub. The McKee Agency showcase was an opportunity to celebrate Toronto music, and succeeded by bringing together talented artists of various genres.