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.

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

The Honey Jam 2012

Nearly two decades of female empowerment and opportunity for female songstresses brought 17 female musicians out at the 17th anniversary of The Honey Jam, presented by PhemPhat Entertainment Group.
The performers ranged in genre from R&B, rock and pop to soul, blue, hip-hop and even opera. Young, talented female artists from all over Canada were chosen to showcase their talent at the 17th annual Honey Jam at the MOD Club last month. The packed venue was treated to a spectacular night of music as DJ Melboogie and DJ Tasha Rozez spun the ones and twos before MuchMusic host Lauren Toyota invited each female act to hit the stage. Each performer had her own vastly unique ‘it’ factor that won over the hearts of the supporters, fans and industry representatives in attendance.
Fourteen-year-old Angelique Francis played the upright bass and shocked the crowd with her deep, soulful voice, emcee Notty spit her track “Laissez Tomber Les Filles” in French, while 15-year-old Victoria Fragomeni’s larger than life vocal skills belted out Pavarotti’s “Nessun Dorma”.

Stacey Asiedu from Brampton, who performed the song “Memory Lane”, accompanied by an entire band, says that The Honey Jam is an amazing experience, but so much more than just a performance.
“People may think that The Honey Jam is just about a one-night showcase, but it’s so much more than just providing the artist with a day to perform, it’s about giving us education and resources so that we can facilitate our knowledge and actually develop through our career. It’s been amazing,” she says.

She says the opportunity has given her more of a drive to pursue her career and she doesn’t know which doors will open for her because of it.
Melissa Bel, from Burlington, who won the opportunity to perform in Barbados through The Honey Jam, accompanied herself on guitar and said she is thankful for The Honey Jam, as the opportunity for females to showcase their talent is rare to find.
“I don’t feel like there are enough opportunities for women to, first of all be showcased like this, and then also, to do it all together. We’re not competing, we’re all on the same team and we’re all just enjoying each other’s performances and learning from each other.

Toronto’s Savannah Ré performed her hit “Paranormal” in a stunning yellow dress, and talented songstress Shi Wisdom performed her new single, “Penny”, in a black ensemble before all the “honeys” were invited onstage to participate in a freestyle cypher to close off the night of immense talent.