Results tagged “hiphop”

September 9, 2009 (09/09/09) was going to be a huge day for Toronto emcee Ian Kamau. Besides the fact that he was turning thirty on that day, the artist (better known simply as "Kamau" from guest appearances on k-os albums) was going to release his first full-length solo album in over a decade of active participation in the Toronto hip-hop scene.

Earlier this week, Lula Lounge was converted into a world in which hip-hop reigned supreme. As part of Manifesto's One City Series, hip-hop heads and curious media-types came out to support Toronto author Dalton Higgins at the launch his latest book. Hip Hop World —his newest contribution—is a thorough examination of hip-hop culture from a global perspective.

Relatively speaking, Toronto is not a city known for successful urban (read: hip-hop) acts. Nonetheless, in the heart of the city there’s a space open to those willing to take a chance. The Remix Project is open to youth aged 16–22 who are interested in pursuing careers in urban arts. About more than becoming the next big rapper, Remix uses hip-hop as an engagement tool and gives aspiring artists and entrepreneurs practical tools to turn dreams into goals, and goals into reality.

Of the pantheon of hip-hop gods, many consider Larry Parker the All-father. And like any god worth his salt ‘n’ pepa, he goes by many names: Kris Parker, The Teacher, The Blastmaster, The Philosopher, and, mostly, KRS-ONE.

In a basement studio at the corner of Oakwood and Amherst, a small group of hip-hop hopefuls has been meeting for the past ten weeks. Under the tutelage of urban music veteran Dan-e-o (best known, perhaps, for his 1995 single, “Dear Hip Hop”), these emerging rappers have literally learnt it all; from rhyming to freestyling, to writing, recording and producing their own tracks—Dan-e-o’s students aren’t playing pretend. And on Sunday, May 31, they're hosting a block party—a real block party—to celebrate the release of their new album, Visionists.

One of the biggest complaints that Toronto hip hop artists have is that they are ignored by local media, and, for the most part, they're right. Drop the Needle hopes to help remedy this by checking in with some of the city's finest artists each month to see what's up.

Wes Williams is synonymous with Canadian hip hop. Bursting on the scene as Maestro Fresh Wes, Williams brashly declared, "'89 is mine." And it was. His debut single "Let Your Backbone Slide" was a crossover success and is the only Canadian rap single to go gold. His debut album Symphony in Effect remains the best selling Canadian hip hop album of all time despite being a year shy of its twentieth anniversary. Williams is often cited as the Godfather of Canadian hip hop and as he once rhymed, "I'm not a rapper, I'm an icon. Don't get it confused."

One of the biggest complaints that Toronto hip hop artists have is that they are ignored by local media, and, for the most part, they're right. Drop the Needle hopes to help remedy this by checking in with some of the city's finest artists each month to see what's up.

It's Canadian Music Week and that means there's an unusually large number of hip hop shows going on. KRS-One will be teachin' at The Opera House on Saturday as he continues his Stop the Violence movement. RZA dons his Bobby Digital mask on Sunday at the Phoenix. There's also grimy New York hip-hop (M.O.P. on Friday), French rap (DJ Orgasmic and Cuizinier on Thursday), and a strong showcase of local talent (Friday's Exclaim! event).

Photo by Linnea Helmersson.

Photo by Media Eater.

Photo from Plexifilm.

Photo by Jeremy Farmer from Flickr.

According to Environment Canada, this winter will be the coldest in fifteen years. That news should send us all running for the comforts of indoors, but once again Harbourfront Centre provides the perfect reason to play outside. DJ Skating Nights return for a third year, providing those who brave the cold to skate under the glittering skyline with a soundtrack from local DJs. The five Friday nights of the series will feature five different...

Hip-hop blues music maker Buck 65 drops his new album Situation at the end of the month. The release is an ode to 1957, a time period the man born Richard Terfry considers world-changing in terms of pop culture (or, as he says in a video on his website, "the year all hell broke loose") thanks to events like Bettie Page going into self-imposed exile, those iconic plastic pink flamingoes appearing on lawns everywhere, and the delightful Situationist International emerging in Italy.

This week Musicologist will be checking out Regina Spektor at the Kool Haus, thanks to the insistence of a friend who pretty much exclusively listens to hip hop. The fact the he loves Spektor means she's gotta be good. It's sold out, but Musicologist never shies away from listing sold out shows—we all know there's always an (expensive) last-ditch way to get in if you're desperate. (Why does that sound dirty? We mean scalpers, of course.)

Perhaps that headline is a bit over-the-top. Then again, so was this entire show! Maybe it was just this Torontoist's own expectations that a show selling itself as a gay hip hop opera couldn't really take itself too seriously; would be ironic; would be tongue-in-cheek. Not so. BASH'd is a gay hip hop opera that wants you to know that it is a gay hip hop opera and there's nothing wrong with that!

This week we'd like to congratulate the -ist network's Mother Hen, Gothamist's Jen Chung, who found herself a recipient of Wired Magazine's Wired Rave Award. If that doesn't sound terribly exciting, keep in mind another recipient was J.K. Rowling. Yep, that's right, the -ist network and Harry Potter now have something in common. Go us.

Every two weeks "What's The Frequency, Campus?" will highlight some of the intriguing shows and special programming happening on Toronto's campus and community radio stations.

This Thursday marks the premiere of Toronto's Hip-Hop Karaoke night. Brought to you by Never Forgive Action and Earwaks, and hosted by local rapper More or Les (who was interviewed by Torontoist last spring) and local DJs Dalia, Numeric and Ted Dancin', this party promises to be more than your basic karaoke night. First of all, it's hip-hop, so you may want to practice ahead of time or do the track you've known since you were in Grade 6. Secondly, the DJs will be spinning live instrumentals under your rhymes, so there will be no cheesy MIDI track playing or words that highlight as you go (This means you have to know your song really well!). Thirdly, it's all rap all night long, so no one will be singing Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."

Photo by avp17 from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

The year is winding down and so is the music, which is kind of nice, actually, because there seem to be a lot of tours already gearing up for 2007. Hopefully Alexisonfire isn't one of them...we have no idea how they can manage to go onstage and scream for 7 solid days (they have a few more shows this week). Insanity.

Torontoist visits the site of a new Frank Gehry structure, stalks "the elusive Bahamas streetcar", and watches Tom Green get surgery.

It's a bitter-sweet day in the hip hop neighborhood as Best Kept Secret, one of CHRY 105.5's longest-running shows, and a true staple of the Toronto hip hop scene, airs for the last time this evening from 6-8pm.

Toronto has exploded in festivals this weekend. Scream, Toronto Outdoor Art Expo, Fringe, uh, Molson Indy. Not to mention The Big Game. But there is another festival happening right now that is worth making time for: Beats, Breaks and Culture. This Harbourfront festival focuses on urban electronica, global flavours, and touches on the 4 pillars of hip hop, including live graffiti creations and the largest breakdancing competition in Canada.

What what? Gymnastics & hip hop? Someone released the all-girl sports & dancing movie of our 2006 dreams, and no one told us?

Londonist prepares a Happy Birthday bath for Buddha this week and then things get all cliched. A madman goes on a rampage while axe-wielding and London's mayor warns an American diplomat to avoid the kitchen if the heat bothers him so much.

Torontoist likes being socially aware and with that, we bring you Inner City Visions. IC Visions is North America's first governmentally funded hip-hop & urban music centre. They have a full in-house studio where they invite young people with an interest in music to come in and record their songs and compositions totally free of charge. As studio equipment and recording times are hard to come by, IC Visions is providing a most fabulous service which provides professional access and support to youth who would otherwise not be able to get close to studio time. To add to the benefit of Inner City Visions, music industry professionals and key players from major labels like Sony BMG are invited to come by and talk about their roles, job descriptions, career paths, education and provide inspiration to those youth who come by and are interested in learning about the music industry. Above and beyond this, IC Visions provides mentoring and photography workshops as well.

One the things we like best about Toronto is how easy it is to be a vegan in the city. Sometimes we complain, but mostly we love. We were reminded of this over and over this past weekend, during a healthy two-day bender of Torontoist vegan extravagance.