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GA Advance tickets $72.50 + S/C VIP Advance tickets $92.50 + S/C available online at Ticketfly.com, UnionEvents.com, Rotate This, Soundscapes & Play De Record

“I have had many blessed, spiritual, and unforgettable moments in my life… But none more inspiring and life altering than last night. For those of you have ever listened to my music as a full body of work, heard any of my interviews, or have been to any of my live shows… Knows, that Lauryn Hill is a driving force of inspiration in everything I do. There would be no first audition for me if couldn’t sing her version of ‘his eye is on the sparrow’… There wouldn’t be ‘Felony Miona’ …. There wouldn’t be the artist you see today who isn’t afraid to bare her soul about life and love. And last night, I got to tell her that. After seeing her murder the stage…I personally got to express my teary eyed gratitude. A REAL dream come true for me. Lauryn Hill is the true essence of artistry that I aspire to represent… One who can break barriers, colour lines, industry standards, and ignorant minds… All while making amazing heartfelt educated music. My life will never be the same… It will be better… For what I received last night in energy and inspiration will most definitely make me a better artist and woman in this industry. You will feel it. Thank You #LaurynHill… You are singlehandedly, hands down, the greatest to ever do it ALL… Triple Threat… And to inspire a musical generation so starved that we still anticipate any and everything that you will do in the future. With Love, Respect, Support and Gratitude, MF xo”

In order to address the implications and limitations in contemporary hip-hop culture through the lens of an MC I had to talk to the people who are affected by these changes and in many respects control the direction of the culture’s developments. I sat down with:

Dan-e-o:  a Canadian hip-hop artist and actor of Jamaican and Spanish descent, from Toronto, Ontario. He is currently a member of the group Perfeck Strangers, based in Scarborough, Ontario, and an original member of the Monolith Crew.

Spade: a Canadian hip-hop artist from the Scarborough duo Citizen Kane. Spade is also a b-boy who used to be a backup dancer for Michie Mee.

Scott Ramirez: A Canadian Hip-Hop artist from Scarborough who has performed alongside artists such as GZA, Masta Killa, J-Live, Stalley, Angerville and Big Sean.

I’m going to jump start with a short piece of the interview:

Scott Ramirez:  “You had to pay to play at The Killah Priest show”

Pay to Play, as explained to me by the MCs, was a fee that artists had to pay to open up for an American artist. Scott Ramirez had to pay a fee of two hundred dollars, plus secure a certain amount of tickets, to play in the show.

Dan-e-o: “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. The promoter at the Killah Priest show was not confident in his own promotional skills to promote a show, sell tickets, and fill the house. A promoter is supposed to be able to put on a show that will draw in an audience. This promoter is securing himself at least two hundred dollars for putting an artist on. What that does is, water the pool of talent. If I’m a garbage artist, but I’m on my grind and can sell two hundred dollars worth of tickets, or whatever, and pay  the promoter like an idiot, to be on stage, and to put on a horrible set. I paid to play [...] these artists who pay to play are in every time because they sell tickets to all their friends. Its win-win, for the promoter and talentless artist. That’s ridiculous, this doesn’t foster a growing artistic foundation in this city of talent […] There are people who deserve to be on stage, who are so good.”

A lot of these promoters are doing showcases, throwing events and not even paying the workhorses. They trying get us to rock for the love of hip-hop or rock for the exposure. Now look man, I don’t mind doing a guest spot for my peeps, or, or, or doing a benefit show, but don’t lie to me pussy coz I find out I’m paying your light bill, I’m fuckin you up nigga. Besides, you ain’t doing this for the love, you ain’t doing it for the exposure, you charging up to 10$ at the door, and you ain’t tryin to give me shit?? So wait a minute… you want me to go shopping, cook the food, and put it in front of you but you won’t let me sit down and eat with you? The fuck is that? Niggaz need to start playin their position, man. Just coz you throw a party or host an event or an open mic or a showcase, or a battle that don’t make you important at all. Without me and everybody like me out there you ain’t nutting but a good idea, motherfucker so stay in your place. And to all these bitch-ass A&R’s who are too lazy to come up with a way to sell records..That they keep recycling marketing schemes and imagery..C’mon!

Excerpt from MESSAGE & THE MONEY  - IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE

It was extremely alarming to learn that one of the most vital contributors to the hip-hop cultures is impeding it. What I mean is, promoters are giving ‘artists’ who have resources stage time, therefore not discovering talent and putting it on. The artists we see opening up for big American names are on stage not because they are talented, but merely because they have funds to access the stage. This is the impression I have gotten from the MCs. I really liked what Dan-e-o said about this new way of promotion, and how it’s watering down the pool of talent in the city. This is how promotion works, and this is what it does. It creates a distinction between “good art” and “art for profit” which ultimately highlights the privileging of profit over legit craft (i.e proving u have real skills). This is by virtue diluting what people argue is the “real essence of hip hop” This would be one of the implications of commoditizing Hip-Hop Culture. Furthermore, what I gathered from the MCs is that, there’s a new way of grinding that’s more about props and status. What’s happening with promoters and shows can easily be translated into likes and followers on Facebook. It seems that if an artist has a large following on Twitter, and several likes on Facebook, they are “worthy” of peoples attention.

Hip Hop has gone down the road of materialism and has been turned into a commodity. It has lost reality of its roots, as being a political message during times of hardship and has turned into a moneymaking business. The commodification of Hip-Hop, as Spade mentioned numerous times, is shaping consumer perception. In Walter Dawkin’s article, “Is Hip Hop Dead?” co-creator Bill Stephney of political hip hop group Public Enemy believes that, “the heavy influence of the crack [epidemic in urban communities] changed many of the values of the youth black culture since the mid-’80s, [and] that’s where you get the materialism, the guns, the absolute die-hard mentality for meaningless things”.

Spade:  “People are judging success off of likes and followers. They’re not judging the art, they’re judging the reaction from your art.”

Spade believes that this goes against everything hip hop was raised on. “Hip Hop is ‘show and prove’” he says. In Hip Hop culture, the “show and prove” attitude privileges action over words or the demonstration of skills over merely talking about them. This “show and prove” attitude is now in decline because music labels want to make “bangers”, says Scott Ramirez. Collectively, the MCs believe that what’s being produced these days is not art, therefore they can’t prove.

Judging the reaction of the art, rather than the art itself is exactly what mainstream media does. Given that part of the mainstream media’s purpose, other than writing and reporting is, to act as tastemakers; they are required to sift through the not yet discovered artistry that currently is making the scene in order to funnel what matches their profit-based requirements through to the mainstream audience. While we think they are the tastemakers it’s not that simple. In fact, their status as tastemakers also requires that they find an existing fascination and audience and bring its somewhat sustainable popularity to a greater audience. This isn’t taste making in the organic sense from beginning to end–rather it requires that media work in tandem with others like promoters who have already done part of their job by finding and promoting an artist and building their base audience.

This is also true of A&R agents. To some degree this creates a domino effect, given that economics is a central factor.  Music/artistry that doesn’t necessarily capture the spirit of the genre and what measures as good/brilliant, is often what is promoted. Basically, the motivation of tastemakers (who are interested in capital and audiences) doesn’t always jive with the artistic intentions of the genre/their artists who often see keeping true to form as the center motivating factor.  This is one way the contemporary conditions of industry politics and self-proclaimed experts have seriously limited hip-hop’s possibilities.

“Hip-Hop has been watered down in a super commercial kind of way right now.” – Easy Mo Bee

Dan-e-o: “Today you don’t need a product. You need a laptop, microphone, and YouTube account.”

Scott Ramirez: “And a nice outfit too!”

Here I’d like to discuss the nature of technological changes (i.e. how things like the internet, YouTube etc. has affected putting together a product) through the emcee analysis, to demonstrate how this new way of commoditizing Hip-Hop Culture has changed the nature of Hip Hop as a social/political project.

Amanda (Me): “How has YouTube affected putting together a project?”

Scott Ramirez: “With current technology, it’s made making music a bit more easier but has saturated the field intensely. It may have made making music & sharing it easier but being recognized and known for it is harder. Before all this arose [the internet and You Tube], you could see the ones who really worked for it [...] spending money for studio time, production, networking, etc. Now, everybody thinks they can do the same. Instead of being seen as something unique, the mass saturation makes it look like that “anyone” can do it. Also, given these new advances, the system that artists work in is still relatively the same. Outrageous/stupid videos and catchy disposable music still get more views and are easier to find. Not to mention, they are pushed and promo-d by multi-million dollar media companies and record labels. If one is looking to find alternative music, then they have to dig deeper like how people used to sift through the music section in a record store”

I want to conclude with what Dan-e-o had to say on the topic.

Dan-e-o: “The concept of the physical copy has lost its strength as a viable product. I grew up buying (and still do) vinyl copies of albums as well as CDs (and tapes before that). I still take into account all of the artwork and other elements that make up an entire”product”.

Dan-e-o explains that the appreciation for this side of the art-form has been somewhat lost as artists now tend to consider themselves as having “released” something because they’ve posted a recently-recorded song to YouTube or any other online entity. He also feels that many fail to properly mix and master. Some overlook cover art and most don’t even press up any copies let alone secure a distribution deal so that it can be found in stores, he says.

It’s a digital world. This is great in many respects. We can now
distribute our music to places we’ve never been thanks to digital
downloading. But the “product” as we used to know it exists less and less
these days. –  Dan-e-o

By: Amanda Girgis

This full-day conference will include the work of academics and journalists, who will discuss how the culture and genre of Rap music has developed since the late 1980s. Given that Performing Diaspora is dedicated to celebrating and showcasing African Diaspora expressive culture, the event will most prominently feature the contributions of African Canadians in two roundtable discussions that will include prominent rappers, deejays, producers, artistic managers, journalists and radio and television personalities. These panelists include: Maestro, Michie Mee, Master T, Dan-
e-o, Motion, DJ Mel Boogie, DJ X, Dalton Higgins, Chris Jackson, and Mindbender. In addition to the contributions of African Canadians, the conference will also explore the contributions of other Canadian Hip Hop forms that include, but are not limited to, Queer Hip Hop, First Nations Hip Hop and Sikh Canadian Hip Hop.

The conference will importantly promote research and share knowledge about the diversity and complexity of Hip Hop in Toronto, the challenges posed by the Canadian Music Industry, and the Black Canadian experience more specifically.

“The history of Toronto Hip Hop is incredibly unique, rich and multifaceted, and yet the stories of our practitioners and the ways in which the culture has developed since the 1980s in the Canadian context has largely been overshadowed by the dominant narrative of American Hip Hop,” says Performing Diaspora Curator Francesca D’Amico.

“Though most Canadians have been exposed to some of the genre’s history and personalities, we have yet to explore the range and fullness of Toronto’s Hip Hop history, particularly in the academic setting” she says. “Moreover, even less has been said about the complicated and problematic ways in which the Canadian Music market has supported, included, abandoned and in some cases, even rendered invisible the contributions of Hip Hop practitioners to Canadian Popular Culture.”

“This conference event intends to bring greater exposure to the fullness of Toronto’s Hip Hop history, while exploring how the Canadian music market and media has envisioned, and at times problematically failed to imagine and incorporate Hip Hop as part of its broader Popular Culture.”

About Performing Diaspora: Performing Diaspora is a flagship project of The Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migrations of African Peoples that has been dedicated to celebrating Africanist expressive culture and supporting the development of valuable educational tools to enhance student understanding. Since its 2009 inception, Performing Diaspora has offered a series of workshops, presentations, artist talks and community events that serve as a catalyst to bring the university and community together to celebrate and engage with African and African Diaspora arts and culture.

To register for the event, please visit:

http://performingdiaspora.wordpress.com/registration/

Twitter: @PDCurator
Wordpress: performingdiaspora.wordpress.com

Facebook ]]> http://www.bad-perm.com/2013/05/event-performing-diaspora-conference-the-history-of-urban-music-in-toronto/feed/ 0 http://www.bad-perm.com/2013/05/snkrbst-kool-g-rap-big-daddy-kane-joe-budden-underachievers-vinny-chase-more/ http://www.bad-perm.com/2013/05/snkrbst-kool-g-rap-big-daddy-kane-joe-budden-underachievers-vinny-chase-more/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 18:16:13 +0000 Zoi http://www.bad-perm.com/?p=24136

Bon Voyage “Sneak Peak”- Launch Event Stage 48	NYC	May 19th
Snkrbst Pop Up Expo Dumbo Edition	BROOKLYN	June 22nd & 23rd
Snkrbst Pop Up Expo Beantown Edition	BOSTON	July 27th
Snkrbst Pop Up Expo Windy City Edition, Lalapalooza	CHICAGO	August 2nd – 4th
Snkrbst Pop Up Expo Illadeph Edition	PHILADELPHIA	September 1st & 2nd
Snkrbst Regional Convention	ATLANTIC CITY	October 25th – 27th

After a couple hours of eating, mingling and enjoying the dj spin, the hosts of the evening, Julian and Rez, started the show at 10pm. The suit and tie, jeans and a fitted, duo broke the ice with corny (but cute) jokes and introduced the first act of the night: Host and founder by day, Emcee by night, Moe Naaman, better known as theMedicis on stage. theMedicis, who I cant help but associate with the Medici Family of Florence (I’m a history major), put on a fervent set that embodied all my favourite elements of a hip hop show. The 3 things about theMedicis set that I really enjoyed were:

1. He engaged and connected with the crowd. His engagement reflected his total gratitude and appreciation for the people in the building who continuously support the ‘Can I Live’ showcase.

2. He wasn’t afraid to show a calmer, more expressive side with tracks like “Rose in the Concrete”

3. He did a cover off Illmatic and he brought out a female Emcee to help him.

Hafswa, the 25-year-old female Emcee captivated the audience the second she stepped foot on stage. With hair resembling that of a young Lauryn Hill, it wouldn’t be so bad to be your hair (this is an India Arie reference folks). She rocked the stage with theMedicis and fed the crowd her female rap greatness. There is something about a female emcee that deserves extra attention; Courageously stepping foot into a tough and male-dominated culture takes major guts, I salute you Hafswa! After talking to attendees during and after her on stage appearance it was clear that she was the highlight of the night. She rapped alongside theMedicis and was the incentive to what he had gone on to say about women

One female expressed to me:

theMedicis recognition of women in Hip Hop was important. He recognized the vitality of female rap listeners and supporters, I dig it

theMedicis ended his set on a Dead Prez ambiance. The crowd repeated “Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop” as Julian and Rez made their way back on to the stage.

Next up was Scott Ramirez. I’m a friend and fan of the 25-year-old Philippino Emcee from Scarborough. I’ve seen Ramirez perform on more occasions than I can count on two hands – each time is better than the next. The equation of a Scott Ramirez show would be something like this:

High Energy + Storytelling + East Coast ambiance + Call & Response – Pretentious parading that you would see at a mainstream show = A dope ass time

 The rhyme slinger and real life documentarian didn’t spare a dull moment, performing fan favourites like “Writers Block” “Headlocks” and his recent single “She Got Me”. Ramirez has an unprecedented confidence that he is able to charm the crowd with; they submerged in his incredible lyricism and embraced the cerebral spirit in his voice.

The last performer of the night was ELMNT. The former-Yugoslavia born, Toronto raised emcee stepped on stage with a Brooklyn Nets hat and army print jacket. He immediately suggested the crowd get closer as he stepped off stage and on to the ground level to induce a more intimate enviroment. Everything from the distinct sound of his beats, to his powerful rap delivery, ELMNT was the perfect end to a eventful night. ELMNT performed tracks available on his sound cloud page and enthralled the crowd with his eastern Europe meets Miami Vice themed stories.

Overall a fantastic night with great people, amazing food, talented performers and a charitable cause. I anticipate showcase #4

Review by: Amanda Girgis