Parties & Events
[Event] Urban Music Week at The Toronto Urban Music Festival (TUMF)
Another T.dot event already under way and continuing this weekend worth your attention is spearheaded by a good acquaintance of mine, Phil Vassell from Word magazine:
“The Toronto Urban Music Festival (TUMF) has created Urban Music Week, celebrating Urban Music, Urban Arts and Urban Music Industry Conference. TUMF is presented by WORD Magazine. It continues to showcase the best in urban music and culture since 1997.
Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Jill Scott, Bilal, K-OS, Pharoahe Monch, Slum Village, Divine Brown, Dwele, Jully Black, Jaguar Wright, Melanie Durrant, Gary Beals, Michie Mee, Royce Da 5’9, J Live, Butta Babees, Eternia, Masia One, Citizen Kane, Saukrates, El Da Sensei, Wordsworth, Dan-e-o, Jeff Hendrick, Dwayne Morgan, Rochester, J-Diggs, Cali, Ayah are among the many talented performers who have taken the stage at TUMF over the years.
Toronto Urban Music Festival Incorporated is a non-profit organization dedicated to showcasing the best in Canadian and international urban music and multidisciplinary talent and providing professional developmental opportunities via conference workshops, seminars and master classes.
WORD Magazine, the soul of urban culture, is the presenting sponsor of the Toronto Urban Music Festival. WORD is now in its 15th year of publication and is available free of charge in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Southern Ontario, and other select cities.”
CLICK HERE for more details.
[Event] TOMORROW in Toronto: Ultimate MC Freestyle Battle (Toronto Semi-Finals)
Don’t know much about this but saw it over at Ty & Rez’s:
FrameBlender, Stylus, CP Records, AUX TV Present:
ULTIMATE MC
TORONTO SEMI-FINAL
8 MC’s – 1 on 1 Battle – Freestyle Off The Top
Canada’s Biggest MC Battle Purse $5000 & Record Deal with CP Records!
Featuring Performance from Celebrity Judge:
ROYCE 5′9 (Shady Records)
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 25TH 2011
Lee’s Palace 529 Bloor Street West
Hosted by Bishop Brigante
Celebrity Judges: ROYCE 5’9 / Organik (King of the Dot) / Cash (CP Records)
DJs: DJ Law & Musiklee Inzane
$10 Tickets $15 Doors
Tickets available at: Play De Record, Soundscapes, Slinky (MOOG) or Ticket Picket
Doors Open 8pm. Battle Starts 10pm
Presented by Manifesto
Hit the jump for the back of the flyer with more details.
[Event] TOMORROW in Toronto: Screening & One-on-One interview w/ Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey
Wasn’t gonna go to this but I’ve never seen the Suite for Ma Dukes film and it’s a holiday long weekend so why not? Anyone else going? Here’s the science:
Screening and One on One Interview
with Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey
Monday February 21 2011
at
Innis Town Hall
2 Sussex Ave. (South of Bloor via St. George)
Toronto, ON
Door Open at 1pm
Screening 2pm SHARP!
$15 paid at the door only
CLICK HERE for more details on Facebook.
Previously on The Kitchen:
– J. Dilla’s Mom, Ma Dukes On Her Son Growing Up & the Dilla Foundation [Video]
– J Dilla – Still Shining (2006 Documentary by B. Kyle) [Video]
[News Article] Toronto Star on Where the Rap Game Begins in Toronto…
Because we can only keep looking back for so long. Ultimately you always have to keep moving forward (says the blogger quoting the two month old article!). From a December article by Steve Russell on where to see live underground hip-hip in Toronto:
“Drake didn’t come from out of nowhere. Toronto’s hip-hop heart beats loud at low-profile shows
In hip-hop, the underground scene is, and always has been, the great filter between the wannabes and the truly skilled. It’s here that rappers are shaped or broken. Sure, money can buy you studio time, but it can’t help you develop lyrical chops. Fame can get you signed to a major label, but it can’t teach you how to rock a show. While an emcee with designs on stardom must nowadays prove him or herself on both the cyber and street levels, the most important proving grounds remain those in front of a hungry but skeptical crowd of hip-hoppers. Make it there, and you just might make it anywhere.
Indeed, Canadian hip hop’s household names didn’t earn their stripes in bed. They had to learn — the hard way — just how and what to feed a crowd. “You don’t go from smacking T-ball homers to facing a 100-mile-an-hour fastball,” explains hip-hop journalist Luke Fox, author of the recent Ice-T Shot Me in the Face & Eleven Other Stories About Rap Music. “Drake, Kardinal, Saukrates, K’naan and the rest — all these guys played tiny Toronto venues before making the big leagues. The value of a rapper honing his or her live chops in the underground scene can’t be overstated.””
CLICK HERE to read the full article.
Shout to the homegirl, Tonika on getting a shout in the article for her Sound Battle Royale showcase battles. but they shoulda included DJ Scuff‘s excellent Local Sounds hip-hop showcase/parties on the map below too:
[MP3] Mixtape Massacre 2.12.11 (The Real Frequency Show x The Powermove Show Back To The Future Edition)
I told y’all about this last week. As Ty & Rez put it, “Simply put: a great moment in Toronto hip-hop history.”
Here’s the recap blurb from the TRF blog for those who slept:
“Feb 12th, 2011 was a historic day at CKLN 88.1FM. As the station continues it battle to retain their broadcast license, some 30 years of hip hop history gathered to celebrate the 1-4PM time slot which is Toronto’s staple for hip hop. ‘Mixtape Massacre,’ who currently holds the time slot, reached out the ‘The Real Frequency’ to to come and do a final show, which we didn’t do at FLOW. We decided to reach out to DJ X of the ‘Powermove’ (our predecessors) to come through as well. To top it all off the Godfather of Toronto hip hop Ron Nelson, who started the Fantastic Voyage in 1983 in this very time slot, put in an appearance to make it all complete.”
You miss it? Listen here:
MP3: Mixtape Massacre (The Real Frequency Show x The Powermove Show Back To The Future Edition) [direct download – right click and save as]
Previously on The Kitchen:
[TRF via CityonmyBack.com]
#DK11: The album, This One Goes To Eleven… OUT NOW
