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Mindbender of Supreme Being Unit--a Toronto-area MC, DJ, host, promoter, manager and all-around pillar of the Toronto hip hop community--recounts with a manic, almost religious zeal that is characteristic of his references to Toronto: "Two years ago at Caribana, I was walking on Yonge St. in a crowd of thousands of happy, beautiful partying people, and I heard this guy just yell out 'This feels like New New York!,' and I looked at him and said, 'I know.' It could be. But it's on the people to make it happen."
Ask the average person about hip hop, and it's unlikely that they'll mention Toronto. Conversation will almost inevitably turn to the lurid tales of grimy New York street life, the laid-back G-funk rhymes of L.A., or even the moonshine-soaked stories of Cadillacs and players from Atlanta. The East Coast, West Coast, and dirty South may be hip hop's household names, but the true North still has a long way to go. Why is Toronto taking so long to become part of the hip hop mainstream?
Mindbender blames the Canadian music industry for Toronto artists' sluggish entry into the spotlight.
"There is no music industry," he says. "The labels up here, unfortunately, are like three trends and two years behind the times, and hip hop changes so fast that they don't know what to do, so they are frozen in place and not doing anything."
He feels that labels north of the border are only willing to release records by Canadian artists that fit a tried and true formula based on successful Americans. As a result, most Canadian artists who do get contracts end up as knock-offs of original Americans who, by the time they've gained notoriety, are already out of style. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of the real talent stays buried underground.
"There are hundreds of great MCs that could be developed into cats with paying fanbases," Mindbender says, "but the labels aren't taking risks on anybody, and are doing nothing."
While the outlook may seem dim for Canadian hip hop artists, things have recently changed for the better. Thanks in large part to the videoFACT program, (Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent--a music video grant program offered to Canadian artists by MuchMusic), many independent hip hop artists have started getting some much-needed spins. In the past, videoFACT has helped launch the careers of many well-known luminaries of Canadian music, including Sloan, Sarah McLachlan, and The Matthew Good Band. Originally independent, many of the artists that the program assisted have gone on to win recording contracts and have even attained widespread commercial success, both in Canada and abroad.
Over the last several years, hip hop has become an increasingly large part of both mainstream music culture and popular culture in general. Says Mindbender: "When you see the newspapers using words like 'dis' in their headlines, you know that hip hop has an overwhelming influence on Western society, and the world in general."
As the national purveyor of popular music, hip hop's prevalence has not gone unnoticed by MuchMusic, and the station started promoting many independent Toronto hip hop acts through videoFACT funding and airplay. K-OS, a Toronto-area MC of Trinidadian descent, struggled for years to have his buttery-smooth vocals and soulful, reggae-influenced production attain commercial viability. In 2000, a videoFACT grant allowed him to shoot a video for his ethereally infectious single, "Heaven Only Knows." Since then, K-OS has been signed to a major label (Astralwerks), and has shot a second video for "Heaven Only Knows" which features recognizable Toronto landmarks, such as Play De Record on Yonge St., and scenes from Toronto's little Jamaica. The video was recently released for audiences in the U.S. and U.K. Other Toronto artists, such as underground favorites The Oddities, are attempting to emulate K-OS' success with videoFACT-funded videos currently in rotation on Canadian music stations.
While the Toronto community may be slow in gaining exposure, it certainly isn't for lack of talent. Composed largely of immigrants, Toronto is the world in microcosm; a city whose culture is defined by its inability to be defined. Mindbender feels it is this diversity that gives the hip hop community its unique character.
"There are so many kinds and personalities of people," he says, "because there are so many cultures and influences in the city, born here, born abroad, and with varying amounts of Canadian or non-Canadianness to their lyrics." Unlike the other Meccas of hip hop, such as New York, L.A., or Atlanta, there is no Toronto "sound." Instead, the wide range of influences, ethnic or otherwise, makes for an equally varied collection of artists. Hip hop in Toronto is like the city itself: vast and diverse, yet still uniquely Canadian.
The scene overflows with creative energy; a dizzying, diverse array of original lyricists and beatmakers, each possessing their own distinct sound and style.
"There's so many [artists] that I will forget some of my favorites," Mindbender says. "There's cats like Marvel and Tara Chase that I've been waiting for for so long 'cause they're old school legends, but there's Chuggo, Travis Blackman, Reign, Rikoshay, Thrysite, Raynge, Pangea Project, and my peoples Eternia and the Oddities, among others... There are really too many dope groups... people gotta come
discover them."
For a taste of true Toronto hip hop, raw and uncut, catch the In Divine Style open stage Thursday night at The Hooch (817 Queen St. W.). Hosted by none other than Mindbender himself, and featuring DJs Fritz the Cat (of Vice magazine fame), Druncness Monster, and More or Les spinning beats in between sets, it's a showcase for local underground talent that won't disappoint.
www.newrotation.com : July 26th, 2004
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