Nice likkle look at some of our local producers who are killin’ the game right now (in case you didn’t know…).

By Del F. Cowie

The amount of talent in Canada’s hip-hop production scene is ridiculously deep with talent and hip-hop heads around the world are beginning to notice. Here are just a few of the many Canadian producers who made a lot of noise in 2011.

T-MINUS
Producing “I’m On One,” the inescapable summer hip-hop anthem featuring Drake, Lil’ Wayne and Rick Ross put the 22-year-old Ajax, ON protege of producer Boi-1da, born Tyler Williams, on everybody’s radar. This year T-Minus’s melodic production was also heard on Nicki Minaj’s “Moment 4 Life,” Lil’ Wayne’s “She Will” and five songs on Drake’s Take Care.

RICH KIDD (pictured)
When you are the first name uttered by Jay-Z’s recording engineer Young Guru as a new producer he rates highly, you’re doing something right. Prolific 23-year-old Toronto producer/MC Rich Kidd was again the model of heatrock consistency in 2011, producing countless tracks for Canadian artists like the Get By’s “Faster” and Tona’s “We Do” as well as making in-demand featured appearances on tracks like SonReal’s “Already There.” Rich Kidd also delivered the fifth consistently strong mixtape in his free download series We On Some Rich Kidd Shit, featuring Maestro Fresh Wes, k-os and Saukrates among many others.

MUNESHINE
Dalmeny, SK’s Muneshine produced virtually all of D-Sisive’s Polaris Prize long-listed Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye and contributed to his newest project Run With the Creeps. While his Larger Than Life collaboration with Dutch production team Vinyl Frontiers was an MCing project for Muneshine, fans of his dusty ’90s-influenced production shouldn’t fret. Upcoming material includes the Twin Peaks project with MC Ghettosocks and his solo album There is Only Today.

BOI-1DA
The 25-year-old from Ajax, Ontario who, along with Drake’s engineer Noah “40″ Shebib, has been instrumental in directing recent widespread attention to Canada’s beatmakers, added a second Grammy to his shelf in 2011 for his production on Eminem’s Recovery. Much like Chin Injeti, Boi-1da is in wait and see mode to see if anything he contributed to Dr. Dre’s Detox will surface. In the meantime, he laid down tracks for albums by Game, DJ Khaled and Big Sean and produced “Headlines,” Drake’s Take Care leadoff single with Shebib.

FRANK DUKES
In 2011, this Toronto producer and 50 Cent collaborator contributed two songs to Danny Brown’s XXX and cast Shad in a different sonic feel on “Flawless” from the Real Frequency’s The New North compilation. He also arranged Charles Bradley and the Menahan Street Band’s Nirvana cover “Stay Away” and has apparently been logging studio time with buzz-heavy jazz upstarts BadBadNotGood.

CHIN INJETI
This former member of ’90s soul/R&B group Bass is Base snagged a Grammy in early 2011 for his work on Eminem’s Recovery after scoring work for Clipse and Jay-Z among others in recent years. Though the Surrey, BC native’s work contributed to Dr. Dre’s Detox with production partner DJ Khalil has yet to surface, he’s remained busy releasing a solo EP and joining Universal Music Canada as an A&R rep.

VIEW ARTICLE HERE

A pretty dope write-up on a store that helped shape me as a music lover and a Torontonian. Shouts to GridTO writer Evan Davies, all my fellow HMV alum and anyone that came through 333 in its heyday. If you’re interested in the important pieces that helped define The Mega’s 90s/early 2000s urban/hip-hop/indie scenes; and how the digital era (and finally the suits) changed these movements, this is a MUST read.

Check the full article HERE!

Great piece Shad wrote for The Vancouver Sun newspaper, or…ended up there, or…doesn’t really matter cuz it’s on the web. Anyways, doubt this will ever happen at the Junos or any other major award show for that matter (shouts to people that aren’t forward thinking!) but I have seen an event or two that do celebrate local heroes while still incorporating music. Def agree that something on the same scale as the Junos would def be amazing though. That high school idea should get implemented ASAP too!

Oh yea, and Shad will be performing at Metro Square tonight as part of the week’s Juno festivities. Free concert. Chyea.

A PROPOSAL FOR NEXT YEAR’s JUNO AWARDS

by Shadrach Kabango

So the Juno Awards are this weekend. I’ve been honoured with a nomination and I’ll also be presenting an award on the TV this time around. In light of these good times ahead, what I’d like to say may amount to sort of chipping at the branch I’m sitting on – but that’s alright.

I should start by saying that awards shows are fun; you get free food and sometimes free shoes. Secondly, I’d like to add that when I got my first Juno nod in 2008, it helped my career a great deal. And on top of all that, when you’re a struggling musician eating cheap pizza and sleeping on people’s floors three days a week, a little recognition can be a nice consolation. Fortunately at this point though, I only eat cheap pizza 1 or 2 times a week, and I’m privileged to get to purchase this pizza via work that I not only enjoy but also find some real purpose in. Moreover, every time I do my job – for example, play a show – a few hundred people clap and scream for me. Every three minutes. And I’m not even famous. So given all that, I can’t help but think that maybe we musicians can do without the hardware.

I remember one time in grade 7 or 8, my teacher remarked to my class that every day on the morning announcements we hear about how our school teams did and who the star players were, but they never announce that, say, so and so got a 98 on their chemistry exam. Or student x wrote a particularly well-argued paper on something important. It doesn’t make sense, he said. This is a school.

Maybe you can see where I’m going with this analogy. And I know I’m not the first person to make this point, but just like the morning announcements at my junior. high school didn’t do much to promote education, in a world with a bunch of pressing concerns, musicians might attend three or four nationally broadcasted award shows in one year, while nurses and social workers who provide critical care might go to a work party at Christmas.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Been feeling this way about NOW for years now so thanks to Mindbender for being the right person (he worked there and has written many articles for them) at the right time (now – no pun intended) to say something about it. Via FB.

Toronto Hip Hop vs. The Toronto Media – 2011: The Year Things Must Change Around Here

To NOW Magazine,

It’s time to go Tim Perlich on your music department. The incomprehensible void that represents your hip hop coverage needs to be addressed immediately. On the cover of your otherwise respectable and insightful publication, it says “Everything Toronto”. I emphatically challenge this claim on the grounds that, for months upon months, NOW Magazine’s support of the industry-standard-setting, world-class hip hop community has gone criminally unrecognized and disrespectfully ignored. There is no justification for not giving a drop of ink to virtually ANY of the rap artists or events in Toronto. On every level, you are failing local and international hip hop, week after week. You’ve had almost no hip hop event reviews, when Royce the 5’9″, Rah Digga, Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey (J. Dilla’s mother!), Black Sheep, Buckshot, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Canibus, Jeru the Damaja, Ernie Paniccioli, Joe Budden and many more have all been here in the past two months. You’ve had almost no local album reviews, when D-Sisive, Rich Kidd, Empire, Cadence Weapon and other Canadian acts have released so much great music lately (at least you didn’t miss Buck 65). And you haven’t done an interview on a local hip hop artist/event in who knows how long. When the KOTD Rap Battle League has been featured on MTV, spans 5 cities across Canada, has millions of YouTube views, and has featured MCs from New York, California, Miami, and the UK, why have you never once featured KOTD in NOW? The same questions linger for ‘The Ultimate MC’ Freestyle contest on AUXTV, hosted by Bishop Brigante, now underway in 4 different Canadian cities. Your lack of support for our city’s hip hop scene is completely unacceptable, and on behalf of the community, I request you immediately improve your coverage. If you can critically assess society on every level, you must allow yourself to be critically assessed.

The most egregious example of your music department’s glaring flaws is found in this week’s CMW wrap-up. You review only the Jay Electronica concert, when CMW 2011 featured a few other hip hop acts (R.A. the Rugged Man, Angerville, Unknown Mizery, Mayhem Morearty, Made Wade, Magnum K.I., etc.). Yet your most blatant omission came when you failed to even do a concert review of your coveted cover story from last week, Janelle Monae. How she can headline a show with new school Canadian rap legend Shad K at the Royal York Hotel and you not have a writer there (to try and describe her phenomenal, sold-out concert’s Cirque du Soleil-like surreality) is beyond journalistic failure. And finally, Drake is the host of the upcoming Juno Awards here in Toronto at the Air Canada Center, and it would be a perfect opportunity to finally interview to him… if your music editor thought it was a story worth writing about. I would have been honored to do a “Mindbender Interviews Drake” article for you, and I think it would have been excellently received, like my RZA or Nas interviews were, or my 5-page “Representing the T-Dot” piece was. But my repeated offers to forget the unjust dismissal I received from the music editor a few years ago and continue to write for the magazine have been met with further rejection. I am STILL open to look past the problems and be part of the solution. I know what needs to be done, and I keep trying do my part to help around here… but there are people with power in entrenched positions in this city who don’t care to evolve the state of business and industry in our stifled city, and that’s why we are perpetually stuck in the same place, if not moving backwards, in our attempts to become the globally-respected musical mecca Toronto has had the potential to be for so very, very long.

Straight up and down: Toronto is arguably the best hip hop city in the world in 2011… but you wouldn’t know it by reading NOW. Don’t worry though, you are certainly not the only media outlet not supporting Canadian hip hop. But you used to be the best, so you must be held accountable first. I hope this laissez-faire attitude towards a huge segment of Toronto culture changes immediately, because you are missing out on nothing less than music world history unfolding by sleeping on Toronto hip hop in 2011.

If you need help from the hip hop community, we would be happy to provide it to you. All you need to do is accept it.

in love and honesty:

sincerely yours truly,

Addi “Mindbender” Stewart

Personal piece the fam Chris Cromie did for HHC on, well….us. Don’t think we actually even mentioned it on this site, but thanks again to everyone for all the LOVE.

Toronto, ON – Growing up in the UK my favourite radio station was a channel called, lacking a degree of originality, Radio 1. They were funded by the British government who owned a set of stations, five of them in fact. Radio 1 was their musical flagship, playing the best in new music and always on the cutting edge. But they were more than just a music station to me. Much more. I’d give a North American equivalent, but to be honest there isn’t one. I guess the closest you could get is if you mixed the popularity of New York’s Hot 97 with the sensibilities of CBC radio. It was also the place I heard hip-hop for the first time. The place, the time, the medium. I coveted my brother’s boombox like no other item and was under strict instruction not to touch it, so naturally when he wasn’t around it was the first thing I’d go for. He always kept a stack of old, new and freshly dubbed cassettes next to it. Yeah, cassettes.

We very well could be talking about a time before some of you reading this were even born, and yet it feels like last week to me. The 80s were morphing into the 90s and everybody wanted to be like Mike. Tyson, Jordan, Jackson (note: if you subconsciously finished this line “…action, pack guns/ridiculous” then you’re winning at life right about now). Rap was changing too. The music was shifting from electronic synths and sparse drums to layered walls of sound, thanks to champion producers like Prince Paul, the Bomb Squad and Dr. Dre. My brother liked all types of music, so he’d tape the late-night sessions on Radio 1. They were shows manned by specialist DJs who played an eclectic mix of tunes from Britain, the European continent and the United States. One night he was out late with friends. I predictably took this as my cue and scampered up to our room with mischief in mind. I flipped through his tapes and looked for one with the recording pin removed. This meant he’d just taped it and wanted to prevent anyone from dubbing over it. When he was done, he’d ball up paper to fill in the recording hole and the cipher would complete. I grabbed a tape, threw it in the box and hit play. Kerrrr-click. “Nineteen. Eighty. NINE-the number/another summer…” I can’t tell you how I felt the moment I heard my first hip-hop song; I can only tell you that I kept playing it. And playing it. I hid the cassette to ensure my brother didn’t dub over my new treasure and eventually played it so much the tape snapped.

At times I was an awkward kid. Like most, I tried to fit in, and sometimes I didn’t succeed. I wasn’t an outcast by any stretch and was never short of friends, but I definitely took a while to feel comfortable in my own skin; to establish my own identity. Fortunately I grew up alongside a golden age for rap music and as the popularity expanded, so did its press coverage. Radio 1 began producing audio documentaries on rap, culminating in an hour long special on the death of Tupac Shakur. Hip-hop was given a context and vital moments in the culture’s history were discussed and explained. To an impressionable young head, this information was like gold-dust. Your perception of any subject is shaped by what`s presented to you. If Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer are presented as being analogous with hip-hop, then to you, that`s what hip-hop is. You have no frame of reference to dispute it. Because of Radio 1 I knew who Public Enemy, De La Soul, Outkast and the Wu Tang-Clan were. therefore it`s because of Radio 1 that I know anything (to some, nothing) about hip-hop.

By 18 I was living in Toronto, Canada, deviously tricked by the summer weather when I first visited. Back then, fist-pumping euro-dance and easy listening rock ruled the FM airwaves but if you weren`t too far from the lake, you could catch Buffalo’s 93.7 WBLK for your rap fix. The frequency wasn`t perfect and travelling on the highway guaranteed you at least a few 5 second static spells, but they spun the hottest hip-hop with a playlist similar to the stations further south in New York City. However, Rawkus Records had me searching for music that wasn`t played on any commercial station, so a friend pointed me in the direction of CHRY and The Soundcheck Show with DJ Grouch, Contagious and Gavin Sheppard. From there I discovered Back Road Radio, the Masterplan and Real Frequency. College radio effectively had underground hip-hop (or as those of us at the time called it; hip-hop) locked down. They advertised events and in the summer of 2001 it seemed like every weekend there were at least 2 dope live hip-hop shows at places like the Comfort Zone, Reverb and Revival. We were surrounded by quality music but still wanted more. An FM radio channel for starters; a tangible, 24 hour platform where we wouldn`t have to worry about losing the signal if we drove to Malton.

Earlier that year, Milestone Radio fulfilled their mission of acquiring a frequency to broadcast an urban station. They had been turned down twice in the past 10 years, much to the chagrin of black music aficionados in the city with many penning letters and petitions in protest. Some cried foul, some cried racism, but whatever the reasoning was behind it, the response convinced the Federal Council to prepare an Order of Council in 1998, demanding the CRTC reserve a frequency in the future for a proposed urban platform. The new station, Flow 93.5, received the license based on the mandate of “reflecting the community” with a format that would be a “modern-day reflection of the rich musical traditions of Black musicians and Black-influenced music over at least the past century.” Two years later, they started moving the goalposts. What began as a promising outlet for a range of discourse and music from North America, the Caribbean and beyond rapidly devolved into top 40 selections with unabashed crossover attempts by white pop stars. Britney Spears might try to sound like Janet, she might try to sing over hip-hop rhythms like Janet, she may even copy the choreography and live show of Janet, but she’s not Janet Jackson.

Alongside a few collaborators, I’d decide to record a demo for a hip-hop radio show myself. CKLN had 3 slots opening up and despite being covered for rap content they were interested in hearing what we had. Toronto hip-hop fixture Mindbender joined me in the demo’s production, ensuring the show represented our respective backgrounds in music. The available slots all had three hours to fill, so the first would be a mash-up of current hip-hop, the second would be a produced audiomentary on the culture (We actually recorded an hour-long special on the history of Death Row Records which I later rewrote for OTA Live) and the third would be reserved exclusively to play new and classic local music. Program Director Tim May liked the idea, but ultimately felt we weren’t ready to take a spot in essentially what would have been the station’s fourth hip-hop show. He was probably right. Disappointed, I turned my attention to journalism and began blogging for American hip-hop sites. A strong voice can’t be suppressed, but sometimes you just have to look to other avenues.

At that point Flow had thrown off the false pretences of “reflecting the community” and rebranded themselves as “the new Flow 93.5.” They pushed an official format of rhythmic top 40 and forayed further and further into pop crossover. They did however compensate for this approach by carrying a variety of great shows that specialized exclusively in hip-hop, reggae and soca. On a lazy Saturday afternoon I happened to tune in to the station and to my great curiosity heard an audio biography of the Notorious BIG. It was well paced, impeccably produced and the narrative pulsed with authenticity. This was exactly the type of radio I’d wanted to make. Afterwards some dude did a segment explaining that if you wanted to be a hustler in the game, you could take that exact same skill-set to business school and become an entrepreneur, product manager or investor for greater reward. Their message was progressive, but not elitist and the DJ spun a healthy dose of local music in his mix. At the time I didn’t really care for much of it, finding most tracks to be poor imitations of their American counterparts, specifically Dipset, Jay-Z and a myriad of southern bounce music. Those audio documentaries had me transfixed though, so I contacted host Ty Harper (the dude who wrote the aforementioned weekly Cell Therapy segment) through hiphopcanada.com and enquired about penning a few.

Over the course of my two years with the show, I wrote bios for icons like DJ Premier, Pete Rock and Ghostface Killah amongst others. I loved every minute of it and there was an incredible sense of accomplishment in hearing my work live on the radio for millions to hear. But the primary pride lay in being part of what I truly believed to be the best hip-hop show around. Not just in Canada, but period. Because of their outreach with Toronto artists, the calibre of local hip-hop played was impressive and they soon created the popular Megacity Countdown (in partnership with HipHopCanada.com) to try and instil a competitive edge in a landscape dulled by FACTOR and failing media support. Aside from the omnipresent Mindbender, I’d never met two people who truly loved and believed in the progression of Toronto music more than Ty or Rez. Unlike other shows, OTA Live didn`t simply play one random Canadian record for every two American in order to fulfill their CANCON quota. They gave an introduction to a new artist, helping them brand themselves and gave them an education on how the industry works. In turn, they became incredibly well-respected critically and a success ratings-wise in their time slot, sometimes in spite of the station with its revolving door formats and mediocre PR.

My attitude towards Toronto music was shifting also. I was becoming more exposed to it through the show as they played talent like K’naan, Melanie Fiona and Drake– artists who would be artists regardless of where you put them on the planet. I remember originally scoffing when Program Director Wayne Williams said any CANCON played would “ha(ve) to stand next to an LL Cool J or an Eve, or a Dr. Dre.” I thought to myself ‘Never in my life would I place a Toronto artist in that bracket (well, at least the first and last name), never mind their songs having the actual engineering quality required.’ A greater access to technology and an explosion of local talent soon changed that. I suspect it also changed the views of many and exposed the myth of the Canadian artist not being able to compete on a hip-hop international stage. I’m perfect proof of that. In 2010, and for the first time in my life, I actually purchased more Canadian rap than American. Nor am I shy about letting my American hip-hop blogging peers know about it.

When the CTV takeover happened, most who worked at Flow knew the writing was on the wall. They knew that CTV didn’t care for speciality shows or the notion of “serving the community.” They cared about making the maximum amount of revenue from the smallest overhead. They are a business; A corporation. And a very successful one at that. The easiest way for them to make money is to follow the same top 40 formula carried by the rest of the stations they own. One ongoing 25 minute playlist of crossover music, absolutely no difference in the shows and three or four drone hosts who push buttons whilst filling their 30 seconds of talk-time with cliché, crappy puns and small-talk gibberish. It’s worked for them before and it’ll work for them again, because it’s 2011, and hip-hop is not dead, it’s just being bled dry. The question remains though, if the frequency of 93.5 was licensed based on the mandate of reflecting the black community in Toronto, can the license not be revoked once that is no longer the station’s mission? This qualm was originally raised years ago when Flow began centralizing their playlist to suit the tastes of those outside of the community. They even had the nerve to use whatever influence they possessed to try and block CARN’s (Caribbean and African Radio Network) application for its own license, stating that they were “already meeting the listening needs of the black community.” An insinuation all the more offensive after vice-president of sales Byron Garby stated “we don’t talk about being an ethnic station, we’re mainstream.”

OTA Live achieved exactly what Williams had hoped for Flow. The show inspired artists to create music on par with their southern counterparts without depicting themselves as cartoon imitations. But just as these acts had broken through into the United States with platinum success, multi-country tours and critical acclaim, the voice for the compounding next generation of artists has been snuffed out and silenced. On February 2nd, CTV dropped all of the speciality shows and retained just a handful of the station’s existing talent. It’s a crushing blow to aspiring rappers, producers and singers across the city, a good deal of whom looked to shows like OTA Live for cues on preparing demos and attending information seminars. Most importantly, a vital platform has been lost, as has the potential to instantly connect with listeners from a metropolitan area of 5 million plus. Presently, CKLN has had its broadcast license revoked in what the CRTC terms as a failure to comply with regulations and conditions. If this resolution ultimately comes to pass, Toronto will have lost four key hip-hop shows in the space of one month. I’ve been away from OTA for around a year after getting more involved in sports-writing and marketing, but I couldn’t help but feel devastated by CTV’s decision. Unable to concentrate on some late night work research, I picked up the phone and gave Rez a call. We’ve worked together on several projects outside of Flow, so I knew he’d give me a minute to vent, despite the fact he probably wasn’t even in the mood to talk about it. As usual, he was the quintessential professional, being thankful for the show’s great run, its incredible support and looking forward to the future.

After we hung up, I went back to doing my work research. I’ve been very lucky to have found a job in my field that not only combines my interests, but also pays a very rewarding salary. In these unstable times, it’s a blessing for a 20-something to be able say that. Part of my job involves using social media platforms like Twitter. Tonight I was wearily scouring the site’s search engine for mentions of the latest sports product we just launched. I paused and entered ‘OTA Live’ instead. Page upon page filled the screen with a unified message. “Are you serious?? They got rid of OTA Live?? Wow”… “I can’t believe this, I loved that show”… “I’m messed up right now, RIP OTA Live.” As I scanned through the profiles, replete with self-taken pictures of pubescent kids struggling to form their own identities: girls pouting their lips with Minaj in their names, boys with ballcaps and hand signs, I couldn’t help but think back to the night I sat by my brother’s boombox. I couldn’t help but wonder what hope they had in either making it as an artist, journalist or just as a fan of the music when the only context they’re going to be provided with moving forward will be those 5 songs with crossover appeal in the repeating 25 minute playlist. Fit for the urban rhythmic platform, efficiently recycled and monetized to its best ability.

Not fit for a culture, not even fit for a community.

Quotes referenced originally featured in the work of Ashante Infanty and Susana Ferreira

Written by Chris Cromie

Aw shit; here we go, lol!

From PoundMag.com:

Humble city dwellers,

After 10 years of existing only in print, the first live installment of Pound for Pound is finally here (like, OMG).

The subject: our upcoming mayoral election (you know, that impeding collective trauma that will take place on Monday, October 25, 2010).

The participants: some of Toronto’s finest MCs representing some of Toronto’s finest mayoral candidates. They are:

Blake Carrington as George Smitherman a.k.a. Smitty
L as Rocco Rossi a.k.a. Roc Ross
Smash Brovaz as Joe Pantalone a.k.a. Joe Pants
Rich Kidd as Rob Ford a.k.a The Notorious R.O.B.

A warning to our fair city? Or just another hilarious Pound escapade? You decide.

Pound For Pound – Mayoral Edition

Chris Shaban is back with Part V of his on going commentary on Drizzy, and yet it’s Part 1 of something new – The Flows Edition. To get the full ‘Footnotes’ experience of Shabby’s editorials, hit up his blog - FarBeyond.ca

In Defense of Drake: ‘Flows & Pawns’ – The Flows Edition

Is Drake the most important thing to happen to the city of Toronto in the last 10 years?

More on that in a second… First, let me briefly catch you up. The foonotes* idea is the same, just scroll over the words in red. I went a little trigger-happy on the links this time, still in blue. Let me know what you think.

Now, some quick personal house keeping…

Okay, so I’m just going to come right out with it…. I quit smoking chronicWow, it hurts even more when I write it.. Booze too… Hey, it’s not that funny, get up off the floorAshton… . I know, I’ve heard it before too, but the Lord gave me a Malcolm X type cease and desist orderYou know, By Any Means Necessary, so I had to ride. And straight up, I wouldn’t put it in writing if this were some sort of Snoop Dogg I hope you guys caught his show with Rebel Emergency on the 7th at Guv. exit. I will say this though, the plan is to stay the course till at least May 2011 and I’ll leave it at that“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take – Wayne Gretzky” – Michael Scott… Sucks that this is the last year for him on The Office, but it’s always better to go out on top… at least, that’s what she said. . God works in mysterious ways… but more often He uses the ever-popular ‘sledgehammer-to-the-dome’ technique.

One last quick thing before I dive into the new editionRonnie, Bobby, Ricky and Mike…. And Ralph, and Johnny… Word to Maurice Starr. of this Drake piece, I want to take a moment to tell you how much I love Manchester Orchestra. I am going to go on record and say that they could possibly be the best band out right nowAlthough I’ve known about them for sometime, their ‘Live from Soho’ album and recent Adam Carolla interview sealed the deal. The link to that interview is at the end of this article, flash up to the 57:30 mark. PS – I know I’m old when I didn’t realize how big Adam Carolla’s podcasts were until I read it in Fast Company like 3 months ago. You turn 30 and everything’s all Ensure and Depends.. I’m sorry F3’s that I’m bringing them two years too late, but if I could cook their tracks on a spoon and shoot it in my veins, I wouldGive up green and liquid but move to junk… nice upgrade Shabby. Do yourself a favour and cop the album ‘Mean Everything to Nothing’ immediatelyA little birdie told me that they are in Nashville at Blackbird studios boiling up that crack again, so keep your eyes wide for some new joints in the near future.. Peep game from the opening cut off the album, ‘The Only One’: “I am the only son of a pastor I know, who does the things I do. But if it was you, I don’t think that it would matter, oh and if it was true, then I just wouldn’t matter.” I’m not sure you can understand how deep that statement is, or how much he probably means it, but it’s that honesty that makes them tick. Funny thing is, the pastor he’s talking about is one of the coolest guys I’ve ever metMy guess is that Andy would agree with me on that… Also, on a completely related topic, the Hull’s have an excellent ‘no charge’ washroom deal if you’re ever in Atlanta. Thing is it’s only for the month of August, so that’s where I was from the 16th to the 20th. FYI – When I go away don’t rob my house… the Whitby one either… Pete will beat you up. If you’re able to beat him up, please make sure he cuts the lawn.. Shab Sidebar: Read ‘Pivotal Praying’

Now, for all you youngsters out there, right here on FarBeyond footnotes*, what you’ve all been waiting for, the return of ‘In Defense of Drake’.

Just to bring us back to the same page, I’ll RT the opening question, Is Drake the most important thing to happen to the city of Toronto in the last 10 years?

Read the full Shabby after the jump!

Previously: OPINION: In Defense of Drake Pt. IV (By Chris Shaban)

Of course not, right? That’s ridiculous… Ahhhh, the sweet sound of The ResistanceAside from the multiple Beatles references in the lyrics of this song, my favourite is about Lissa. Obviously he’s talking about the Go-to-Girl and reigning Queen of the decks for 2009 & 2010. She is one of the nicest ladies I’ve ever met in this business. Corwin brought her through to the crib one time with Mona (another woman that makes me happy to be from Toronto) for some dinner and chatting. It was first time meeting both of them and the night went on for hours, way past my bedtime. I’m going to put a link to Lissa’s blog at the end of the article and make sure you follow her on Twitter @djlissamonet… Let’s do this…

Holy Sammy Davis Jr. it has it been a roller coaster 10 months for Aubrey Graham since I published the first installment of this essay. Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood couldn’t have dubbed it better, but some have said that he’s a pawn, but should have focused on his flows. Remember, there was a time not that long ago when simply Googling the name ‘Drake’ would have resulted in more Nick Drake articles than ones about Drizzy. Heck, the most important thing on his Wikipedia page was about Keisha Chante, so to keep it real, this guy’s been on an Unforgettable run so far.

“Okay cool, I’m down with that”, you say, “but how can some Acta Ternt Rappa be more important to one of the most livable cities in the world than the G20Okay, Okay, that was a joke… So was the conference… So were the protesters… hmmm, everything but the cops I guess. I can’t believe I’m saying that. Hip-Hop sites, please forgive me.?” Cue the Fireworks…

So in Part IV of the last ‘In D of D’ footnotes* our boy Ricky Rapper EsqWho, rumour has it, will be making a reappearance in the ‘Pawns’ edition. wasn’t feeling Drizzy’s T.O. love. If I remember correctly, there weren’t many people in the city that were feeling it, and the stats were there to prove itI heard somewhere that men lie, women lie, but numbers don’t. So let me substitute ‘numbers’ with ‘facts’ and don’t tell Jay… Or even Yo Gotti and Wayne for that matter.. Isn’t this the same guy that said, “Shout out to my city, though I hardly be in town”? Well my friends, that sure seems like the perfect place to commence.

Here is a list of just some of the things that Mr. Graham has done for Toronto in 2010:

Worldwide Premiere of ‘Over’ on Flow 93.5RIP? I’m just going to take a moment to say a quick prayer, “Dear God, please don’t let CHUM turn Flow into Bounce. We already have 84 different ‘#1 Hit Music Stations’ in Toronto and all we really need is just one good urban station. So, if you can please work on the hearts of the executives at CHUM and ask that they clean house at the station and bring in some people that know how to attract listeners and make money without creating another frequency that plays The Stereos, I would really appreciate. Thanks! Amen.”

Rolled through the Stylus Awards to pick up his statue for Song of the YearI know it’s ultra cool to act like you don’t care at all, but sweat pants? Haha, I can’t front, if I was that big and 23 years old, I might have walked up in my wife beater and old faithfuls, so it’s all gravy.

Was the spokesperson for Virgin Airlines first Canadian flightBrought Sir Richard and Governor Arnie into the mix too. Might as well right?

Performed at the MMVA’s and cleaned up the Awards regardless of the second debacleDebacle being the sound malfunction this year and the ‘pre-show’ snub last year. PS – does anyone know why you never saw ‘Best I Ever Had’ on MuchMusic? I do, and I’m not allowed to tell… Even though I want to so bad.

Brought out the two biggest artists in the history of rap, Jay & Em, for his OVO Fest finale Just as a little FYI and because I’m ultra jealous, this wasn’t the same as when Jay brought out Michael Jackson at Hot 97’s Summer Jam or when George Michael brought out Elton John to help him perform ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, this was a promotional venture put together by Universal Music. I know, I don’t care either, I just had to put it out there, cause like I said… ultra jealous.

Need I say “etc”…?

Don’t kid yourself; if there was a Toronto flag, this dude would be waving it e’rywhere. Remember something Canadians, WE all know Mike Myers, Peter JenningsRIP, Jamaal Magloire and Jim Carrey are from Toronto, but do you think the average American doesI guess it’s kinda unfair to ask that question, because we don’t know, however I’d be willing to wager that they don’t. Or even care for that matter. Territory is much different in Hip-Hop.? Now, do you think that same American knows Drake is from Hogtown? I’d be willing to wager, ‘no they don’t’ and ‘yes they do’, respectively.

But, who cares if you put on for your city, right? It’s all about the Benji’s down south, isn’t it? I disagree. Look no further than how Cleveland felt about LeBron James after the ‘betrayal’ of his home state in taking his talents to South Beach for proofWhile ESPN’s ‘The Decision’ was as useful to professional sports as a pair of Spanx for an anorexic, I do have to say I understand LeBron’s choice. And if I hear one more old ball player talk about how they’d never do this, I’m going to barf. FYI – Magic, Bird and MJ would slaughter King James, DWade and Bosh, like SLAUGHTER THEM. How did Chris Bosh all of a sudden become one of the top 3 players in the league? I mean, I know he’s talented, but he is mos-def the ‘one of these things just doesn’t belong here’ when we’re talking the Big 3. Lastly, Jim Gray couldn’t have been a better selection to host ‘The Decision’. He is without a doubt the lowest form of sports reporter available to our generation. Just ask Pete Rose or Corey Pavin.. Remember, money talks and fame is like a drug you can take too much of. That said he is a star, but no Spangled Banner.

PS – I’m not saying that the reason the Kentucky Wildcats, and Drake friend, Coach Calipari are bringing the best College team to Canada for some exhibition games this year is because they’re boys, but I’ll make that inference because it adds to my pointThis is not the first NCAA team to do something like this and for sure won’t be the last, but it’s been sometime since a team this ill has. Big Ups to Coach for killing it in the recruiting department again this year. I guess the ‘we’re very supportive of one and dones’ pitch worked again… .

PPS – I loved seeing P Reign on the front end of the last tourBut K-OS? Anyway, it wasn’t my tour..

It wouldn’t be insane to stop the whole essay right now and drop a casual “Oh, you ain’t know?”, but I don’t think I’ve gone Over the top yet with examples, so let’s cram a couple more music related points before I close the door.

I’m going to take a little sidebar here, as I continue to prove the point, and talk about people biting his style“I think you caught me in a moment, Like I catch’em stealin’ flows, cause I swear I never loaned it”.

I’ll skip the fact that Juvenile completely copied Drizzy’s ‘Thank Me Later’ album cover, suggested that his label did it and said he didn’t get to see it before it was releasedIsn’t one of the key points of being on an independent label the creative freedom?. I’m going right to that Big Sean rhyme style that he made famous. It’s kinda like a metaphor or simile; cept the reference is delivered like a punch line. Examples:

“I race for your love, Shake & Bake, Ricky BobbyObviously in reference to Talladega Nights..” – ‘Bed Rock’

“Swimmin’ in the water, come and find me, NemoYou guessed it, ‘Finding Nemo’. – ‘Forever’

“Will I blow all of this money baby, HammertimeYikes… Wouldn’t want to blow tens of millions and be in pocket to Primetime either.? – ‘The Resistance’

Listen to ‘Over’ one time; it’s like a lesson on how to do it. Everyone from Nicki MinajPS – I am the 4 millionth person to say this, but I am in love with Nicki… WOW. to Jay-Z to Kanye West have used this technique of sentence first, provide answer after, but HANDS DOWN the worst I ever heard came courtesy of Ludacris via the second verse from his single ‘My Chick Bad’. The Macy’s line, okay, but “Balloons?” If I was Drake, I’d been vexed tooSpeaking of people thieving other artists lingo, ‘member last edition when I broke down how useless Nas’ attempts at getting slang to enter our culture was? Well, I didn’t count on my favourite ATL representative on the 2nd HARDEST song in 2010 so far to reach back 7 years to put me in my place. “Drop the top, no bra, got the titties out” AHHHHHH, really Jeezy, did you have to do that? Did you have to give your ‘My President’ potna that cosign? ‘Lose My Mind’ had me doing exactly what the title suggested every time I heard it come on, but I always get bitter at the start of the third verse. Okay, so if I could go back and replace it, I’ll substitute out that line from ‘Made You Look’, with this one from ‘Dr. Knockboots’ – “Make her bless you, we call that ‘ish’ Gesundheit” Hmmmmm… for now, after the first night, we’ll call it ‘use your fingers’. Oh, and what’s the hardest song to come out this year. ‘BMF’, Ricky Rozay… Call that a little payback to Jizzle… .. I mean, it’s almost like Karaoke.

And on a completely related topic, can we please stop comparing him to Kid Cudi, J Cole, and Wale? First of all, the latter two are about 18 – 24 months away from “Yo man, you remember what’s his nameAnd that’s not a diss. Word to Lupe Fi… ummm… the ‘Kick, Push’ guy.?” so let’s get Off That. And with Cudder, his crossover appeal is as smooth as a 3-year-old in power skating, so for the sake of THEIR careers, please stop.

Moving on…

And the Award goes to….

Well, in 2009, the answer wasn’t always Drake, but it seems that’s where all the nominations went. I know second place is the first loserShout out to the No Fear shirts for all my peoples that aren’t too young to remember them., but as a rookie to have multiple nods from the Grammys, MTV AwardsOf which he’s performing at this year., Soul Train Awards, Teen Choice Awards and W’s from BET, the MMVA’s and the Juno’s, it’s hard to hate on the kid. I have a feeling there’s going to be a few more trophies to add to the collection before all is said and done.

Last point before I throw the Ricky Rapper hat on and start hating…

Question: What’s the most important thing to any public figure regardless of their occupation. Publicity… media attention… press… bowling with Rihanna… whatever you want to call it, and in the last 10 months, Drake has had enough to start his own little Thomson Reuters type joint. Just over two years ago, all we wanted for our little Hip-Hop community was to hear some CanCon on Hot 97, and now it’s the cover of Billboard Magazine? I won’t even wait till later to thank you for that…. Thanks brah.

How bout consistent interviews on unique outlets like CNN and GQ… did I mention CNN? It seems like he’s been on the cover of every magazine in the worldIncluding he and Nicki turning down the front of the Freshman 10 (which as usual, was ultra garbage) to get their own cover the next issue.. Further, I don’t think one rapper got interviewed without being asked what they thought about Drake. There were Sprite commercialsAlthough, that Sprite one could have ended up in the ‘Pawns’ edition man… Mad props for getting that look, but the visual will rank 2nd to ‘Breast I Ever Had’ in the ‘are you serious?’ archives… and MTV specials. You could follow Drake’s knee on Twitter. He was a spokesperson for Bing. He even partnered with his weapon of choice to help them be cool. I’m going to stop now, cause I’ve already over stayed my welcome on this topic, but you get where I’m going.

So let’s cut right to it, do all of these above things make Drake TO’s most important export in that last 10 years? I’m going to go with my brain and say No, net yet… but I gotta tell ya, it’s one heck of a start.

That’s it for the Flows edition of this piece. Reach back in two weeks for the Pawns edition where we let Ricky Rapper pose the question: “Could Drake be the worst thing to…” ahhhhh… I’ll save it till then.

Nice likkle editorial piece by Kern Carter about the city’s music scene (which is on fire btw).

It’s become clear that hip hop music is shining its spotlight north of the boarder, and particularly in the city of Toronto. Over the past few years, we have seen a number of artists and producers burst into the mainstream to become stars, and countless more waiting their turn to become the next big thing to make it out of the city. With so much rising talent to choose from, it’s no wonder Toronto has the ear of the industry and the attention of the world.

Toronto New City of Urban Music

Urban music has made its rounds across America, continually seraching for the next wave of talent to lead the industry with fresh sounds and new energy; from New York to LA, to Atlanta and the rest of the south, and now finally to the Canadian city of Toronto. In all of its travels, it has been the up and coming talent that have driven these cities to prominence; be it a young Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, Outkast and TI, No Limit and Cash Money, it is the young talent that push their cities forward and eventually become household names.

Toronto Filled With Outstanding Young Musical Talent

Toronto is no different. With Drake leading the way, and K’Naan beginning to take off, there is a cast of rising artists anxious to step into the spotlight and capitalize on a booming industry. As far as rappers go, P Reign and JD Era are the most talked about in the city. P Reign is currently on the Canadian leg of Drake’s tour, while Era has what most will agree is the hottest single in the city with the Beat Merchant produced, “You Know This.” Page is another Toronto bred rapper that has already enjoyed some commercial success with his “So Fly” track that made a strong run on Canadian and U.S airwaves, and his recent feud with Drake has again thrust him into the spotlight.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

“It’s been a long time coming,” says Saukrates of Season One. “I was dying to find a way to start again and keep it fresh for those who aren’t familiar, but also to show the diehard fans that it ain’t over.”

Read the interview

Via HHC! from TMB!

Y’all already know my stance on this topic and the importance of always receiving TANGIBLE returns for your music.

Here’s some more practical fuel to the argument from Mic-Control co-founder Jon Ostrow.

At this point, most emerging artists are familiar with the (potential) benefits of giving their music away for free:

• Maximizes the possibility of discovery
• Free Advertising
• Can create viral-buzz about your music

But in reality, unless you already possess a large fan-base along with the subsequent reach, giving your music away will be the last you hear from most new “fans.” This situation is only ideal for artists who have successfully converted people from fans to loyalists – those who not only want to share this music with others, but who actively seek out others who share a common interest in the music. If you are not at this level on a large scale, consider using a slightly different strategy.

What you need, is a way to turn this seemingly one-sided transaction, into one that is mutually beneficial. You essentially want to continue charging for your product, but in a way that replaces value in terms of money with that of brand growth. Consider charging for your music using social currency, which would put you in the position to receive a tangible return that would increase your reputation and reach, rather than increase your bank account.

Full article after the jump!

The following are a few different ways for you to charge for your music using social currency:

Collect e-mails

This is the ideal choice of social currency. Building and maintaining a mailing list has many long-lasting benefits that can be used to leverage fan engagement, and can even lead to the conversion of fans to loyalists.

Most importantly, a mailing list gives you a direct channel of communication between you and your fans. You may have 10,000 followers on Twitter or fans on your Facebook fan-page, but if you post up an announcement, how many will actually see it? Social media works in real-time. Unless all of your fan-base is online or is specifically looking for updates from your Twitter or Facebook account (a typical characteristic of a loyalist), the chances are that the initial announcements will be overlooked. Your mailing list, however, ensures that when you reach out to your fans, you WILL be seen.

As mentioned above, mailling lists also give you the opportunity to leverage additional fan engagement that may convert fans to loyalists. Through exclusive benefits such as pre-sale opportunities, additional free downloads, discounted merch, and more, you have a better chance to keep your fans engaged and interested.

Bandcamp

This invaluable website offers many great (and FREE) services to independent artists. Specifically, it allows you to build your mailing list in exchange for giving away some music of your choice.  Bandcamp lets you to choose whether you want to give away an entire album, a collection of songs or even just a single track, all of which can be downloaded for free as long as the person joins your mailing list.

Exchange a tweet for a download

This can also be an effective form of social currency, and is a great alternative option to give those uninterested in joining another mailing list. However, the effectiveness of this method is entirely dependent on three things:

• 1. The person’s reach, involvement, and reputation on Twitter
• 2. The time of the tweet
• 3. YOUR involvement and reputation on Twitter

Exchanging a tweet for DL can be very helpful IF all of the above criteria are met, otherwise the tweet will likely be a wasted promotional effort. While this method is much more IF-based than a mailing list, it can be a great way to building up your own presence on Twitter.

Here are a few services that can help you set up “tweet for a download” functionality:

Tweet For A Track: A free and easy service that allows you to not only customize the tweet that will be sent out and can track how many downloads have taken place, but requires the downloader to input an email address as well. Win-Win!

Pay With A Tweet: Similar to Tweet For A Track although it does not require an email address. This service does, however, give you a widget to embed in other places.

NOTE: If you do offer this as an option, make sure that the tweet includes your own Twitter tag so you can track the retweets with Twitter Search.

Exchange a Facebook Share for a download

This can be an effective form of social currency as well, since most of your fans are already on Facebook, and are usually (though not always) connected with friends who share common interests. Although, the pitfall with this option is that not only does Facebook’s news feed work in real-time, but it now uses an algorithm to determine which wall posts appear in other peoples’ feeds. Unfortunately this means your FB shares may get lost in the mix.

Cash Music: This non-profit organization has created open-source applications for both Facebook and Twitter that allow you to offer free music downloads in exchange for telling others about the music. Ironically, Cash Music has made it a requirement that you also share a tweet or wall post on Facebook in order to download the code for the app. What a great use of social currency!

The idea of accepting social currency as payment for your music will give you more opportunities to grow your brand throughout different avenues of social media. While the mailing list is the ideal option, it is important (and fun) to offer a few different ways to allow people to pay with social currency, as not everyone will be interested in joining your mailing list.

Now that your thinking in terms of social currency and not money, what is the best way to ’sell’ your content?