Well alright then..

There is a crisis in America. This crisis began with the first European settler encountering the indigenous people of the land; the First Nations. This crisis continued with the first enslaved African landing on the shores of North America, and the first Japanese internment camp. There are too many examples to name.

This crisis is a crisis of value, value of economy over human life and the environment that sustains it, value of one perception over another, value of the rights of one group over another and the hypocrisy of “freedom” by force.

This skewed perception of value is present all over the world but in no place is it so extreme as in America, presently the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world. The injustice in America is both it’s foundation and it’s eventual downfall (see Rome for details). The crisis is a moral one.

Produced by Big Sproxx, the producer behind the Freedom Writers, I wrote the song but left the names out because this has happened many many times before, and will happen again. It is a sister song to ‘Black Bodies’ a song I wrote for my 2011 album One Day Soon, that song was about violence inside the black community, ‘America’ is about violence (structural, political and social) toward the black community in the form of police brutality and the injustice that seems to inherently follow it. ‘America’ is told from the perspective of a member of the community who witnesses the shooting, reflects on it’s reality and ends up on the streets in chaotic protest.

This song is a protest, but it won’t solve the problem, people will.

-Ian Kamau
@iankamau
@big_sproxx

Theo3 lets off the DJ Pack for his latest 4-cut release, Payin’ Hommage. DL below!

Toronto Emcee THEOLOGY 3 (Stylistik 89.5fm, Freedom Writers, Camp X) is proud to release this content driven, hard driving project for public consumption reflecting on a wide variety of social issues, aggressive lyricism and musically diverse beats. From the innovative chorus of PAYIN’ HOMMAGE featuring the precision cuts of DJ Thera P blending some of Theo3’s “Favourite Lines” to the controversial smack down ofWHITE TRASH detailing the blame driven, reactionary musings of many racist people in all economic and social settings, this record is not to be missed. Additional production is provided by highly regarded producerAMIR (Drake, Shad) and multi instrumentalist SY WYLD (Arabesque). To support all Theology 3 releases visit www.Theology3.com and pick up one of the many critically acclaimed projects with collaborators including TONY TOUCH, DJ ECLIPSE, AUDIBLE DOCTOR, The FREEDOM WRITERS, PSYCHO LES and more. Thank YOU.

Previous: NEW MUSIC: THEO 3 “PAYIN HOMMAGE” (EP)

Directed by David F. Mewa.

CBC Music drops what looks like a new series of short hip-hop profiles. In this first one, the Choclate Boy Wonder reflects on the making of “T.R.O.Y.” – one of the greatest songs to come out of the 90’s-era – while Rich and Raz offer a live rendition of that classic single. Shouts to Mewa on the direction!

Previously: NEW MUSIC: NATURALLY BORN STRANGERS (RICH KIDD X TONA X ADAM BOMB) “DRUGS” (PROD. RICH KIDD)

Previously: INTERVIEW: FREEDOM WRITERS W/ EXCLAIM.CA

Previously: NEW MUSIC: RAZ FRESCO “SLANG RAP” (PROD. RAZ FRESCO)

This sh*t KNOCKS. Shouts to Theo and Bomb every time but after a long hiatus it’s extra dope to get all these new Korry Deez verses lately. Lancecape on the headnoderation.

What do you get, when three Toronto Hip Hop Veterans come together too collaborate on a hard hitting production?

www.mediafire.com/download/ip3h12z…pe_(DJ_PACK).zip

The best possible answer would be some truly, SIGNIFICANT music. Theo 3 (Camp X/Freedom Writers), Korry Deez (IRS/Monolith) and Adam Bomb (Empire/Freedom Writers/Naturally Born Strangers) unleash monstrous verses over a neck snapping Lancecape production. Each MC displays what significant means to them. The track is very witty and aggressive. Nothing short of what a posse track should be. It further more displays that Hip Hop is alive and well north of the border.

Get ready to snap your neck to a real, SIGNIFICANT banger.

Previous: NEW MUSIC: WIO-K – REMEMBRANCE DAY FEAT. GRIMACE LOVE & MOORISH EMCEE AKA PRHYME (PROD. LANCECAPE)

More good good from the dynamic duo that is Via Linez and Lyve. Tona and Korry Deez on the assist. Full DJ Pack right there on the Bandcamp.

Tommy Gunn tho.

Hard not to forget one of the most memorable street fight scenes of the 90’s, when Balboa almost took an ‘L’ to the young and hungry street fighter turned Pro boxer, Tommy Gunn.

For this round, Via Linez calls on the assist from Toronto rhyme-brawlers, TONA Tencreddi (Natrualy Born Strangers/Freedom Writers) and Korry Deez (IRS/Monolith). Together the trio do what you expect, step in with aggressive wordplay and smash the Lyve produced banger.

FULL DJ ZIP BELOW

https://copy.com/F6bZ6ipfhtqM9RS7

or

VLXL.bandcamp.com

TOMMY GUNN RAP is from the upcoming VLXL ‘Rappity Raps’: The Mixtape LP which drops TUESDAY MARCH 4th, 2014 and will feature some new and past heat from the emcee/producer duo. 

All of this heat is for the upcoming and HIGHLY anticipated full length album, TA&F (TRAINS, AUTOMOBILE’s & FLIGHTS) LP which is due March 21st, 2014.

Previous: NEW MUSIC: VLXL (VIA LINEZ & LYVE) “SHOW LOVE” (DJ PACK) (PROD. LYVE)

After its debut in August of 2012, “Aneemah’s Spot” gets a 5-show run in Feb. starting with 2 shows tomorrow in Mississauga. Dope! Really hope I can make it out to one of these shows.

Meanwhile, in order to help promote the production, music director extraordinaire DJ L’oqenz put together a mixtape of all-Canadian chunes to help spread the word. Tracklist under the hood!

And if that wasn’t enough…L also posted up the original music produced for the play.

Produced by: niteowlnaps aka L’Oqenz for Aneemah’s Spot

Aneemah’s Spot is a riveting dramatic duet set in the millennial MegaCity. Written by Motion, and directed by Charles Officer, the tale follows two childhood friends struggling to cope with the fall out of a tragedy. Starring Amanda Parris and Shomari Downer, the award-winning production features a stylistic sound-scape by DJ L’Oqenz that pulsates like the city that birthed it.

Aneemah’s Spot: www.facebook.com/AneemahsSpot
Event Page: www.facebook.com/events/736289989717261
Tickets: www.aneemahsspot.com/tix
Twitter: @aneemahsspot

Previous: VIDEO: ANEEMAH’S SPOT (TRAILER)

(more…)

More footage from the R.I.S.E. concert a couple months back. This time it’s Miss Wisdom silencing the crowd.

Shi Wisdom perform’s show and prove on the last day. She was the headliner of the night and had everybody’s undivided attention that night. 

filmed by @slyFOXreality

Previous: VIDEO: FREEDOM WRITERS PERFORMANCE @ R.I.S.E. CONCERT

Wow, nice to see a new generation of teens doing what many generations before theirs were doing at their age AND the inter-generational relationships being fostered through these types of initiatives. Get to know more about R.I.S.E. via their youtube channel!

For Immediate Release

The young people of Toronto have a lot of talent, but what’s the best way to nurture and develop it? R.I.S.E is about “Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere;” using arts and culture to connect, educate and empower Toronto’s youth, and celebrate their creativity.

From Friday October 25th to Sunday October 27th, R.I.S.E Edutainment, with support from City of Toronto Culture presents, Toronto’s first EDUTAINMENT CONVENTION: 3 days of concerts, artistic workshops, art business development, networking and discussions. The Convention is a holistic way of connecting, presenting and building up emerging and established music and spoken word artists across Toronto.

The Edutainment Convention will educate and empower young artists by connecting them with professionals who have paved a sustainable path in their respective fields. By providing performance, knowledge building and networking opportunities the Convention will help bridge the gap between Toronto’s emerging and professional artists; giving emerging artists resources and experiences needed to grow their own successful careers.

The Convention will be a weekend of performances and learning taking place at the North York Civic Centre (NYCC) and the Toronto Centre for the Arts (TCA).

Event 1 – Rise and Rhyme Concert:
The weekend opens with a concert featuring Freedom Writers and John River inside the TCA’s beautiful George Weston Theatre.

Event 2 – Edutainment Conference: 
Saturday and Sunday will be 2 full days of holistic development for young artists at the NYCC. Saturday focuses on artistic skill building and features a key note talk by Director X, a videographer who has worked with many artists, including Drake. There will also be workshops for poets, vocalists and MC’s. Sunday focuses on building business skills necessary to make a living creating art. The day will include a panel of full-time artists, a discussion about working in the recording industry and a speed dating session connecting artists with funding institutions.

Event 3 – Soulful Vocals Concert: 
On Sunday the Convention closes with a second concert at the TCA, with performances by Shi Wisdom and Plaitwrights, among others.

Check out the full Convention schedule HERE

The Conference is FREE and open to the public, aimed primarily at youth aged 18-30.

Concert tickets are $10 in advance on ticketmaster.ca or $15 at the door. There are discounted tickets available for non-profits and community groups.

Locations:
Toronto Centre for the Arts (George Weston Recital Hall): 5040 Yonge Street
North York Civic Centre: 5100 Yonge Street

For more information or interview requests please contact Randell Adjei, Director of R.I.S.E Edutainment:
647-294-6677, director@riseedutainment.com

All blog posts, tweets + other shares are welcome and appreciated!
Much love.
#RISE

 www.riseedutainment.com

Directed by Mark Valino.

Wow, just catching up with things after a long 24 hour night/into work morning/day/afternoon thanks to the sickness that was the Freedom Writers release party last night… and this dude Delisca would know exactly what I speak of cuz I saw him in line with the rest of us, showing that Toronto hip-hop love!

Part of the “Sounds of My City” Series (6 of 6)

Directed/Filmed/Edited by: Mark Valino
Written & Performed by: David Delisca

David’s Statement:
Keep It Goin’ comes from a guest contribution that I did for my boy Crossword’s project “Different Light” EP. A while back, Crossword asked me if I could write something about persistence and I said “yea, waddup, I gotchu” and that’s how Keep It Goin was born.

The idea for it stared during my genesis as an artist in Canada with all the adversity that was against me as a new artist trying to make a sustainable lifestyle doing what I love. As a new immigrant during that time, I had issues finding my stance while having financial issues and this is something that I am not the only one who relates to. New immigrants and new artist will suffer resistance but they are to trust their persistence and keep it goin to make it through.

I met up with the smooth playa Valino after having developed a relationship through our ties at Manifesto and I yearned to work with and then the universe like “aight, imma make this happen for ya’ll’ and then whoop, there it is.

Follow David on twitter here:
https://twitter.com/DOdelisca

Stream KJ’s “Water” album here:
http://soundcloud.com/keitajuma

Valino’s Log:
In February of 2013 David posted a FB status update saying that he was curious what a video artist could do with his work. Knowing that David is a hugely talented writer I took on the challange. Although it would take half a year for us to actually get together to shoot something it was a project I had in the back of my mind all through a busy summer. I picked the grange park for a bunch of different reasons. One being that I walk through this park everyday and there are so many great angles to shoot in this downtown park and so much goes on there in terms of culture. Second was because I felt it went with the theme of his piece, being about struggling artists and what better place than in between the Art Gallery of Ontario and The Ontario College of Art. Also through our Manifesto roots we decided to showcase some of the new line of clothing which also fit the theme of Art is Power. This video was roughly planned and executed with little to no plan which I try to do at least one of these shoots a year to keep my skills sharp and works as a creative exercise for me. This was shot within the span of 3hrs on a beautiful sunny day in September and fully edited in 6hrs.

follow Valino on twitter here:
https://twitter.com/#!/MarkValino
www.MarkValino.com

Previously:

“If you ballin’ like that, why you keep applying for grants?”

“I do this for any T.O. MC that’s been demoralized ’cause he refused to partake in a legacy of compromise.”

Frankie obliterates all wackness over the “Control” beat. Shouts to the whole Freedom Writers movement.

I’m just saying what we’re all thinking.

Download Tiger Eye’s
http://www.reverbnation.com/frankiepa…

Download CLARITY NOW
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/cla…

Previous: NEW VIDEO: FRANKIE PAYNE – WHO JAH BLESS