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If there's one thing I never miss, it's a Hip
Hop show in Toronto. Now of all the years I've attended these shows, I've never
had to leave the comforts of Downtown T.O. This all changed on Saturday January
27th, as I headed up to the outskirts of the city for an event called Northern
Flow, appropriately captioned "Hip Hop in the burbs". The flyer promised a various
array of performers from three aspects of urban life: emcees, deejays and graffiti
artists. Upon arrival at the venue(Johnny's Bar & Billiards); it wouldn't be
uncommon for one to think they had misread the flyer or got off at the wrong
stop, but this subterranean pool hall was indeed the right place. Just a few
minutes after the doors opened the place was already filling up, but not with
the usual crowd of B-boys and girls. My first impression was that these seemingly
typical suburb folks had just come to hang at the local bar and shoot some pool,
oblivious to the fact that there would be some major head bopping going down
in a short while. Of this I was convinced, until I remembered that there was
a $7 cover, which led to me to think that none of these people would have belted
the bucks if they weren't expecting to hear some nice beats and tight rhymes.(The
fact that the covers were laid on the pool table also aided me in reaching my
conclusion). So I assumed that the hip-hoppers in the burbs were less concerned
with looking the part and more with the actual show. Which, might I add was
quite refreshing in comparison to the oh-so-played, mainstream, "hip-hopper
in a bag" look seen far too often at the downtown shows.
With breakers in one corner and graffers in the other, the crowd was given something to keep them occupied and interested as the room filled up and the show got on its way. The first act was a young emcee by the name of Quotashun. His set opened with an extract of the well known anthem to Hockey Night in Canada, which granted him praise from the audience. And there he began to spit some of the most well-articulated rhymes with a flow so smooth it could make a river jealous; over several well-known and liked beats, as well as a couple of rarities. This nice vibe was maintained throughout his set, which ended with a song called Quo's Ego, a self-explanatory rhyme sung over his very own beat. The deejay, though a little nervous, did a good job shifting the beats, and all in all for their first performance, they did a good job. Next up was a group called D ND's(which I later found out was pronounced 'dee-endz') I have to give these guys credit for having so much energy, and having woken up the crowd with their rendition of Aliyah's popular song "Try again". With all the lyrics changed to weed associated words, and the chorus to something along the lines of "If you're coming down from the weed. Roll another spliff and burn again" it was inevitable that this would be a definite crowd pleaser. If D ND's aim was to hype up the crowd, then I would say that they definitely succeeded. The last emcee to go up was the well known Kamau. He came up with several other emcees who all made their own contributions to his set. He performed several songs, pouring into each one an equal amount of passion and true feel for the topics explored. The quality I admired most in this emcee and his affiliates, was their hovering stage presence. Each voice, though quite distinct, meshing with the other to form a collective aura of true soul; further proving the reason why Kamau is quite liked among local heads.
The show came to a close with the much anticipated battle. At this point the crowd, which had maintained a certain distance from the performance area, was now pushing forward occupying all the space which was vacant during all the emcees' performances. Upon hearing the first good battle rhyme the crowd was already in cheers, and this went on for the whole duration of the contest, the objections from the audience even going as far as intimidating one of the contestants out of the battle. One by one the emcees were eliminated until there were two. They had 4 rounds, their rhymes becoming weaker and weaker, making their reproaches to each other less and less intimidating, though both contestants being talented emcees. As the show wrapped up, coincidently, the one who won in the end was the one who started it all: Quotashun. And I guess that's something else you can add to Quo's Ego.
I first asked myself this question over a month ago when I decided to review “Tonic,” the then most recent album released by the experimental Jazz trio. Before I pulled out all the MMW albums we had at the office or surfed the net for interesting facts about the group I tried to recall the first time I heard of this band.
It was 1995 and I was in my first year of university in Boone, North Carolina, a town more known for it's sticky potent buds than its music school. We had a very small Jazz department and I only remember a few kids, none by name, though I know one of them moved on to bigger and better things trough an international release with his band; the Blue Rags…I think that was the name…but I digress. Everyone was into Medeski Martin & Wood. It was a taste of groove that none of us kids heard, but in hind-sight Medeski Martin & Wood wouldn't have been as impressive to us had we gotten a better a jazz education; Bud Powell and Jimmy Smith are in a different league than John Medeski. MMW had something very big going for them. Good exposure.
Is that what Medeski Martin & Wood are? Fully accessible rock stars? Lining up to the show a few Sundays ago I came closer to answering the question. This was definitely not your average Jazz show. The crowd outside was more reminiscent of Dead Lot than the Montreal Bistro, tough nobody offered me any “kind vegan burritos.” Inside the Government, a club I will never go to for Jazz again, was the heart and soul of today's music fans. Raver kids, average white guys, and hip-hop fans alike….okay it was mostly pot smoking college kids hiding from security guards. Medeski Martin & Wood are the band hippies go to see when Phish isn't in town…Is that it? They did allow the audience to tape the show, but these days music is free off the internet anyhow. Might as well tape the show.
Now two weeks later I'm still asking myself who Medeski Martin & Wood are. I've listened and enjoyed the new album “Dropper” produced by Scotty Hard at Brooklyn's Shacklyn studios. The answer came to me when I opened the CD case. An insert sized label order had more writing on it than the album cover; it was for MM&W merchandise. Being a musician myself I can't stress the significance of music being a business. We musicians struggle through poverty most of our lives. If you should be fortunate enough to have your own Blue Note release, friends, milk it for all you can. My conclusion, Medeski Martin and Wood are musicians. They are not yet legendary musicians, but they are talented and I do believe they have not hit their jazzenith just yet. So instead of trying to find MMW spot in the spectrum of music try listening for a moment. I take it I'm about to draw allot of criticism daring to write about MM&W when I'm not one of their heads, but if this phenomenon is anything like the Grateful Dead trip, it's a given that half the fans complaining won't know shit about music and are into it for the culture.
Yes, it can be hard to digest John Medeski's weird ass sounds at times. He was using some kind of a theramin; noise off the “Dropper” album, which made the stiffs in the crowd winch, but Medeski brought out the melody and groove playing piano on the first track track off “Tonic.” As the set progressed I started figuring out why the kids like this shit. TV generation! Medeski Martin & Wood have the attention span of a three year old. The band got into a tasty groove and before you know it they are way off the ball. It was as though each band member had a different tune in their head. Drummer, Bill Marin, was trying to lead the trio back into some sort of a groove, but Medeski was too busy playing with his toys to figure out where the bass and drums were going. I was listening carefully to a few of MM&W past albums as I began writing about them, and what kept the band working in “Tonic” was the fact that Medeski played with only one little piano. If someone had snuck up stage and broken some of John's instruments I guarantee the set would have been much tighter. Have I mentioned I can't stand the Government for a jazz show. While Chris Wood's electric bass cut through the noise the upright just sounded like garbage…blame the soundman or the venue. By the end of the first set the band had calmed down the noise electric noise and moved into a more organic sound. There was some magic on stage, though I was thrice disappointed to have a three-minute build up go nowhere. The set ended with some real neat-o percussion work by Billy Martin,which probably alienated allot of people as much as the less organic synth noises did, but overall you could sense the fans were into it. They were into everything; cheering whether the band was good or bad. It's nice to have fans like that.
I spent the first song of the second set watching the better dancers make some moves I've I never seen at any Phish show. The band was grooving very nicely and I wished the show wasn't on a Sunday night! So I could catch the last few songs. I came out of the show with three things I wanted to write down: 1) MM&W's strength, their innovation in improvisation is also their weakness. 2) It's not fair to compare young Jazz artists today with the greats of the past. The greats of the past became great over time, and it is my opinion that MM&W, despite their short-comings, have the talent to be listed in the same list as Blue Note's 50's artists. I won't list names because I refuse to read any “how dare you compare” emails.3) Goes out to all the articles that trashed the album. The production & studio magic helped cover the weaknesses of the live show, which in my opinion, was the bands inability to sustain groove, and I've been thoroughly enjoying “Dropper” thus far. I know why the media trashed the album. Some people can't stand hearing something new, something they've never heard before. Rather than trying to sound like John Coltrane or Jimmy Smith copy, Jazz musicians Medeski Martin & Wood are creating something new. Imagine that Jazz being an innovative style rather than a copy of an old dusty record your grandfather's had in his collection since the 1920's.
When Medeski Martin & Wood come back to Toronto I will be there, 4 track and stereo microphone, on hand. Here is an opportunity to see Jazz history in the making. Medeski Martin & Wood are a real-life example of forward thinking and progression in modern music. Buy the album!
The Morning of...
Saturday, December 2, 2000 marked the debut of H.Y.P.E. (Helping Young People Excel) at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in downtown Toronto, an event that had been loosely promoted, but garnered a great turnout for a first time event. Organized by 4Unity Productions, a youth media arts association based in Toronto's West End, this events aim was to apply their knowledge of hip hop culture into a learning experience for all. Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Toronto - Toronto Arts Council, this group will surely become an active force in the future. The AGO was brought into the mix through the AGO Teen Council, a group of 10 youth, aged 14-19, who host special exhibitions at the gallery with youth interest in mind.
Now, mind you I had heard about this event on a flyer a few months ago, however no particular date had been chosen for the event, rather just a flyer to gather interest and participation in the event. I had not heard of anything since then until the day of the event, when a couple of TheCyberKrib crew woke me out of my Saturday morning sleep and said there was a hip hop showcase/exhibition down at the AGO. So, I jumped in the shower, threw on the kicks, hooked up with these two cats and went down to check it out.
Approaching the AGO building, I saw the first sign of a hip hop event, all the heads in bubble goose coats chillin' outside the front doors, some talking, some consuming the tobacco smoke. We entered, and just followed the group that stuck out in this crowd of art seekers, and classy Christmas shoppers at the gallery. We walked down to the lower level, and continued down the main hall, where there hung a number of graf pieces, some on scrap wood, some on canvas, and a few video/audio and multi-media displays as well. The area was laid out professionally, just as any art exhibit would be.
We got to the main reception desk, paid the reasonable $7, and got a fully printed ticket, that again, looked very professional, and all handled in a proper manner...no loose line-up of cats trying to jump ahead, or slide in without paying, or whining about guest list. Ah...then, as at any hip hop event, the security staff stepped up, but were very friendly about their search, and let us on our way into the main room, which looked like the main art storage type room in the gallery, where paintings and pieces would be brought in and out of the gallery. A studio of sorts...but a huge room, with lots of room for a big audience, and a good amount of room for the performers as well.
The Art of Hip Hop
Having come in part way into the show, I missed a few peformances, by such artists as Motion Squad, Poet Dudes, Crazy Mentall Productions featuring Symbolik, Krystylez Dancers, Live Wire, Lianne and Rodney and more. Thus, I can't give you a full out report on the entire event, but in general, the vibe was good, and there was a healthy side crowd in attendance, including the performers posing it up for some young ladies taking pics, the thug looking cats lurking in the back, and the true heads up at the front of the performing area, which was actually the marked by the linolium.
Some acts that I did catch began with Kamau, who's become a crowd favorite these days, with his slick production by himself and Bounca, as well as White Fang, made famous now through "Eat The Beat" on DJ X's Powermove show, rolling deep with his crew. Circle Research blessed the mic, with their usual character and charisma, but ended the set on a low point since the sound wasn't quite on point, with mics cutting in and out, and the CD player skipping. The only drawback to some of the performances was the amount of cursing going on, which normally, at midnight in a sweaty club would be fine, but being the daytime at a public venue, there were a bunch of young children in the crowd who I'm sure could have been saved the harshness of some of the words. On the other hand, this was a big break for some of these artists, and it's hard to compromise their show by cutting the cursing. But...I think some middle ground could have been taken by some of the performers.
The other facet of H.Y.P.E. was going on in a number of rooms above the performance room, where seminars were held on various facets of the hip hop culture. The seminars were as follows, featuring many notable people in the Toronto hip hop scene...
Funding Hip Hop Talent
Beverley McKee [Videofact]
Brenda House [Toronto Arts Council]
Poetry and Voice in Hip Hop
Dwayne Morgan
True
Hagile
Building the Hip Hop Community (management and promotion)
Jonathan Ramos [R.E.M.G.]
Carl Mitchell [Shaman Management]
Ivan Evidente [Universal Music]
Music Production
Day [Kneedeep Ent.]
Kenny Neal a.k.a. Bounca [Tough Dumpling]
Master Knia [CMP Studios]
Fashion and Hip Hop Culture
Adrian Aitcheson [2 Black Guys]
Evan Clifford [44th Parallel]
Dameion Royes [Big It Up]
Hip Hop Media
Master T [Much Music Da Mix/Rap City]
Video Production
Koreen Glynn [Kilolo Productions]
Petal Baptiste [Much Music]
Now, of course, being within the media here in Toronto, and in Canada as a whole, I took a break from the performances to check out the Hip Hop Media Seminar, where many of the Canadian print equivalents to TheCyberKrib were scheduled to talk on the whole media deal within the Canadian hip hop scene. Well...sad to say, but shame on these cats, only ONE of the FIVE scheduled pannelists showed up, that being the above mentioned Tony Young a.k.a. Master T of Da Mix. No-shows included Rodrigo Bascunan of Pound Magazine, Harris Rosen of Peace Magazine, Kevin Jones of Word Magazine and Denton Mitchell of Mic Check. With all not showing, Master T held it down in style, fielding questions from both the audience and the panel mediator for over a half-hour. He talked on issues ranging from the commercial and materialistic content of videos these days, to the issue of what his role is at Much Music, as well as mention of his retirement from that position in August of 2001. T plans to start his own production company following his departure from Da Mix and Much, as well as run a website based around his company and his knowledge.
TIP: next time...invite TheCyberKrib.com as media...we know our stuff, and WILL SHOW UP!
All in all, this event was well organized, well attended, and held in a location that was very unique and stylish for the hip hop audience. As they hope to make this an annual event, I hope that ya'll reading this will contact them with your support, and take part or attend the next event that this group holds. Respect to both 4Unity Productions and The Teen Council, as well as event coordinators Mike McIntosh and Teisha Thompson.
Contact 4 Unity Productions @ (416) 392-6686
Contact The Teen Councill @ (416) 979-6660 or email:
Teen_Council@ago.net