ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FUTURES OF HIPHOP IN

Strange Froots @ “I Was There!” Photo: Leilah Dhore 1 "Our expressions exemplify reality through artistic talents found in all municipalities 'cause you're growing like...."

- Dan-e-o “Dear HipHop” 1Rock Records

Nomadic Massive @ “I Was There!” Photo: Leilah Dhore Table of Contents

A Message from the Minister p5 A Message from Ron Nelson p6 Conference Note p7 Day 1: Dig p8 Keynote Panelists p9-10 Day 2: Build p11-13 Day 3: Rep p13-15 Bios p16-30

3 Northside Hip Hop Archive would like to congratulate our 2017 Archive Fellows: Eklipz, DJ Ron Nelon, Eekwol and Butcher T. Thank you to everyone who came out to our celebrations in Saskatoon, , Hamilton & .

Peace,

Northside Hip Hop Archive http://www.nshharchive.ca

SCHOOL OF

4 Ministry of Children Ministère des Services and Youth Services à l’enfance et à la jeunesse Minister’s Office Bureau du ministre 56 Wellesley Street West 56, rue Wellesley Ouest e 14th Floor 14 étage Toronto ON M5S 2S3 Toronto ON M5S 2S3 Tel.: 416 212-7432 Tél. : 416 212-7432 Fax: 416 212-7431 Téléc. : 416 212-7431

October 10, 2017

A Message from the Minister

I am pleased to welcome and extend greetings to everyone attending One Hundred and Fifty Futures of Hip Hop in Canada. It’s a fantastic – and rare – opportunity to come together to discuss new strategies to sustain hip hop culture in Canada, and to share information to encourage future generations of artists and scholars to proposer and thrive.

Though Canadian hip-hop took some time to break out in our country, it’s now propelling us to new heights. , Drake and K’naan have helped take our nation to the international stage, and Black, Indigenous, and French have helped give Canadian hip hop a unique flavour. We must also not forget the founders of Canadian hip hop including Dream Warriors, and .

Hip hop is vital to help many racialized youth come into their own. It captures the innovation and resilience of urban youth, and it was an opportunity for me to become civic minded and more self- actualized. My hope is that others find the same kind of joy I do in Canadian hip hop.

Enjoy the session. I hope it brings new insights.

Michael Coteau Minister

5

September 18, 2017

Greetings,

On behalf of Ron Nelson Productions, I would like to welcome the two- and-a-half day collaborative session: One Hundred and Fifty Futures of Hip Hop Culture in Canada to Toronto.

Since 1981, Ron Nelson Productions has been active in scouting, nurturing and supporting raw local talent. I firmly believe that in order for our Canadian Artists to be recognized and supported Internationally, we must first invest in our own. By creating and providing a hub for our community, we honour this commitment and continue to stand tall, to make Canada proud.

Please continue your efforts to sustain and propel our undervalued contributions to Canadian culture. You have my best wishes for a successful event and a great experience in Toronto.

Sincerely,

Ron Nelson Ron Nelson Productions | ReggaeMania.com

6 November 2-4, 2017 Toronto, #150futures

With hip hop in Canada only a few decades old, it is premature to cele- brate the culture when there exists much work to do in sustaining and enhancing its presence within this country.

One Hundred and Fifty Futures acknowledges the decades of creative labour necessary to build hip hop culture in Canada and seeks to bring together industry experts, artists, and scholars to collectively chart new paths forward and future successes.

Over the course of two-and-a-half days, our sessions aim to build a body of knowledge to equip future generations to build infrastructure and sustainable cultural mechanisms to keep hip hop culture fresh North of the 49th parallel. The themes for our event are dig, build, rep.

7 DAY 1: DIG Thursday November 2, 2017

The opening evening event of #150Futures gestures towards and acknowledges the incredible work ethic of DJs and producers, those who dig deep into sonic archives to produce new music, remixes and crowded dancefloors. Day one of our sessions involves endorsing and emulating the ethic to dig by honouring those scholars who sought to write and publish about hip hop culture in Cana- da long before it was considered a trendy emerging field of study.

KEYNOTE PANEL: HIP HOP STUDIES BEFORE HIP HOP STUDIES

Like the hip hop architects who set the stage for current hip hop artists, we respect those academics who began studying, analyzing and documenting hip hop before hip hop studies was named as such. This panel will explore the study of hip hop and hip hop in the academy and pose difficult questions around knowledge production, the role of the university and the future or futility of area studies.

Spark: Katherine McKittrick Panelists: Awad Ibrahim Charity Marsh Rinaldo Walcott Murray Forman Respondents: Idil Abdillahi & Chris Cachia

Doors Open 6:30PM @ Ryerson University

8 Rinaldo Walcott Rinaldo Walcott is an Associate Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, the Director of Women and Gender Studies Institute, and a member of the Graduate Program in Cinema Studies at University of Toronto. From 2002- 2007 Rinaldo held the Canada Research Chair of Social Justice and Cultural Studies, research that was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Innovation Trust. From January 2010 to June 2010 Rinaldo was Senior Research Fellow at the Warfield Center for African American Studies and the Department of African Diaspora and African Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

Murray Forman Murray Forman studies media and culture with a primary focus on popular music, race, and age. For over twenty years he has engaged in research about hip-hop culture, contributing to the emerging field of hip-hop studies. He is author of The ‘Hood Comes First: Race, Space and Place in Rap and Hip-Hop (Wesleyan University Press, 2002) and Co-editor (with Mark Anthony Neal) of That’s the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader (Routledge, 1st edition 2004; 2nd edition, 2011). His most recent book is One Night on TV is Worth Weeks at the Paramount: Popular Music on Early Television (Duke University Press, 2012). Forman serves on the advisory board of the Archive of African American Music and Culture at Indiana University and he is an editorial board member for several scholarly journals includ- ing, Journal of Popular Music Studies; Music, Sound and the Moving Image; Popular Music; Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society; and Topia: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies. His current research involves the theorization of hip-hop in and as diaspora and issues of age and aging in culture, media, and hip-hop. His most recent project, Old in the Game: Age and Aging in Hip-Hop, is under contract with Wesleyan University Press. 9 Charity Marsh Dr Charity Marsh holds the Canada Research Chair in Interactive Media and Popular Music and is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2007 Dr. Marsh was awarded a Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Grant and a Saskatchewan Fund for Innovation and Science grant to develop the Interactive Media and Performance (IMP) Labs as a way to support her ongoing research. In 2012/13 Dr Marsh was awarded a second CFI grant to expand the IMP Labs to include the Centre for Indigenous Hip Hop Cultures and Community Research, as well as the Popular Music and Mobile Media Labs. Dr Marsh has published on Indigenous Hip Hop Cultures; women in popular music including Bjork, Madonna, Eekwol, Kinnie Starr, and Peaches; gender and technology; interactive media and performance; as well as movement arts cultures. For more information: www.interactivemediaandperformance.ca

Awad Ibrahim

Awad Ibrahim is an award-winning Full Professor at the Faculty of Education, University of . He is a Curriculum Theorist with special interest in Hip Hop, cultural studies, ethnography and applied linguistics. He has researched and published widely in these areas. He has more than 100 publications. Among his books: The Rhizome of Blackness: A Critical Ethnography of Hip-Hop Cul- ture, Language, Identity and the Politics of Becoming (2014); Critical Youth studies: A Reader (2014; edited with Shirley Steinberg); Global Linguistic Flows: Hip-Hop Cultures, Youth Identities and the Politics of Language (2009; edited with Samy Alim & Alastair Pennycook).

10 DAY 2: BUILD Friday November 3, 2017 Day two of #150Futures embodies the communal and collaborative spirit of what it means to build. As a gathering of scholars, students and artists we envi- sion and invoke the kind of hip hop community and culture that interrogates pedagogy, education, global relations and builds sustainable communities. Rather than following a traditional conference style, we build through open ciphers and relationships rather than through the troubling notions of hierar- chy, power and ego.

9:30AM COFFEE & TEA @ THE DRAKE HOTEL 10:00AM-11:30AM SESSION: CRITICAL PEDAGOGY: LEARNING & TEACHING HIP HOP INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF INSTITUTIONS This session will discuss hip hop teachings inside and outside the academy, and the accompanying ethical, political and social implications. What does hip hop look like in an institution? What are our teaching goals, and how does hip hop inform our pedagogical approaches? How might teaching hip hop in the community influence the inner workings of the University system? Spark: Chris Cachia, Ryerson University Maya Stitski | Sam Tecle | Sameena Eidoo | Emmanuel Tabi Respondents: Bronwen Low, Salman Rana & Keysha Freshh

11:30AM-11:45AM COFFEE + BIO BREAK 11:45AM-1:00PM SESSION: CANADIAN HIP HOP ABROAD How is Canadian hip hop received abroad? Are there perceptions of hip hop in Canada that impact how our art is received beyond our borders? What role might media have in shaping how non-Canadians understand hip hop culture in Canada? What tools, experiences, or individuals are useful or necessary when traveling as a hip hop artist abroad? Does the perception of Canadian hip hop elsewhere matter when building of careers and community in Canada? Spark: Shaheen Ariefdien Eternia | Y-Look | Che Uno | H. Samy Alim Respondents: Alex Weheliye, Murray Forman & Charity Marsh

LUNCH + ACTIVITY 1:00PM-3:00PM MY DEFINITION DISCUSSION & DIGITAL SYLLABUS MASH UP

“MY DEFINITION IS THIS”:CONVERSATIONS ON CANADIAN HIP HOP, IDENTITY & PLACE Hosted by Nehal El-Hadi In the first part of this session, emcees Michie Mee, Eekwol, Keysha Freshh and Motion, alongside DJs L’Oqenz, Veteran and D.T.S., talk with Nehal El-Hadi about their identities within Canadian hip hop: who, what, how, and where do they represent? Following this discussion, the participants will carry out short, informal interviews with high school students about what it means to contrib- ute to a Canadian hip hop culture.

The Digital Syllabus Mashup Continues Launching on opening night, this activity builds an online, open source Canadi- an hip hop syllabus. This resource is designed to provide the public with access to written sources on Canadian and culture. The final syllabus will be housed in the resources section on the Northside Hip Hop Archive website.

3:00PM-4:30PM SESSION: THE FUTURE OF HIP HOP FESTIVALS IN CANADA How can hip hop festivals promote and support hip hop culture in Canada? How are hip hop architects connecting with new generations of hip hop artists through festivals? How is hip hop culture fostered and stimulated by festivals? What is needed to sustain hip hop festivals that are committed to culture and community building in the future?

Spark: Miranda Campbell 12 Leon “Eklipz” Robinson | Melissa Proietti | Sabra Ripley DAY 2: BUILD cont’d Friday November 3, 2017 4:30PM-5:00PM TURNTABLISM SHOWCASE BY DJ VTRN

DAY 3: REP Saturday November 4, 2017

Reppin’ hip hop culture right is easily one of the most critical elements in envi- sioning a future of hip hop culture in Canada. On day three we look at models, platforms and practices that can best sustain and enhance hip hop cultures in Canada.

9:30AM COFFEE & TEA @ THE DRAKE HOTEL 10:00AM-11:30AM SESSION: VISUAL FUTURES

This session will discuss the visual elements of hip hop, including music videos, graffiti, fashion, photos, album covers, logos, flyers, posters, social media images, and television shows. How has visual culture in hip hop changed over the years? What is the work that the visual poetics of hip hop can do? How do individual artists ensure they represent hip hop culture in a way that respects the architects?

Spark: Audrey Hudson Querock | Briskool | Eklipz | T-Rhyme | Gordo 13 Respondents: Ellyn Walker, Mark V. Campbell 11:30AM-1:00PM SESSION: DOING THE KNOWLEDGE: REGIONAL HISTORIES AND CONTEXTS IN CANADA

This session will discuss hip hop variations across the vast Canadian land- scape. How do the varying histories of Canadian landscapes shape hip hop artistries? In this country how can we become better informed about the various histories in different provinces, territories and reserves? What is needed to continue to capture, document and support the culture in these vastly different spaces?

Spark: Y-Look Narcy | Mary Fogarty | Neil Scobie | Hua Li | T-Rhyme Respondents: Eekwol, Bronwen Low & pHoneix Pagliacci

1:00PM-1:45PM LUNCH + LUNCHTIME MIX BY DJ BIG JACKS (THE PLUG, VIBE 105.5FM)

1:45PM-PM-3:00PM

SESSION: THE BIZNESS, FUTURE MODELS AND MODES

Making a living in hip hop culture has always been a hustle. Digital cul- ture drastically changed the ways that hip hop artists make a living, from promoting to collaborations. We hear from hip hop artists and entrepreneurs about the changing landscape of doing business in hip hop culture. What skills, partnerships and technologies are needed to ensure that these chang- ing landscapes remain true to hip hop culture, but also allow for growth and change?

Spark: Aisha Wickham pHoenix Pagliacci | Big Tweeze | Judi Lopez | Ian Andre Espinet Respondent: Miranda Campbell, Narcy & Hua Li 14 DAY 3: REP cont’d Saturday November 4, 2017

3:30PM-4:30PM LIVE PODCAST VIEWS B4 THE 6 FEAT. BOI1DA

4:30- 5:00PM BEATS BY DJ BIG JACKS

15 BIOS

MATTHEW SAMUELS P/K/A “BOI-1DA” is a rap/hip hop music producer out of Ajax, Ontario who has been producing music since age fifteen. Matthew, affectionately known as 1Da, has recently been working with the likes of Drake, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna to name a few. He has also recently been taking his talents to the turntables, dj’ing a few events in Toronto as well as in the US. One of these events being the Mad Decent Block party in , where Drake made a surprise appearance. At this juncture, producing songs like “Controlla” and “Sum- mer sixteen” on Drake’s album called “Views” has helped to take this album to its 3 times platinum mark. Similarly, “Work” by Rihanna ft by Drake, shows the variety of his work as he connects us to his youth in this dancehall style vibe. His production catalogue also includes the likes of Eminem, Jay Z, and Kendrick Lamar, who won a Grammy for the hit album ”To Pimp a Butterfly.” This Grammy winning producer does not seem to be slowing down but continues to evolve in his craft. Boi-1da is undoubtedly one of Canada’s most sought after producers of the 21st century. His sure-fire talent and proven ability to create hits has led him to the top of the ranks in an industry where nothing is guaranteed.

CHRIS “” . As an artist coming out of the T-Dot, THRUST has held an important role as one of the early pioneers that helped cultivate and develop the culture of hip hop to where it is today. Long before Drake became a worldwide phe- nom, it was rappers like Thrust who were doing their part to shift this underground movement into mainstream. He is most known for his appearance on the ’ 1998 single “” which also features Kardinal Offishall, , and Checkmate. He was also featured on the pop band soul Decision’s biggest hit “Fad- ed”. Thrust now teaches “Artist Series” at the Harris Institute in Toronto.

ANTHONY “BIG TWEEZE” CORSI is a Toronto hip hop enthusiast that tells that history on Views Before The 6… a podcast about the early beginnings of Toronto’s hip hop scene. He sits down with the pioneers of the city and talk everything for early radio, dj’s, concerts and much more on VIEWS BEFORE THE 6. 16 ALEXANDER G. WEHELIYE is a professor of African American Studies at Northwest- ern University where he teaches black literature and culture, critical theory, social technologies, and popular culture. He is the author of Phonographies: Grooves in Sonic Afro-Modernity (Duke University Press, 2005), which was awarded The Modern Language Association’s William Sanders Scarborough Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Study of Black American Literature or Culture and Habeas Viscus: Racializing Assem- blages, Biopolitics, and Black Feminist Theories of the Human (2014, Duke UP).

KATHERINE MCKITTRICK is an Associate Professor of gender studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She researches, teaches, and supervises MA and PhD students in the areas of black studies, anti-colonial studies, studies of race, cultural geographies and gender studies. Her research is interdisciplinary and attends to the links between theories of liberation, black studies, and cultural production. Her forthcoming monograph, Dear Science and Other Stories, supported in part by two SSHRC Insight Grants, will look at the promise of science in black poetry, music, and visual art. Part of her ongoing research program attends to the writings of Sylvia Wynter. She is also editor at Antipode and co-edit the Duke University Press book series Errantries.

SALMAN RANA received his LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. His research at McGill focusses on the intersection between youth culture and law, in particular the sub-culture of hip-hop. He is particularly interested in mapping out normative traditions regulating youth relations within particular sub-cultural para- digms. He is an artist with the Toronto hip-hop collective the Circle whose members have garnered numerous awards and award nominations. He has received a Much Music Videofact Award and Grant for Canadian Talent and has appeared on national television and radio broadcasts concerning issues related to hip-hop and Islam. Salman, along with several Osgoode professors have been conducting research into inner-city youths’ notions of access to justice and the justice system, funded by the Law Commission of Canada and Canadian Bar Law for the Future Fund.

MARK V. CAMPBELL is the Founding Director at Northside Hip Hop Archive, Cana- da’s first national Hip Hop archive, Board Member with the Ontario Arts Council, committee member with the Toronto Arts Council, and advisory member of both the Music Den and the Allan Slaight Radio Institute at Ryerson University in Toronto. His research interests include black studies, Afrosonic diasporas, hip hop cultures and digital archiving. Mark is the Director of the FCAD Forum for Cultural Strategies and Adjunct Professor at the RTA School of Media. SHAHEEN ARIEFDIEN is a South African-born artist, student, educator, published writer, music producer, and Child and Youth Worker. He has worked on numerous educational and social justice projects in regions as diverse as South Africa to Swit- zerland, Namibia to Northern Ireland and Angola to Canada. As a founding member of the South African pioneering Hip Hop group, Prophets of da City (POC), he has embarked on several educational tours around southern Africa, including literacy pro- motion, creative writing for imprisoned youth, drug awareness campaign and a voter education campaign across South Africa before the first democratically held election. POC released 6 albums, toured extensively and performed at Nelson Mandela’s inauguration. At Bush Radio in Cape Town, Shaheen co-hosted a music-driven current affairs show and coordinated all on-air and off-air programming for youth, including the multi-media sexual health awareness project called HIV HOP and the Hip Hop influenced ALKEMY arts/academic-based youth collective. Since moving to Toronto, he has coordinated the award-winning Sound Connections program with the Royal Con- servatory of Music in Toronto and initiated numerous educational projects. As guest lecturer and panelist, Shaheen has appeared at New York University, York University, Harvard University and Stanford University. He holds a BA from the University of Cape Town, MA in Social Anthropology from York University and an advanced Child and Youth Worker diploma from Humber College. His current research examines the intersection of Hip Hop and Healing practices. He is currently working as a Child and Youth Worker at WoodGreen Community’s Rites of Passage program

CHRIS CACHIA is interested in the intersections between identity, popular culture, and counter-cultures, and especially the intersections between identity and Hip Hop culture. He has and continues to interrogate his own positionality as it relates to his participation in Hip Hop. Chris is also keenly interested in how community-based educators employ Hip Hop as a means of fostering critical consciousness and empow- erment when working with marginalized youth.

MAYA STITSKI is a PhD candidate in Cultural Studies at Queen’s University in Kings- ton, Ontario, and is the Archive Projects Coordinator/Research Assistant at the Northside Hip Hop Archive. She holds an MA from the London School of Economics in Gender and Social Policy and a BAHon from Queen’s University in Politics and Wom- en’s Studies. Her current research program and forthcoming dissertation will explore the connections between hip hop pedagogies, knowledge production, and studies of race in Canada. 18 EMMANUEL TABI is a Ph.D candidate at OISE/University of Toronto. His work exam- ines how race, gender and class dynamics intersect within Toronto’s urban arts cen- ters and how they are performed through various forms of cultural production such as spoken word poetry and . As a multi-instrumentalist, spoken word poet and an active contributor to Toronto’s urban arts communities, Emmanuel provides a unique as both a researcher and artist. Emmanuel is in the midst of writing his dis- sertation entitled “I too know why the caged bird sings: Rapping and spoken word as activism and education”, which explores how Black male youth in Toronto use spoken word poetry and rapping as a form of both community organizing and education.

DAVE CLARKE, also known as, DTS, is a DJ, youth mentor, instructor, chef and jack- of-all-trades. He has had successful collaborations with some of Canada’s biggest hip hop musicians and creative artists. Dave’s personal inspiration comes from listening to all genres and eras of music and he enjoys incorporating them into his projects. DTS has been a DJ for over 30 years and is a co-founder of the MasterPlan Show on CIUT 89.5fm which is Canada’s longest running hip-hop radio show. As a pioneer in Hip Hop music, he has shared his industry knowledge and DJ skills through courses, such as Ryerson University’s “DJ 101 for Radio & Night Club” to share his talents even in after-school programs for youth of at-risk & low-income neighbourhood in the Toronto area. This inspiring and empowering DJ has been noted as a tastemaker in Canada’s music scene due to his catalytic efforts of elevating Canadian hip hop music and helping in the commercial success of urban music within Canada. He has additionally received local and international recognition for his mosaic work. Some of Dave’s accom- plishments include a Justco Mix Tape Award of “Best Mix Tape” for Soul Controllers Reggae Meets Hip-Hop Vol 8. And more recently, Dave was selected as a finalist for the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Roy Thomson Hall Award of Recognition. Now, DTS is a strong proponent for preserving hip hop at the Northside Hip Hop Archive, Canada’s first national hip hop archive.

MARY FOGARTY is an Associate Professor in the Department of Dance at York Uni- versity. She is currently working on a collaborative book project with Ken Swift and co-editing the Oxford Handbook of Hip-Hop Dance Studies with Imani Kai Johnson. She is the co-editor of Movies, Moves and Music: The Sonic World of Dance Films and her work appears in the Oxford Handbook of Dance and the Popular Screen. She is the lead facilitator/lecturer of the Toronto B-Girl Movement and part of the KeepRock- inYou arts collective and continues to break with friends for “peace, love, unity and having fun.” www.maryfogarty.ca BRONWEN LOW is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. She is interested in transforming education to better meets the needs of marginalized youth by building on their skills and interests and showcasing their brilliance. This work has included developing and co-teaching a slam and Hip Hop course with a teacher and poet; studying multilingualism in the Montreal Hip Hop scene; and creating high-school curriculum that draws upon the life stories of Montrealers who have survived genocide and other human rights violations. She is currently collaborating with local arts organizations to support the development of an “urban arts” high school in Montreal that includes co-teaching between artists and teachers. Her books include Slam school: Learning through Con- flict in the Hip-Hop and Spoken Word Classroom (Stanford UP, 2011), and Communi- ty-based Media Pedagogies: Listening in the Commons (2017), with Chloe Brushwood Rose and Paula Salvio. EEKWOL (LINDSAY KNIGHT) is an award-winning hip hop performing artist in Saska- toon, Saskatchewan, originally from Muskoday First Nation, Saskatchewan. Eekwol was promoting her 5th full-length album last year, titled Good Kill. Eekwol uses her music and words to spread messages of resistance, revolution, particularly in relation to Aboriginal languages, lands and cultures. She has successfully completed her Indigenous Music focused Master’s Degree at University of Saskatchewan. Along with music and academic work, Eekwol frequently works with young people across the country through performances, workshops, speaking events, conferences and programs. SAM TECLE is a PhD Candidate in the Sociology Department at York University. His areas of focus include: Black and Diaspora Studies, Urban Studies, and Sociology of Education. His dissertation focusses on the experiences and perspectives relating to Blackness and Black identification in East African Diasporas across the UK, Canada and the US. Recent publications include: Anti-Blackness in Canada which appears in Canadian Dimension Magazine in July 2016. In addition, Sam is a co-author (with Dr. Carl E. James and Tana Turner) on the report Towards Race Equity in Education: The Schooling of Black Students in the Greater Toronto Area (2017) as well as the Peel District School Board Report, entitled Perspectives of Black Male Students in Sec- ondary School: Understanding the Successes and Challenges – Student Focus Group Results (2016). Sam also runs a Mentorship Initiative at York University for first year, racialized and access/transition program students which assists their transition to postsecondary education. Sam is Co-Chair of York University’s Black Graduate Students Collective (BGSC) which works towards better experiences of Black graduate students at York University. Prior to full-time PhD studies, Sam was a teacher with the TDSB teaching both at SBL’s summer program and in other schools (including alternative education programs) in Toronto. MIRANDA CAMPBELL is an Assistant Professor in the School of Creative Industries. Her research interests include youth culture, creative labour, and policy development. Her book, Out of the Basement: Youth Cultural Production in Practice and in Policy, maps the rise of small-scale self-generated creative work amongst youth in the 21st century, and was shortlisted for the Donner Prize, for the best public policy book by a Canadian. Beyond her academic research on contemporary trends in youth culture and employment in creative fields, Dr. Campbell has worked in the community sector with Rock Camp for Girls Montreal, a summer camp dedicated to empowerment for girls through music education, and with WhipperSnapper Gallery, an artist-run centre focusing on emerging artists in Toronto.

LEON “EKLIPZ” ROBINSON is a supremely seasoned, multi-medium, locally-renowned artist based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Often referred to as a modern day Renaissance artist, his work has already established an impactful presence through- out the community. Having grown up scribing the city streets in the early 90’s, his art still adorns the buildings of Hamilton with elegantly executed, colour-infused murals. Though his initial offerings were spawned by Hip Hop’s graffiti culture, his unquenchable thirst for growth in all areas of life pushed him to develop an eclectic and diverse style unlike any other.

MELISSA PROIETTI has actively been involved in Hip Hop culture and Hip Hop-based education, with a particular focus on graffiti, for ten years in Montreal. Her MA thesis focused on working with graffiti in a school context and she has developed on this for her PhD research at McGill in the department of integrated studies in education. Proietti has been invited to many different universities across the country to present on her work, as well as being invited to participate on many panels and to deliver the key note address at the Street Meet festival in 2014.

IDIL ABDILLAHI is an Assistant Professor in the Ryerson School of Social Work. Her research interests are grounded in anti-Black racism, Black feminist thought, and anti-racist praxis, all of which are informed by struggles and active resistance of Black communities locally and internationally. She is also a current board chair for a community based Mental Health organization that serves the needs of racialized people living with mental illness. With over ten years of experience in areas such as addictions, mental health, immigration, criminal justice, women’s services, commu- nity development and grassroots organizing, Abdillahi is a strong activist-academic, community organizer and ally. 21 ETERNIA a two time Juno-nominated and widely considered one of Canada’s foremost lyricists, continues to knock down barriers & trail-blaze across the globe for Canadian Hip Hop music. Eternia has toured extensively in Canada, the , Mexico, Australia, & ; those that are lucky enough to catch her on stage credit her as one of the best live performers they have witnessed. She has been billed with superstars such as , Kendrick Lamar, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, Kanye West, & Talib Kweli, Wu-tang Clan, Missy, Snoop Dogg, Big Daddy Kane, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, KRS-One, , , Immortal Technique, MC Lyte, Ice-T, Shad, , & many more. In 2010, Eternia released her 5th full-length recording on Fat Beats Records with “DJ Premier affiliated Canadian super-producer MoSS” (NOW Magazine). The Juno-nom- inated “AT LAST” was met with critical acclaim, featured guest appearances by some of Hip Hop’s elite - Ras Kass, Rah Digga, Lady of Rage, Jean Grae, Joell Ortiz, Maestro Fresh Wes, Reef the Lost Cauze & more – was long-listed for a Polaris Prize and was named one of the Top 25 Albums of 2010 by the legendary DJ Premier.

PEGGY HOGAN “HUA LI“ is a Montreal-based multi-disciplinary performing artist. Her practice is dedicated to expansion of genres and community building through lyrical and aesthetic content. Her original music project, Hua Li, explores themes of sexuali- ty, race, feminism and interpersonal communication all the while maintaining a firm grasp on musicianship and tradition in her songwriting. Following the completion of a BFA Specialization Jazz Studies Major English Literature from in 2011, Peggy continues to be active in Montreal as a gigging musician, as well as a recording artist, having released her first full-length, To Lie With, in 2012 and The Bound Feat Pt. 1 (2013) and the Za Zhong EP (2015) as her alter-ego, Hua Li. Her full-length, Dynasty, is slated for release in 2018 with Art Not Love Records. She is also a classically trained pianist, having completed all the performance and music theory components of the Royal Conservatory of Music Grade Ten Piano program with Honours. She has been commissioned to compose music for several theatre productions, including Venus and Adonis, which premiered in ’s Hot! Theatre Festival in 2013, Izad Etemadi’s break-out one-man-hit, Borderland, and she is currently working alongside Etemadi to develop his next show, Love with Leila. Ad- ditionally, she works as a music educator, music researcher and A&R manager at Art Not Love Records. She is currenty pursuing a MA in Musicology from McGill University.

DJ VTRN aka Bryan LaPointe is a multi disciplinary artist, hip-hop documentarian and has been a turntablist since the early 90’s. He is currently the 2017 DMC East Coast Scratch Champion. AISHA WICKHAM. Ontario Media Development Corporation Program Consultant, Ontario Music Office Aisha’s career has been focused on developing and promoting Canada’s music indus- try. She is currently a Program Consultant for the Ontario Music Office at the Ontario Media Development Corporation. Previous roles include senior management positions with G98.7 FM, FLOW 93.5, Nia Centre for the Arts, the Urban Music Association of Canada, and the Canadian Independent Recording Artists’ Association of Canada. She also ran her own communications consulting practice, ngoma productions, special- izing in project management and writing services for the music and broadcasting sectors. Aisha has served on numerous Boards and Committees, including the To- ronto Arts Council Music Committee, the National Advisory Board for the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR), the Ryerson University Alumni Association, and the Community Engagement Council for the Toronto 2015 PanAm/ ParapanAm Games.

KEYSHA FRESHH. In a historically male dominated industry, female MC’s have had a tough go trying to find their place in the spotlight. Keysha, born and raised in Toronto, Canada, has been able to make not only a name for herself, but a statement as well. Also known as Keysha Freshh, the talented hip hop artist and songwriter has been honing her mic skills in an attempt to make her mark in the music industry. In the past two years, Keysha has collaborated with several top artists, including Doug E Fresh who is considered the pioneer of 20th century American beatboxing, , P-Reign, Darryl Riley, The Rezza Brothers and Ray Robinson. With two mix tapes, one Demo an 2 EP and 4 front-page magazine covers, accumu- lated in just four years, Keysha is well on her way to stardom.She recently started an awareness outreach initiative – KeysFORAutism — which uses social media to raise awareness about kids living with autism and an online blog – SpottedFreshh — which is an urban site that showcases events, videos, music, albums and youth talent.

23 SAMEENA EIDOO is an educator and scholar committed to educational equity and justice. Her current research and writing explore pedagogies of Muslim feminisms through Muslim women’s political praxis; solidarity as a relational encounter in teacher education for racial justice; and decolonization and Hip Hop culture’s fifth element-knowledge of self and community. Sameena has researched, developed and taught several courses for pre-service teacher education and graduate studies in education programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). Sameena Eidoo holds a PhD in Curriculum Studies and Compar- ative, International and Development Education from OISE/UT. Her doctoral research explored the limits and possibilities of youth citizenship through the voices and stories of young Muslims engaged in political projects in post-9/11 Toronto, Canada. As Assistant Director, Education, at the Multi-Faith Centre for Spiritual Study and Practice, University of Toronto, Sameena has conceptualized, curated and facilitated creative educational programming exploring spirituality, including a women-led workshop series inspired by the life and work of legendary Detroit activist Grace Lee Boggs titled, “Reimagine Everything,” and co-conceptualized and co-curated a series of critical conversations exploring the intersection of Blackness, Indigeneity and Hip Hop, featuring Pittsburgh-based Hip Hop artist, educator and community organizer, Jasiri X, among other artists and scholars located in different parts of Turtle Island. In addition to her work at the Multi-Faith Centre, she is an Adjunct Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

NEHAL EL-HADI is a writer, social researcher and media producer, who is enrolled in the Urban Planning doctoral program at the University of Toronto. She received her Masters in Environmental Studies from York University in 2005, where she explored mass media representations of Canadian environmental issues. While at York, she was awarded Fellowships by the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. Her undergraduate degrees are in Journalism and Combined Science from the University of Regina (Sask.) and University College London (U.K.) respectively. Her current research interests are in technology, the body, and the city, and her creative work focuses on the intersections of, and interactions between, culture, identity and environments. Born in Khartoum, Sudan, Nehal has lived in the United Kingdom, the Sultanate of Oman and Canada.

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24 DJ L’OQENZ AKA THE NITEOWL, is a powerful force to be reckoned with. Her passion for music and undeniable skills on the turntables have made her a sought after commodity at home in Toronto and abroad. A true lover of music, she is not confined to one genre. Spinning everything from Hip Hop to Jazz - L’Oqenz has the ability to fuse them all effortlessly. L’Oqenz has toured across Canada, the United States and the UK, and has shared the stage some of the most respected artists in the business including Zaki Ibrahim, Motion, Jean Grae, Bahamadia, K’naan, M1 (Dead Prez), Prince Paul, Maseo () and Kool Herc.

MICHIE MEE is known within the music industry for her unique rap style of combining reggae and dancehall with hip-hop. Many successful artists have followed in Michie’s footsteps using this gifted technique. With over two decades in the entertainment industry, the Juno nominated rapper and actress is not only an inspiration for female musicians, but also all artists nationwide. Aside from her life as an entertainer, Michie is also a mother who makes it one of her duties to keep involved with today’s youth. Knowing first hand the twists and turns artists often face in entertainment, Michie is an avid supporter of children striving to achieve a good education. Michie herself left university after her music career began to soar and has always spoken openly about the importance of education. Michie continues to enhance her abilities to attract diverse roles on television and film. She was featured in the 2011 CBC Hip-Hop documentary “Love, Props and the T. Dot,” this trailblazer’s saga still continues. Michie Mee’s reign as Queen is far from over. Michie is the 1st Canadian Hip-Hop Recording Artist to sign an American Major Record deal and is the recipient of the 2012 DJ Stylus Hall of Fame Award, 2013 CUMC Lifetime Achievement Award, 2014 Black Canadian Award for Best Female Rap Act, and most recently made History winning the Toronto Arts Council ‘Roy Thomson Hall Award’ of $10K. The Roy Thomson Hall Award recognizes creative, performing, administrative, volunteer, or philanthropic contributions to Toronto’s musical life by a person, ensemble or organization. Ms. Mee is the CEO of MBM Publishing , MBM Inc. looking forward to NEW music in 2017.

BRIANNA “BRISKOOL” OLSON. A multidisciplinary Indigenous artist and member of Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation, Briskool weaves her passion for the arts with her excitement for community organizing and social justice. She is excited to continue sharing her talents with the community and delivering an essential narrative from the lived experience of an Anishinaabe Kwe living on Turtle Island in a modern context. MOTION’s aural/sonic works span the realms of word, sound and drama. Her lyrical agility has taken her to the stages of Manifesto, the International Literary Festival, Toronto’s Nuit Blanche, CBC Television, Illinois Hip Hop & Punk Feminisms Symposium, Trinidad & Tobago’s Cascadoo Festival and HBO Def Poetry Jam. Inspired by her initiation as an artist mentor and music program leader with the leg- endary Fresh Arts Movement, MotionLive continues developing young and emerging talent through her workshop series in community, creative and educational spaces such as South Africa’s Africa Expo Symposium, Regent Park Film Festival, Tapestry Theatre, the AMY Project, Trinidad & Tobago’s Cascadoo Festival, Toronto Public Library, York University and the TDSB. Motion is writer and facilitator with the Hip Hop Curriculum Project in the newly published Rhymes to Re-Education (A Different Publisher), and currently is course director of Griots to Emcees: Performance, Culture & Spoken Word at York University.

SABRA RIPLEY is a community artist, arts-advocate and community builder with a Masters in health promotion and community development focused on arts as a means of developing strong, healthy individuals and communities. She is the founder and former Executive Director of Ottawa’s House of PainT Festival of Urban Arts and Culture and is currently on maternity leave from her position as Cultural Outreach Officer in the City of Toronto’s Arts Services, where she supports arts and ’s underserved communities. In recent years Sabra has worked as Interim-Coordinator for the billboard tax advocacy group BeautifulCity.ca, as a Management Consultant for the Artists Mentoring Youth Project, and as a Researcher for Scarborough Arts Council’s Creative Mosaic project. Formerly the Deputy-Executive Secretary for the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas she has also worked as Project Coordinator for the Hip Hop 360 project at the Canada Dance Festival. Sabra’s community arts practice is in street dance and theatre of the oppressed including work with the all bgirl DeCypher Crew and Salamander Theatre for Young Audiences’ Get Up! Stand Up! project.

ELLYN WALKER is curator and writer based in Toronto. Her research explores political questions of representation, inclusion and participation within the arts. Her curato- rial projects have been presented by the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Art Gallery of Mississauga, Prefix Institute for Contemporary Art, ImagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts festival, and most recently at Queen’s Art & Media Lab. Her writing has been widely published in books, academic journals, art magazines, news periodicals, catalogues, galleries and online. She is currently a PhD student in the Cultural Studies program at Queen’s University. PHOENIX PAGLIACCI (born Rian Hamilton) is a singer-songwriter from Toronto, Can- ada. Since her first ever song was penned, Phoenix has had the pleasure of working with world-renowned artists, including Eternia (Juno nominated rapper), Tajai (Souls of Mischief), Ghostface Killah, Killah Priest (Wutang Clan) and Fefe Dobson. She has also been afforded the opportunity to grace the stages of festivals such as Manifesto, A3C, Kuumba, TD Jazz Fest and many more. Her musical inspirations include Stevie Wonder, India.Arie, Lauryn Hill, Jean Grae and Amy Winehouse.

DR. AUDREY HUDSON is an artist, educator and researcher. Audrey is the new Assistant Manager, School and Teacher Programs at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), where she plans to bring more of our narratives into school programming, with a critical lens. She also teaches at OCAD University, where she developed two courses on the influence of Hip Hop on art and design practices. Audrey views the arts as a tool to begin decolonizing education because of the creative platform it provides for historically marginalized communities.

QUE ROCK. BBoying, Graffiti writing, DJ-ing, and MC-ing; Que Rock lives and breaths Hip Hop. Making his name in the B-Boy and mix-tape communities, Que has always been ahead of his time and 2012 marks the launch of his newest release, the LP “Smoke Signals.” A member of the Mighty Zulu Kingz, DDT (Dirty Defiant Tribe), and Ready to Rock, Que Rock has earned worldwide recognition as a B-Boy and through the years has honed his craft in all four of the core elements of Hip Hop. From Atlanta to LA, New York to Toronto, Que Rock moves crowds with his multifaceted per- formances. With his mind rooted in the origins of Hip Hop; Que Rock brings back the voice of the voiceless. Que Rock combines these elements to deliver a whole new take on the direction of Hip Hop Culture, not only through his respect and honoring of the Hip Hop pioneers, but also through his coupling of the elements with his traditional Anishnawbe values. Creating a brand new spectacle never before seen in the Hip Hop universe.

TARA “T-RHYME” CAMPBELL is a lyricist from northern Saskatchewan who uses the spirit and sound of golden era hip hop to the shine a spotlight on the Native experi- ence. Along with music, her artistry flows through her Beads, Rhymes & Life jewellery line.

27 YASSIN “NARCY” ALSALMAN is a leading Arab musician, actor and multimedia artist who has shared his work in forums like TedEx, the Dubai International Film Festival, the Melbourne Festival and the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Currently a solo artist, Yassin has performed across North-America, Europe and the Middle East, sharing the stage with influential Hip Hop acts like Kanye West, Wu-tang Clan, IAM, Public Enemy and Mos Def to name a few. His acting career includes roles in cinema and television, including a nominated role in Dubai-based feature film Yassin is the author of a book entitled “The Diatribes”, about the beginnings of the Arab Hip-Hop movement in America, and has penned a series of OP-Editorials for CNN and the Huffington Post. His teaching career began at Concordia University where he helped develop a course on the history and cultural impact of Hip Hop culture. He has recently founded The Medium, a multimedia arts and music label and culture brand. Through his company, Yassin intends to provide a platform for the production and dissemination of independent artistic endeavours, as well as venture into several multi-media productions for music and film.

NEIL SCOBIE is a PhD student in Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario. His research examines diasporic cultural expressivity in early Canadian hip-hop mu- sic (approx. 1980-89) and is generously supported by a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral Award. He is a music industry veteran who enjoyed a successful 20-year career in Vancou- ver’s hip-hop scene as a producer, recording engineer, journalist, and DJ playing clubs and opening for acts such as The Roots, De La Soul, and George Clinton. He also collaborated on recordings nominated for Canada’s for Rap Record- ing of the Year (2003 and 2005).

IAN ANDRE ESPINET Entertainment Visionary, Ian Andre Espinet began his journey in the Urban entertain- ment scene as founder of Black Star Graphic Design and Communications, Canada’s Leading Urban Graphic Design Studio, and brings more than a 10 year proven mar- keting track record to the Urban entertainment scene. He has worked for virtually every significant promotional entity, DJ, community organization and event planner in Toronto, as well as many from across Canada and throughout the States.

28 DAVID STRICKLAND was born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario and grew up in the infamous Gilder Housing Project. His family, from Newfoundland, Labrador and Northern have strong French roots that trace back to Jacques Cartier, along with deep seeded ties to the Mi’kmaq and Northern Cree Ancestors. But being a First Nations youth growing up in the housing projects of Toronto wouldn’t stop David from dreaming big. The rise of Hip Hop music in the early 1980’s gave Strickland an opportunity to learn this new culture of B-boying, DJing and the art of rap bringing a renewed passion into his life. He began to learn about music production after borrowing a EMU SP120 drum machine and sampler for a weekend, transforming the would be DJ-MC into an aspiring young record producer. By the year 1992 Strickland was enrolled in a Radio Broadcasting Program at Humber College and he continued his education graduating with honours from the Trebas Institute for Audio Engineering. In 2012 David won his first Grammy for his work on Drake’s album “Take Care” which won the award for Best Rap Album. He continues to be one of the most sought after producers in Canada with his latest collaborations on Que Rock’s Pass The Torch and Strickland is set to launch his first ever producer’s album that will combine First Nations with mainstream Hip Hop and RnB Artists. David’s life has seen many challenges but he has persevered and succeeded at the top of the Canadian music industry for nearly two decades. David Strickland is one of the few Indigenous Audio Engineers in North America. He owns and operates David Strickland Studios in Toronto and was just recently featured in a VICE documentary by Noisey, “First Out Here, Indigenous Hip Hop. He continues to build Recording Studios for business and community projects and is a positive force in music, the arts and an inspiration to First Nation’s Youth across North America. David has dedicated his life to this healing power because for him… it all starts and ends with Music.

JASON “DJ BIG JACKS” ISAAC ‘. Do what you love and the rest will fall into place” is a way of thinking that Jason Isaac (aka DJ Big Jacks) has built his career and life on. In his case the labour of love has always been music. His passion for it, fueled by the inspiration of his father and family upbringing helped elevate Big Jacks’ interest in the arts from a hobby he loved to his livelihood. Big Jacks has made quite the name for himself in recent years as the official DJ for the popular women’s clothing store Aritzia. Currently, he works with the company to create a culture and an identity with its target audience. He curates and programs playlists for all their North American store locations, and his mixes and music have surpassed the half million plays mark on Soundcloud. His work has also been played heavily in other notable stores around the world like H&M, Forever 21, Top Shop, and many other cool boutiques and restaurants. All of which has led to him playing all over Canada and the US for those who love mixes he creates. Moving beyond just being a club DJ, the past few years of Big Jacks’ career have seen a growth in direction. With formal schooling from Humber College in radio broadcasting, Big Jacks has become a fixture in Toronto’s radio community, DJing, hosting and producing, some of the most popular urban programs on the city’s airwaves. Everything Big Jacks achieves and every hurdle that he overcomes is because he has stuck by doing what he loves to do. He consistently demonstrates finely tuned technical skills in his work, but it’s his passion for music and life that shines through connecting and bringing his audience to a whole new level.

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