IF THEY WERE STILL ALIVE

The reality is that we are not promised anything on the planet, though we are given a limit in time to create something amazing that may outlive our own existence, our purpose is to most likely just share knowledge and experiences. We are faced with a few interesting moments, when death takes an artist, one of the most recent episodes called the "27 club", which refers to the loss of many genius musicians that where at the shocking age of 27. From Jimmy Hendrix to Kurt Cobane from Janis Joplin to Ms. Whinehouse the crisis to overcome the struggles of success with a drugs or a drinking is a band aid to their personal issues. The band aids of our time is sending the patient away to a 4 star resort to get them help from staff that pampers, perhaps cuddles their patients, in an institution that resembles a Fairmont Hotel rather than a Hospital. As momma Whinehouse cries out "don't by my daughters album as she will use the money for drugs!" We await the crash of the star which we admired and then slandered all in the same breathe. What if these artists, and those artists that also had a great impact on the world through the art of music, was timeless and everlasting? Recording songs has always been the archiving of our soul, like the paintings in an art gallery. With the breeze from our past we sail to our future and look to reflect no more! Only to hold our memories in our hands once again! Tupac to Biggie took the spirit of hip hop to the extreme and it has touched every generation til the day, Big Punisher to Old Dirty Bastard hmmm was absolutely inspiring and innovative enough to allow artists loose themselves...an angel like Aaliyah to the true life dialogue from the OG Nate Dogg...the wave of music moves forward, drowning in the system of 9 to 5 dependents that made dreamers and rebels.

I USE TO LOVE HER

Oh how the time has changed, faster and faster every year with little remembrance of the ways the Hip Hop culture use to be.  Sure change is good! It's important to evolve and grow through the time that made us what we are! Yes the Hip Hop culture influenced all of what we see and hear happening today in our lovely industry and community of artists and admirers. 

The days of Sugar Hill to Run DMC rebelling fanatically, jumping forward to LL Cool J and Kool Moe Dee battling vigilantly leaping forward passed Public Enemy, X-CLAN, Arrested Development, N.W.A movement and Big Daddy Kane's touch of sophistication (that obviously inspired P Diddy). To the Wu Tang movement that galvanized a world of supporters are something of a mystery to many, as new artists face a different approach in getting their music to the masses.  No longer the performance in front of the record label or gorilla advertising your music at every event, radio station and board meeting possibly to get recognition towards their craft. It is and has been the days of the Internet! In other words 'THE INTERNET KILLED THE EXCLUSIVITY OF HIP HOP ARTISTS' allowing everyone the opportunity to express their feelings....perhaps or more so creating the illusion that making music makes you money or makes you an automatic star of the industry.  Check out Method Man talk about the lack of real Hip Hop ironic ain't it?!

Method Man visited the TLC Show NY Inc.

Mef got a sick Wu Tang Killer Bee tattoo from Tommy on his left arm, then returned the favor by tatting a Wu Tang Clan symbol on Tommy's leg.

While there Method also talked about what he sees wrong with today's hip hop scene.

"Can you even call it hip hop?" Meth asked. "Back in the day when you told a kid 'yeah I'm an MC.' First sh*t they would say to you is 'say a rhyme for me.' Now you tell a kind I'm an mc '[they ask] where your car? where your chain?'

http://www.thisis50.com/profiles/blog/show?id=784568%3ABlogPost%3A25844768&commentId=784568%3AComment%3A25845276&xg_source=activity

I don't know how many times I hear "yeah man, all I need to do is make one song and it will be a hit, then I will be rich and famous", oh yeah that's a good one. Or how about the supporting friend that asks you "have you ever heard of ....they are great!" Not to say that the artist may not be great, though by what standard does greatness weigh upon.  It must be the Credibility, of the artist that builds their name in the street; the Capacity, to continuously create relevant product and the Character, that defines what people desire to see in themselves by living through what they like about the artist, they truly appreciate and connect with.    

3YRS BEHIND THE SCENE

HOW FAR BEHIND THE MUSIC SCENE IS CANADA?

The reality is that music in North America hasn't always gotten the silver spoon, to say the least.  The music scene in Canada, has been more of an adopted child that has played against the rules of the new family.  Hey they didn't say it would be easy to raise a child did they! The American Music Industry has always been there as a model, of what to create as the music for the mass to truly invest time and money, to see a show and or purchase a CD.

Are we reactive to the system of the US Music Industry, waiting to hear the next wave of sound? Well in the great Canadian market the artists, record companies and promoters sit, hoping that the next sound that is accepted comes from up North! Though alas the ratio for Canadian artists in the Music Industry to US an Europeans must be quite extreme. Which, is why a pole will be researched on this matter asap!  (well we can obtain more info from these 3 lovely websites at this time if you like:



Which says in brief :   
 'Right now the American and European music industry dominates the music market, in both corporate and customer base. Over the years many Canadian artists such as Oscar Peterson, the Tragically Hip, and Gorden Lightfoot just to name a few, have risen in to stardom, making a name for Canadian musicians. Although we have a few big stars in our country, we don't have the budgets of big record labels to help our music thrive.'  http://www.canadianmusicartists.com/about.html 

The much-needed de-centralization of the Canadian music industry is still ... of us that Canadian artists are as good as their US and British counterparts. ... (Billboard - 29 Sept 1973)

'The music of Canada has reflected the diverse influences that have shaped the country.^[1] Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada.^[2] The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between the two countries' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Canada

Until the confidence of the Canadian music market grows, to support there own artists more proactively to build the team around the artists that show their credit, character and capacity to represent not only the city but the entire country on their back, an in their hearts the struggle will always be seen as a slow reactive approach. The answer many artists have found to be the best road, has been to pick up their bags and their gear, kiss their mother, mate and wish their friends all the best as they search for stardom in the US or Europe. Though it's interesting that many artists ( like film companies) go to Toronto for the open arm welcome of foreign exchange (tax breaks) mixed with the dyer need to advertise and market as much artists and actors that are not residing from Canada, espically Toronto. Though a visit is momentary the entertainers impact is substantial, and far from disguised when surrounded by cameras and papparotzi.

After close to over 30yrs, of Hip Hop and R&B in the Canadian market, it only now seems necessary to coop with every coast possible for the betterment of one event (MMVA) really. So the lack of consistency has been a cycle that we all struggle to change ever so quickly, in order to be the barrier of the torch that leads the way in seeing the artistic creations to come.

MUSICIANS IN THE MEDIA

 OK! We have a continuing issue in the Canadian Music Industry, which is similar to a farmers crops awaiting a rain fall.  The voice of artists has become the voice of the media that directs that which the journalists have always tried to obtain 'the lead story' on the artist and their business. The business in Canada is very small (if even existent) compared to the ever growing artistry that is being created in the several provinces that harbor amazing talent that wait for the sky to fall in order to assist the potential careers and future of the North America music industry.  With great examples of advocates in the music industry from Bono (U2 lead singer) to Kanye West (Hip Hop recording artist) the stage has taken a different turn for all artists around the world! It is the location of the artists and the diligence of the artists team that will strengthen the possibility of achieving any great success and the support that is needed to give them stability.  What am I saying? The recognition that is not received in an artists own home town will push the artist literally away from the home town, to the point that the artist won't care to be a spokesperson for a city that never looked out for their growth or achievements, though only reacted to the American market and yet never advertise or market their very own Canadian artist that need proactive agendas.  Agendas that look to build the artist and consistently market the awesome work created by them.    

 SO THE VOICE OF THE PAPERS AND MEDIA IS THE ARTISTS!

When the artist decides to speak on behalf of the issues that affect them and their peers it becomes a War of Words. Word on the street is the Canadian Music Industry is and never has been realistic to the needs of the artists. Perhaps Canada never expected to be force to recon with in the music business, maybe the idea was just as fun as karaoke and was not meant to be taken seriously until the artist began to speak up, not on the radio and video alone but more so in the news, the newspaper and most of all TOWN MEETINGS with our lovely city council members. 

So here's to the advocates, the spokesman and women, the ambassadors of music, the voice of the youth and the streets because as we know it 'Art makes Media....Media doesn't make Art'  

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/987008--kardinal-offishall-junos-disrespected-drake

PAST THE FUTURE WITH CANADIAN HIP HIOP

Here is a little history on Canadian Hip Hop that we will have to truly start now from the new millennium, for the generation of Hip Hop has truly now starts from the Y2K generation of Hip Hop artists... 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_hip_hop

The Canadian hip hop scene was first established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much more slowly than Canada's popular rock music scene, and apart from a short-lived burst of mainstream popularity from 1989 to 1991, it remained largely an underground phenomenon until the early 2000s.
Canada had hip hop artists right from the early days of the scene — the first known Canadian rap single, Singing Fools' "The Bum Rap", was released in 1982.^[1] Toronto's CKLN-FM was also an early supporter of the genre, launching Canada's first hip hop program, The Fantastic Voyage, in 1983.^[2] For the most part, however, the infrastructure simply wasn't there to get most artists' music to the record-buying public.
Even if a Canadian hip hop artist could get signed to a record label at all, it was very difficult for them to get widespread exposure — even if their music videos were played on MuchMusic, many artists still couldn't get their records into stores or played on the radio. Although a few Canadian hip hop artists did break through to mainstream success around 1990, through much of the following decade Canadian hip hop experienced a slowdown without any significant artists breaking through to the mainstream — although many hip hop musicians continued to record and tour, not one Canadian hip hop song reached even the Top 100 on a Canadian pop chart between 1992 and 1998. Beginning in 1998, however, a sequence of events spurred by the anthemic collaborative single "Northern Touch" finally brought hip hop back into the mainstream of Canadian music.
Canada's propensity to create quality artists who rarely achieved public recognition prompted Allmusic to state that Canadian hip hop is the "best-kept secret in hip-hop."^[3] However, with the entrance of Drake, K'naan and the burgeoning success of Kardinal Offishall after the turn of the millennium, Canadian hip hop artists have finally achieved worldwide mainstream international recognition.

[edit] History

[edit] Late 1980s/early 1990s: The rise of Canadian hip hop

Artists such as Devon, Maestro Fresh-Wes and Dream Warriors did manage, for a brief time in the late '80s and early '90s, to break into the mainstream. In 1989, Maestro's first single, "Let Your Backbone Slide", was the first Canadian hip-hop single to break the national Top 40 and U.S. Billboard charts.^[4] It remained the bestselling Canadian hip hop single of all time until 2008. Other notable rap singles of this era include Maestro's "Drop the Needle", Devon's "Mr. Metro",^[5] Dream Warriors' "My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style" and "Wash Your Face in My Sink", Ground Control's "Another Dope Jam", MCJ and Cool G's "No Sex With My Sister" and "So Listen", and Kish's "I Rhyme the World in 80 Days".^[6]
Michie Mee became, in 1988, the first Canadian rapper to sign a deal with an American record label. This action did not result in significant chart success for her — she has asserted in interviews that the reggae influences on her 1991 debut album Jamaican Funk: Canadian Style met with resistance from American label executives and radio programmers.^[7]
The Get Loose Crew released an independent mini LP in March 1988 from their own record label East Park Productions with global distribution, thus becoming the first Canadian rap group with international record sales. The group featured the first recorded white rapper (MC Shadow) in Canada, second in the world only to American Def Jam artists Beastie Boys. The group disbanded in 1990 forming notable groups JUST Me, B-Kool (a Juno Award nominee), and Self-Defence.
In addition, DJs K-Cut and Sir Scratch of the Toronto/New York-based hip-hop group Main Source were Toronto natives. In 1991, Main Source released the hip-hop classic Breaking Atoms, which featured the debut of a young Nas before his rise in popularity. Rap also began to surface in Canadian mainstream pop in the early 1990s. Rapper Frankie Fudge performed a rap break in Celine Dion's 1990 single "Unison" and appeared in her video. Female R&B duo Love and Sas performed rap in their 1991 single "I Don't Need Yo' Kiss".

[edit] Early to mid-1990s: Fallow years

In 1990, Milestone Radio applied to the CRTC for an urban music station in Toronto, which would have been the first such station in Canada, but that application was denied in favour of a country music station — which Toronto already had on its radio dial.^[8]
The decision was controversial, and hurt the Canadian hip hop scene considerably. Hip-hop and R&B fans in Toronto relied on Buffalo, New York's WBLK, an American station with no Canadian content responsibilities, while other Canadian cities often had no access to any urban music radio stations at all. After 1992, Michie Mee was the only Canadian rapper to make an appearance on the national pop charts until 1998 — and even she didn't accomplish the feat with a hip hop song, but by partnering with the alternative rock band Raggadeath for 1995's "One Life".
Sol Guy, a hip hop promoter with Figure IV Entertainment, said in 1999 that

“

after "My Definition", nothing happened for two years. No labels were signing, or trying to sign, anything. Nobody was getting a shot. Radio disappeared with Wes and the Dream Warriors and it still hasn't come back.[9]

”

Ottawa-based hip-hop group Organized Rhyme, which featured a young Tom Green before his rise to fame, had some success on MuchMusic with "Check the O.R." in 1993, but did not receive widespread radio airplay or reach the RPM charts. Maestro Fresh-Wes, who moved to New York City in 1992 and attempted to break into the American market with the albums Maestro Zone and Naaah, Dis Kid Can't Be from Canada?!!, found his career faltering in this era. Snow, who had a number one Billboard hit in 1993 with "Informer", is sometimes mistakenly labelled a rapper, but in fact his style was more accurately described as dancehall, a style of reggae, than as hip hop.
Many American hip hop artists were popular in Canada, and Black Canadian musicians such as Infidels, Deborah Cox and The Philosopher Kings had notable successes in the R&B, pop and rock genres; however, even the most prominent Canadian hip hop acts during this era, including Ghetto Concept, Rascalz, Farm Fresh and Hip Club Groove, struggled to gain any kind of attention outside the campus radio underground.
That began to change in 1996, when the Urban Music Association of Canada was formed to build the domestic and international profile of Canadian urban music. The following year, Dubmatique broke through as the first Quebec rap band to top Canada's francophone pop charts, and some controversy erupted in Toronto when Milestone was again passed over for an urban radio station on its second application. Instead, the CBC was awarded 99.1 to move its existing Radio One station, CBLA, from the AM band — and, ominously, this was believed at the time to be the last available FM frequency in the city. The CRTC decision was not met with as much uproar as there had been in 1990, because the ruling was not seen as much of a shock; indeed, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the CBC would receive the frequency.
The most notable Canadian hip hop album during this era, Rap Essentials Volume One, was a compilation which featured the debut singles of both Kardinal Offishall and Choclair.

[edit] 1998: Northern Touch

However, 1998 proved to be a transformative year in the development of Canadian hip hop. The Vancouver hip hop band Rascalz quite unexpectedly found themselves at the centre of a sequence of events which gave Canadian hip hop an unprecedented level of media attention, leading the Canadian music and broadcasting industries to make a number of structural changes which would ultimately give hip hop musicians a more stable and commercially visible platform going into the 21st century.
First, Rascalz collaborated with emerging rappers Checkmate, Kardinal Offishall, Thrust and Choclair to record "Northern Touch", a galvanizing statement of purpose for Canadian hip hoppers which was released as a single in 1998 — and which beat the odds to become the first Canadian hip hop hit since 1991.^[10] Although the song just barely missed the national Top 40 charts, peaking at #41 in RPM, it reached the Top 10 in most major markets, and was the first Canadian hip hop song to reach the Top 100 at all, and the first to garner widespread radio airplay both in Canada and internationally, since "My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style".
Later that year, Rascalz won the Juno Award for Best Rap Recording for their 1997 album Cash Crop. Because of Canadian hip hop's lack of commercial visibility, the award was presented during the non-televised portion of the ceremony, along with the technical awards, rather than at the televised main gala. The band had not yet arrived at the ceremony when the award was announced — when they did arrive, they were simply pulled aside and told that they had won the award.^[11]
Alleging that racism was a factor in the award's scheduling, the band refused to accept the award.^[9] Speaking to the press afterward, the group and their co-manager said that

“

In view of the lack of real inclusion of black music in this ceremony, this feels like a token gesture towards honoring the real impact of urban music in Canada. Urban music, reggae, R&B, and rap, that's all black music, and it's not represented [at the Junos]. We decided that until it is, we were going to take a stance.[11]

”

For several weeks cultural critics and hip hop musicians debated the issue in the press — some suggested, in fact, that the hip hop award's lack of visibility could be seen as not just a result of Canadian hip hop's poor commercial performance, but also a contributing factor.
Maestro Fresh-Wes, now known simply as Maestro, also broke his own hit jinx in 1998, with "Stick to Your Vision" — buoyed, in part, by a Guess Who sample — becoming his first chart hit in seven years. Although he would not actually reach the Top 40 for another few years, Kardinal Offishall also made his first appearance as a solo artist in RPM's Top 100 in 1998, peaking at #91 with "On wit da Show". Artists such as Choclair and Saukrates were also beginning to make waves in the press, as the year's more dramatic events renewed attention on Canadian hip hop.
As a result of the Rascalz controversy, the Junos moved the Rap award to the main ceremony the following year. It was won, inevitably enough, by "Northern Touch".

[edit] 2000s: The breakthrough

On June 18, 1999, the CBC's Toronto station completed its move to FM. Because the FM frequency offered better broadcast coverage of the region, the CBC found that it was able to surrender two FM repeater transmitters serving communities outside of the city — thus opening two new frequencies for license applications. In response, the federal cabinet issued an Order-in-Council to the CRTC directing it to give precedence to applications that took into account Toronto's cultural and racial diversity,^[12] effectively guaranteeing that Milestone would get a license in the new round of hearings.
On June 16, 2000, the CRTC awarded one of the frequencies to Milestone, on the company's third attempt.^[13] The other frequency was awarded to Aboriginal Voices for a station to serve First Nations communities. At the beginning of this same year, the internet became home to Canada's largest rap/hip-hop website publication and community, HipHopCanada.com. Also in 2000, the CBC created and aired Drop the Beat, a television series about hip hop music and culture which was billed as one of the first such series in the world. The show starred Merwin Mondesir and Mark Taylor as the hosts of a hip hop show on a campus radio station; the cast also included Michie Mee, DJ Shamann and Kardinal Offishall.
Finally, in 2001, CFXJ (Flow 93.5) debuted as Canada's first urban music station. Urban stations quickly followed in several other Canadian cities, as well, and for the first time, Canadian hip hop artists had a network of radio outlets for their music — as well as numerous record labels committed to rectifying their past lack of interest in the genre. In the 2000s, numerous Canadian hip hop artists, including Kardinal Offishall, Drake, Classified, k-os, K'naan, Swollen Members, Sweatshop Union, Buck 65, Belly, Moka Only, Shad and Cadence Weapon, as well as many R&B artists, have emerged as mainstream stars.
In addition to terrestrial radio, the national satellite radio networks CBC Radio 3 and Bande à part, which are both dedicated to Canadian independent music of any genre, also include numerous emerging hip hop artists in their playlists. Bande à part has produced a compilation album of unsigned Quebec hip hop artists, 93 tours, which it distributed as a free download from its website.
Apart from a few major stars the hip hop scene has largely continued to struggle in obscurity. Virtually all of the urban-format radio stations which debuted in the early 2000s, including Flow 93.5, have since shifted from a pure urban format to a rhythmic contemporary format. While the stations still play some hip hop, they now focus far more on artists who have already established crossover Top 40 appeal — meaning that emerging artists can no longer rely on the stations to help them build their audience. In 2010, further, Milestone announced a deal to sell Flow 93.5 to CHUM Radio, a division of the mainstream media conglomerate CTVglobemedia.^[14]
Canadian hip hop musicians have also continued to face obstacles when attempting to break into the American and international markets. Music critics and journalists have sometimes attributed this to the perception, real or imagined, that stereotypes of Canada as a land of igloos and hosers get in the way of Canadian rappers being taken seriously.^[7] It was not until 2008, when Kardinal Offishall reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with a collaboration with established American star Akon, "Dangerous", that a Canadian rapper had a major chart hit in the United States. He was shortly followed by Drake, whose 2009 single "Best I Ever Had" reached #2 on the Hot 100, making it the most successful Canadian hip hop single in the U.S. to date. Another major international breakthrough came in 2009 when a remixed version of K'naan's single "Wavin' Flag" was announced as the official Coca-Cola theme song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[15] The song has since become a chart hit in at least 16 countries worldwide.

[edit] French Canadian hip hop

Montreal, being Canada's second largest city and one of the world's largest French-speaking cities, has developed its own niche of French language hip hop, which later spread to Quebec City and throughout the province of Quebec. This was largely an underground phenomenon until the emergence of Dubmatique, who became in 1997 the first francophone Canadian hip hop group to reach Canada's francophone Top 40 charts. Dubmatique were followed by acts including Muzion, Manu Militari, Yvon Krevé, Loco Locass, Catburglaz, Atach Tatuq, Taktika, Sir Pathétik, Sans Pression, Omnikrom, Anodajay, Gatineau, Radio Radio and Treizième Etage.
In 2005, The Dope Poet Society released a multilingual single and video entitled, "All of Us" off the album ProIntelpro: Promote Intelligence Program.^[16] Lead vocalist ProfessorD.us raps in both English and French on the track, accompanied by a posse of six other rappers rhyming in a total of five different languages. The most internationally successful hip hop musician from Quebec is Ghislain Poirier, a producer whose own albums primarily feature francophone rappers from Quebec and France, but who is also now an influential remixer equally sought after by anglophone rappers and dance musicians from Canada and the United States. Roi Heenok, a rapper from Montreal, has become an Internet phenomenon in France, and has performed in Paris three times since 2004.

[edit] First Nations hip hop

Hip hop is also a rapidly growing influence on contemporary First Nations youth culture,^[17] spearheaded by prominent artists such as Kinnie Starr, War Party, Eekwol, Inez Jasper, Joey Stylez, Lil Pappie, Plex, Anish, Tru Rez Crew, Samian and Team Rezofficial. First Nations hip hop artists typically perform a style which blends hip hop with traditional First Nations music.
David Dacoine, a member of Tribal Wizdom, has hosted workshops across Canada encouraging aboriginal youth to take up hip hop as a method of creative expression and self-empowerment.^[18] Anish created the first ever First Nations Hip Hop Festival; subsequently, the event was held at Pasqua, Saskatchewan in 2004.^[19] The Aboriginal Voices radio network also airs a weekly program, hosted by Plex, devoted to First Nations hip hop.
In 2009, Team Rezofficial became the first aboriginal hip hop group with a song on the RapCity Top Ten. The song "Lonely" went to number one.^[20] In the same year, Manitoba's Native Communications radio network launched Streetz FM, a hip hop station in Winnipeg which was Canada's first radio station marketed primarily to aboriginal youth.

[edit] Influences

Although American East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop are major influences on Canadian artists in the genre, Canadian hip hop also incorporates a number of other influences not commonly seen in the mainstream of the American genre. The Black Canadian community is much more dominated by people of Caribbean heritage than is the African American community in the United States. As a result, Canadian hip hop is significantly influenced by the rhythms and styles of Caribbean music. English Canadian hip hop tends to be influenced by Jamaican, Trinidadian and Bahamian styles, while francophone hip hop from Quebec is commonly influenced by Haitian music. Artists such as Michie Mee, Dream Warriors, Ghetto Concept, and Kardinal Offishall have incorporated dancehall or reggae into their music.
The genre-hopping "Tom Waits with a beatbox" style of Buck 65, who integrates country, rock, folk and blues influences into his music, has also become a major influence on Canadian hip hop in the 2000s. His influence is especially strong on hip hop artists from the Maritime provinces, such as Classified, but can also be seen in artists such as Ridley Bent and mcenroe.
Electronic music is also a significant influence, notably seen in artists such as Cadence Weapon, No Luck Club and Ghislain Poirier, and jazz music has been incorporated since the early 1990s, particularly in the work of Dream Warriors, Social Deviantz, Mood Ruff and Da Grassroots. Artists such as K'naan, k-os, Grand Analog, Touch and Nato, Dragon Fli Empire, DL Incognito and Graph Nobel have pursued styles which blend a diverse mix of hip hop, rock, jazz, world music, and R&B influences.

HOW MANY MC'S?

SOOOO...We have A LOT of Canadian labels available to artists from Toronto to Yellow Knife. Though we don't have a structure to maintain the increase of artists in R&B, Blues and Hip Hop (of course even POP,Rock and Country) the increase of artists development and creativity  in North America won't stop.  QUESTION! what will it take to make the Canadian Music Industry support their artists more proactively ?

Before we lose our artist community to international markets, let us take a look at the labels and artists waiting on either side of the fence. One waiting to get signed and one waiting to react to sign the new Madonna or Micheal Jackson!

Alert Music	Indie label - Rock/Pop/Jazz
Alleged Iguanna	Indie label - Pop/Electronica/Jazz
Analekta	Indie label - Classical
Attack Records	Indie distributor
Audiogram Records	Major label - Rock/Pop/Alternative/World/Rap
BMG Music Canada	SEE SONY BMG MUSIC CANADA
Barely Legal Records	Indie label - Rock
Borealis Records	Indie label - Folk
Boshke Beats Records	Indie label - Techno
Bullseye Records of Canada	Re-Issues - Indie Distributor
CBC Records	Classical music
Capcan Music	Indie label/distributor - Misc genres
Captain Records	Indie label - Pop/Dance
Chacra Music	Indie label - New Age/World
Crunch Fly Records	Indie label - All genres
Disques Atma Records	Indie label - Classical
Disques Bros Records	Indie label - Folk/Blues/World
Distribution Select Distribution	Indie Distributor/Label - French/English
Disques Star Records	Indie label - Rock/Pop/Country/Instrumental
Disques Victo Records	Indie label
Dog My Cat Records	Indie Label - English
Dog Star Music	Indie label - All genres
Donald K. Donald Group	Multiple indie labels - All genres
EMI Music	Major label/distributor - All Genres
Endearing Records	Indie label
The G7 Welcoming Committee	Indie label - Rock/Punk/Hardcore
Gen-Sub Records	Indie label - Rock/Alternative
Geoharmonic Music	Indie label - Pop/Classical/World/Jazz
Healey Disc Manufacturing	CD/DVD Manufacturer - Duplication/Replication/Graphic Design
Hi Bias Records	Indie label - R&B/Dance
ISBA Music Entertainment	Indie distributor - Rock/Pop/Dance/Rap/Classical
Justin Time Records	Indie label - Blues/Jazz/Gospel
KLM Records	Indie label - Rock/Pop/Dance
Kleo Records	Indie label - Jazz
Koch Entertainment	Major/Indie distributor - All genres
Linus Entertainment	Major/Indie label - Rock/Misc Genres
Marquis Records	Indie label - Classical/Celtic
Murky Water Records	Indie label - All genres
Mint Records	Indie label - All genres
Nettwerk Records	Indie label - Rock/Pop/Alternative/Electronic
Oasis Productions	Indie label - New Age/Celtic/World/Instrumental
Oliver Sudden Productions	Indie label - World music
Polygram Music Canada	SEE UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP
Pulse 8 Music	Indie label - Pop/Ambient/Electronic
Rip Chord Records	Indie label - Alternative
Road House Records	Indie label - All Genres
Roto Noto	add rotonoto.com to your block list
Royalty Records	Indie label - Country
Ryco Disc	Indie distributor - All genres
Salt Spring Music	Indie label - All Genres
Shoreline Records	Indie label - Misc genres
Skylar Music	Indie label - Classical/World
Sonic Unyon Recording Company	Indie label/distributor
Sony BMG Music Canada	Major label/distributor
Soul Kiss Music	Urban music label
Stony Plain Records	Indie label - Roots/Rock/Country/Folk/Blues
Stush Records	Indie label - Club/Dance/House/Trance
Subvision Records	Indie label - Metal/Alternative/Electronic
Sunshine Records	Indie label - Aboriginal/Country
Union Label Group	Indie label/distributor
Universal Music Canada	Major label/distributor
Vik Recordings	Major label - All genres
Vinyl Record Guru	Indie label
Virgin Music Canada	Major label
Warner Music Canada	Major label/distributor
Copyright 2006 Rob McIntyre

 

PROMO GONE BOBO FETT

It is a tricky one indeed the marriage between Music / Business, it might take a Dr. Phil before a Donald Trump approach.  Nonetheless, artists are placed in a position to defend themselves against there own community in order to find some level of success....Why?

Is there enough resources and monetary financing to assist every promoter, artist and non profit out there trying to make it and make a difference!   

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/05/19/toronto-man-wanted-for-defrauding-hip-hop-artists

WHERE YOU AT NOW?

             Representing the Dot: http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/story.cfm?content=162220

HAVE THE DAYS OF CREWS COMING TOGETHER TO PUSH THE SOUND OF THE MASSES BECOME A THING OF THE PAST? WHERE IS THE STABILITY FOR THESE ARTISTS?

REAL TALK

THIS IS ARTICLE REALLY SPEAKS OF THE NEED FOR TORONTO'S ARTIST TO STAND UP!

Nicki Minaj: http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/story.cfm?content=178032

Nicki Minaj reply from Addi Stewart:
 
To Joshua Errett and Now Magazine,
As a religious reader of Now Magazine, I generally give it the benefit of the doubt on the few occasions I see something unsettling in your pages. But it would be unjust for me to not speak up against the various problems and disappointments I found in your recent cover story on Nicki Minaj (and reading the online comments, I see I'm not the only one). First, "a bad bitch"? Really? Would you call Margaret Atwood "a bad bitch" too, even if she addressed herself as one? Knowing your support of female rights issues, this is problematic at best, and offensive to me. Plus, 4 N's for an album that's "a scorching disappointment"? The review doesn't make much sense. Also, the article itself comes off as a cursory, promotional fluff piece, which not only fails to enlighten us with any exclusive new insight on Nicki, but also got it wrong by saying Lil Kim "has tried to lure her into a feud on more than one occasion". Their feud had died down for months until Nicki herself re-declared war with "Roman's Revenge", her thinly-veiled dis track featuring Eminem. Nicki herself first claimed it wasn't aimed at Kim, then admitted it was to Angie Martinez on Hot97 weeks ago. Considering NOW's support for hip hop music is generally inconsistent relative to the size of the culture both domestically and globally, it was both surprising and not surprising to see this story fail so spectacularly. And finally, "Most hyped new MC in hip hop history"? That's whoa. Yes, Nicki's debut has been very highly anticipated, but that statement is still pure hyperbole and exaggeration. The honor of most hyped new MC since 50 Cent was in 2002 can only go to one artist, and his name is Aubrey "Drake" Graham. Speaking of Drake, why has he not been on the cover of NOW Magazine yet?

In love and truth,
Addi "Mindbender Supreme" Stewart

WANTED

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous city in North America. Its metropolitan area with over 5 million residents is the seventh largest urban region in North America. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and is part of a densely populated region in Southern Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe, which is home to over 8.1 million residents—approximately 25% of Canada's population.^[3][4][5] The census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 5,113,149,^[1] and the Greater Toronto Area had a population of 5,555,912 in the 2006 Census.^[4]

As Canada's economic capital, Toronto is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group^[6]and is one of the top financial centres in the world.^[7][8] Toronto's leading economic sectors include finance, business services, telecommunications, aerospace, transportation, media, arts, film, television production, publishing, software production, medical research, education, tourism, engineering/construction, and sports industries.^[9][10] The city is also a major centre of higher education and research, home to many colleges and universities, including the University of Toronto, consistently ranked as one of the top universities in the world and highest-ranked in Canada. The Toronto Stock Exchange, the world's seventh largest in terms of market value, is headquartered in the city, along with the most Canadian corporate headquarters of a major Canadian city. According to the 2008PwC ranking, the city has the 22nd largest gross domestic product in the world.^[11] In 2010, Toronto was ranked twelfth in the world and fourth in the Americas for economic innovation in the Innovation Cities Top 100 Index by 2thinknow.^[12]

Toronto's population is cosmopolitan and international,^[13] reflecting its role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada.^[14]Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, as about 49% of the population were born outside Canada.^[13][14][15] Toronto is consistently rated as one of the world's most livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit^[16] and the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.^[17] In addition, Toronto was ranked as the most expensive Canadian city in which to live in 2006.^[18]Residents of Toronto are called Torontonians. 

Question: Where is Toronto's happening venues for live entertainment, close to the downtown core to network and meet great people?