It’s been a whole year, but we’re finally here- Manifesto 2015 has been announced for September 16th-20th, 2015.
Heading into 2015, this marks our 9th annual festival, which brings forth nine years of dancers, musicians, DJs, photographers, graffiti artists, painters, and intellectuals from the Toronto hip hop community and abroad in a weekend of artistic empowerment and good vibes. As a celebration of Toronto’s diverse cultural history, as well as our achievements as a music and art community, this year we’re focusing on bringing together all six boroughs under the theme of ‘One City.’
The notion of ‘One City’ drives forth the idea that homegrown talent is more than enough, and it’s time to celebrate ourselves. Canada is booming with talent in the arts and music sectors, and we want this year’s Manifesto Festival to reflect that. All of this year’s festival events have been crafted based on our domestic growth, and numerous local and celebrity artists have been selected to thoroughly represent everyone from Mississauga to Scarborough, and everywhere in between.
With that being said, we’d like to send very special congratulations to those who were selected to participate at our 9th Annual Festival of Community and Culture! As always, it was very difficult to select only a few from the hundreds of applications, but we promise great talent that represent the best from dance, music, DJs, art and designers.
For more information about this year’s festival, be sure to keep an eye on our website, and follow our social media for the latest announcements. And if you’ve never been to our festival and are curious to see what we can do, get a taste of what’s to come with our recap video from last year!
Burlington born rapper Luxe Taylor is home from his first solo tour across Canada’s east coast following the release of his long time project Pipedream. The tour started on July 31st in Toronto, ON and ended in Dartmouth, NS on August 8th.
Taylor started this album in 2014 after the break-up of his band The Heavy Heavies and wanted to put out a project that didn’t have any limitations when it came to the sound of the music.
“The overall concept of Pipedream is kind of like the pursuit of happiness. There are songs that look at different aspects of “happiness” and what people try to cling to, to give their life meaning (validation, money, fancy cars, girls, parties, beauty, relationships, drugs). These are all things I struggled with over the year, or saw people dealing with and it made me realize that the only thing that would ever truly make ME happy is pursuing music…Often people get so complacent or scared to pursue their dreams, and they settle for security. So in a way this project is saying no dream is unachievable if you’re fully behind it and put all your energy and positivity into it,” says Taylor.
Describe who Luxe Taylor is and what motivates him.
“I grew up in Burlington, Ontario. My motivation has always been to continually progress. Not only in my art, by writing a better verse than the last song or making a better beat, but also in my life as a whole.
My childhood was definitely dope, but I also grew up in harder conditions than my friends around me and definitely dealt with a lot of things my friends didn’t really understand happened where we were from. I think this made me closer to my brothers and sisters because we kind of all know exactly what we all dealt with because we had it the same. They definitely motivate me because I want to see us progress.
I want my music to get me in a position where I can not only help out my family and friends, but also a person who might be listening to a song I wrote and it helps them out in a way. Maybe someone is going through something similar to April Showers and something clicks with them, or they feel less alone. That feeling I’ve gotten when someone says a song or lyric I wrote means something to them is possibly the greatest feeling to experience as an artist. That’s motivation.”
How did you know you wanted to pursue rap?
“I’ve always been drawn to lyrics and rhythm, so it always made sense. I remember the first time I heard College Dropout by Kanye. It was the first time in my head where I started seeing myself as a hip hop artist, and maybe not just a guy in a band like a drummer or bass player.
I started making beats first and worked with a couple rappers. I was getting frustrated with it not sounding how I heard it in my head though. I started showing these rappers these broad ideas I had for the verse. At one point, this rapper I was working with at the time was like “Why don’t you just spit this verse?” I recorded the verse that day and from that point on I was writing, producing and recording my own music.”
Who influences you?
“My family, definitely. I owe a lot of my musical interest to my older brother. When I was younger, he was my source of everything I listened to. I’d borrow his CDs and play them in my disc man.
Other artists like Kanye, who are down to push to boundaries and not conform to a certain “sound” people expect from them.”
What will this tour mean to you?
“This is kind of a big deal for me because it was my first full solo tour.This first tour was definitely a learning experience. First, how big this country really is. After Montreal, it’s like a 10 hour drive until the next playable city. Also, you can’t expect the first couple tours to be sold out venues. You gotta pay your dues and build a fanbase slowly.”
Taylor’s next couple of projects include the second part of the Pipedream tour In September with Tech N9ne, getting more studio time and a possible U.S. tour coming in the winter.
Check out Luxe Taylor’s latest video release for “You Right” and his soundcloud for the entire Pipedream album.
Meet the Team is a short series of posts that will be introducing the public to the 2015 Manifesto team- the people who are running things from behind the scenes.
Judi ‘JuLo’ Lopez is Manifesto’s Managing Director for the 2015 Festival- her second year in this role, and third as part of the festival. A passionate artist herself, she has been a dancer for over 15 years and into breaking for 4.
She was introduced to the Festival while living in London, England. Her roommate- also a Canadian and friends of the founders- showed her a recap video of the 5th year.
Her amazement of the magnitude of the festival and love of dance brought her to volunteer at the 6th annual festival. Following her involvement, Judi created her own organization called ‘KeepRockinYou’, where she runs a program called the Toronto B-Girl Movement. Her team hosted its first ever B-girl battle at Manifesto’s Live at the Square in 2013, where she hosted the first ever B-girl 2X2 battle to happen in Toronto.
Judi is still working on the Toronto B-Girl Movement Program, which is currently launching a new mentorship program called Past, Present & Future, which involves creating mentorships with influential B-boys from Toronto.
For more on Judi and her projects, head over to www.keeprockinyou.com as well as twitter and instagram at @KeepRockinYou
This past May Manifesto was in Ottawa for Hip Hop Playground: Battles and Beats, our event at Scene Ontario. While in the Capital, Freshest Goods Manager Taurean Scotland and the Manifesto TV crew got a chance to check out NRML, a shop that has been keeping Ottawa fresh for almost 20 years.
The shop features an impressive roster of brands, from Jordan and adidas to Primitive and Comme Des Garcon. It’s a one-stop shop for streetwear; all the hot brands and styles under one roof. As Mike, a designer at NRML says “There’s like some skate shops and things like that, but in terms of core streetwear we’re the only place… if you want Jordans you can also go to Footlocker, but you’re not going to get Stussy, you’re not going to get Obey, you’re not going to get brands like that all in the same spot.”
The episode was the first of a new series called “The Goods”, a Freshest Goods initiative to showcase independent retailers and businesses in Ontario. With the FG website launching soon, which will contain a blog and web store, the series will come as another medium to bring the amazing talent in our province into the spotlight.
Freshest Goods is making a digital space for itself with the launch of a brand new website this coming August. The new site will mean products available for purchase 24/7; no more waiting for pop-up shops and markets to get your hands on products from Toronto vendors and Manifesto brand products. Freshest Goods will become a one-stop-shop for anyone looking to rep local Toronto designs and support up and coming artists.
In addition to a store, the new website will feature a blog to profile local designers, interviews, photos, and editorial content. Freshest Goods will become a forum for new and aspiring designers to get tips and advice on designing and breaking into the retail world.
Until the launch, the shopify website will continue to run, and those interested in buying MNFSTO brand products can still do so through mnfsto.com/shop. Those who visit the site now have an opportunity to sign up for Free shipping, and vendor forms are being made available to those who would like to have their brands featured or sold on the new website. www.freshestgoods.com
This weekend is the fifth annual Bastid’s BBQ at 229 Richmond St. West (next to the Ballroom) from 3:00 Pm-11:00 PM. For the second year in a row, Freshest Goods will be in attendance selling goods and products from local designers Vice x Virtue,MNFSTO, Original 6, Champstiles, Notaurious, Tomboy, and Wild Moon.
The BBQ is a great way to support local design and talent! As of this morning the DJ set times are:
Paul Chin 3:00 – 3:30
Rhek 3:30 – 4:00
Big Jacks 4:00 – 4:45
Bambii 4:45 – 5:30
Starting From Scratch 5:30 – 6:15
Wristpect 6:15 – 7:00
Skratch Bastid (1) 7:00 – 7:30
Big Toe’s HiFi 7:30 – 8:15
DJ Dopey 8:15 – 9:00
Hedspin 9:00 – 9:45
Chris Karns 9:45 – 10:30
Skratch Bastid (2) 10:30 – 11:00
Skratch Bastid is a long time friend to the organization and we are very excited to be a part of this community event. If you haven’t already purchased an early bird ticket, it isn’t too late to head over to his Eventbrite page and purchase one, or buy at the door for $20+tax.
For more information on the event and real-time updates, head over to his Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/384570968414194/
As well, make sure to stay up-to-date with our status at the BBQ through our Instagram and Twitter pages. See you there!
The submission deadline for visual artists, DJ’s, musicians, volunteers and vendors for the 9th annual festival in September has been extended to July 13th 11:59PM. Those interested in applying for the culmination of hip hop culture in Toronto can go to mnfsto.com/apply and proceed with the application for your medium.
This years submissions have a $25 fee, with the exception of volunteer submitters. The fee is to pay for administrative costs attached to processing hundreds of applications. If you are unable to pay this fee, or have any questions, please contact info@themanifesto.ca
By applying you will get free admission to the event you apply for, as well as a 50% off admission for the summit.
Let us know on social media when you apply with the hashtag #mnfsto9 on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
STYLES
Hip Hop
Breaking
Popping
Locking
Until there is one last style standing.
JUDGES (1 judge per style)
Crazy Smooth – Breaking (Ottawa)
Simon Klassic Xavier -Popping (Ottawa)
Pryo- Locking (Toronto)
Gadfly-Hip Hop Freestyle (Toronto)
SCHEDULE
Each style has its own cipher
Cipher times:
13:00-13:20 – Breaking
13:30-13:50 – Popping
14:00 – 14:20 – Locking
14:30-14:50 – Hip hop freestyle
TOURNAMENT STYLE
Round 1
The judge of each style will choose the top 4 dancers from each cipher.
Round 2
Top 4 dancers in each style compete against each other until one winner is named.
Round 3
Each style winner will then compete against the others until the last style is standing. Click here to register:
DÉROULEMENT
Chaque style aura son moment de gloire!
13 h-13 h 20 – Breaking
13 h 30-13 h 50 – Popping
14 h-14 h 20 – Locking
14:30-14:50 – Hip-hop freestyle
STYLE TOURNOI
Premier round
Le juge de chaque style choisira les 4 meilleurs danseurs de sa catégorie.
Deuxième round
Les quatre finalistes dans chaque style se feront la lutte jusqu’à ce qu’une personne soit déclarée gagnante.
Troisième round
Les gagnants de chaque style s’affrontent jusqu’à ce qu’un style l’emporte.
INSCRIVEZ-VOUS pour prendre part à la compétition:
If you are a youth arts group in Toronto how do you measure success? It can’t be just about revenues. Or huge crowds to local events.
What we can measure is the cultural impact of Manifesto on our community at large.
Artdata is an interactive data visualization funded by the Laidlaw Foundation and the Toronto Arts Council that gathered data on the programs and reach of 12 youth arts groups across the city. The interactive map, the Toronto Star Website, and ArtData on our own website will be launched today.
Here is sneak peek at the footprint of the Manifesto programs of 2014.
So Toronto: this is how WE measure success! Total number of programs across the city!
This is how we measure the global impact of our Manifesto messengers. Tour dates for 8 Manifesto messages between 1999-2003.
This is how our community – 12 other youth-arts led organizations – spell success! This is our collective footprint – measured by outreach programs, participation, audience and community partnerships.
And if you want to see just how some of our young artists get around check this out!
This is how you navigating the interactive visualization.
To see the impact of individual organizations, click on the stars across the map. To see the collective impact of our ecosystem click on the PARTICIPATION, TOTAL IMPACT AND SPONSOR buttons along the top of the map.
To view the impact of individual artists who have participated in youth-led arts groups, click on the ART TRAILS button.
Shout out to the Laidlaw Foundation and Toronto Arts Council who funded this project. #artdatatoronto
Happy to see two incredible female artists Manifesto has had the honour to debut in Toronto making their way back to the city for a collab show at a big venue. Mad love to Jhené and SZA. They’re both great, so if you missed them before, definitely don’t sleep this time.
Info below:
Jhené Aiko
with SZA and the Internet
December 18
Sound Academy
Tickets on sale Friday 10am
Jhené Aiko, the only female artist on this year’s 10th Anniversary Rock The Bells Hip-Hop Festival Tour, has been described as the first female voice in R&B’s new wave. She’s bringing her critically-acclaimed sound to Toronto’s Sound Academy on December 18th. Jhené will be joined by electro-soul songstress SZA and LA hip-hop/soul duo The Internet.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, November 21 at 10am at Ticketmaster.ca
