NEWS

Sep 11
0

An Introduction to…Manifesto’s 9th Annual Arts & Culture Festival – Our City, One City

By | Festival | No Comments

Photo Credit: Tse Daniel

Earlier this summer, Toronto served as the host city for the 2015 Pan Am/ParaPanAm Games. Although our athletes pulled off an incredible month of golden wins, the biggest news story to come out of the games was the controversy surrounding American rapper Kanye West’s performance at the closing ceremony.

Shortly after the announcement was made, a petition to have Yeezy replaced was initiated by a group of irritable people, whose beliefs varied from “he’s American,” “he’s a jerk” and “his wife (Kim Kardashian) is annoying.” Needless to say, reasons for the petition were hardly of value. In all, it could be said that the buildup leading to the closing event was even bigger than the event itself. The petition was massive, reaching over 50,000 signatures in the few weeks it was live. Whether you signed the petition or not, everyone had an opinion about the American artist performing on the Pan Am stage.

The people who signed the petition appeared to be partial to one of two mindsets; either you hated Kanye West, or you wanted a Canadian artist to represent Toronto in the closing ceremony. After all, the games were hosted by the city of Toronto. Unfortunately, one could hardly find a pro-Canadian talent opinion that wasn’t laced in vitriol toward Yeezy. However, there was a solid, very loud message from the whole affair: many Torontonians are proud of our artists, and want to see more of them.

Message received.

Manifesto has always strived to represent local talent. Every year of our annual Festival of Arts & Culture, we’ve maintained our mission to showcase talented Canadian artists, and we’ve had local headliners at every festival since Manifesto’s conception – Maestro, K’naan, Michie Mee and Shad to name a few. The Manifesto mission statement has, and always will be, to unite, inspire and empower youth, local artists and communities – and as we enter our 9th year, we will be pushing this message harder than ever. This year, we’ve decided to change things up. Our Canadian arts and culture landscape continues to make leaps in terms of success, and quite frankly, has never shined brighter. This year, we’re bringing together all of Toronto – all six boroughs and associated neighborhoods under a united front – the notion that we are, and always will be, One City. Our City.

– AJ McDowell

Watch the video below and get excited, as MNFSTO9 is just around the corner!

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Sep 11
0

#MNFSTO9: Getting to Know…Keita Juma

By | Festival, Interview | No Comments

Hailing from Bristol, England and based in Mississauga, raspy-voiced Keita Juma [https://twitter.com/kjforshort] brings an eclectic approach to the GTA’s hip-hop scene. Emerging under the moniker KJ and turning heads with material like his 2012 album Water and his appearance on Shi Wisdom’s “Lovespeak,” Keita Juma has continued his artistic progression on subsequent releases. With 2014’s Peephole/Beach EP release and this year’s Chaos Theory EP , Keita Juma is clearly intent on infusing his music with disparate influences drawing from his diasporic upbringing and his experimental approach to creativity. – Del F. Cowie

Keita Juma will be appearing at Manifesto as part of the Red Bull Sound Select event along with GoldLink and A K U A on September 16. Follow Keita Juma @KJforShort on Twitter and RSVP for RBSS!

What part of Toronto (GTA) are you from/ Where do you live in Toronto (GTA)?

Well, when I first moved to Canada I lived in Etobicoke for a few years, then Brampton, and then ended up in Mississauga. I’ve been in ‘Sauga for a while now, more specifically Meadowvale, so that’s where I call home.

What is your favourite thing about where you live or the part of the city you are from?

I’m usually home, so in the nights I’m skating the Lisgar trails taking in what I’ve been working on or some other music. Most of my spots are food spots or bakeries because that’s my thing. If we’re talking meals, then Average Joes in the [Kensington] Market for breakfast, Potluck in Meadowvale for lunch, or Indian Kiss in the Junction for dinner. When I used to live in Etobicoke, there were a few bakeries I’d hit up on the regular – one that sold fresh patties right from the oven (I think it was close to Dr. Flea’s,) and a Ralph’s Bakery on Finch where I’d get fresh Hardo bread. Outside of that, you can catch me at Rattlesnake Point with the family taking in the view or tryna’ start a fire.

How have you seen art and creativity directly impact the area of the city you live in?

There isn’t much art happening in the ‘burbs, just similar houses, roads and bus stops, but I think that’s the suburbs in general. There aren’t any hubs for the artists in ‘Sauga either, so we all end up heading to Toronto. [It] Seems like they’re trying to do more around Square One and Lakeshore specifically, but those are really the only two areas I can think of.

What do you think that you as a creative person brings to the table that is different than other artists?

I’m a part of the entire process and when you get music from me, instead of the lyrics just telling my story, every part of the song is me – from the beat to the mix. I try to take my time with each part [of a song/project] as if it’s a different layer that the listener can take in throughout their journey with the project. Those were always my favourite records growing up. I also feel I have a unique perspective on black music. I remember trying to put my friends on to house and garage back in the day, then grime. Some of them got it but some didn’t, and that let me know that sometimes, new things take time. The industry that’s been going on in England has been active for a while… same as here. I remember watching Mathematik videos on MuchMusic, or when [Saukrates’] “Money or Love” first dropped or when [Kardinal Offishall’s] “Bakardi Slang” was the talk. Then flying to England and going to pirate radio stations or raves with my brother and his friends, seeing the different cultures. From music to fashion, I was able to see the differences every year throughout high school. [It] made me okay with creating whatever made sense in my head.

Why is it important for you to take part/perform in the Manifesto festival?

Manifesto’s a part of hip hop culture in our city, and it’s always an honour to bless the stage. The first time I was in the Manifesto Festival was in ‘08, [when] someone bailed on their performance and I got a text the night before like, “Yo, you tryna’ perform?” I must’ve performed to about 8 people, but it was a great experience and I felt mad nice being a part of the festival. That was the year K-os came on and told K’naan it was cool to do another song, which was a big move on his part because Nathan Philips Square was not playing with the 10pm curfew. There’s always a lot happening in the festival week that brings out all the artists in the city, so it’s good to see people outside of the Internet. Also, it’s the last time everyone’s out before they hibernate for the winter.

If you were to name a Canadian rap song that embodies our hip hop landscape, what would it be?



That’s tough, but off top it would be Saukrates – “Comin’ Up” with Shad’s “I Don’t Like To” as a close second, a very close second. I know they’re older songs but those are the first that come to mind.

WATCH: Keita Juma feat. Brendan Philip – “Come Over”

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Aug 25
0

Win Tickets to Nova Browning Rutherford’s ‘Like A Boss’ Seminar via The F-YOU Project

By | Community, Events | No Comments

It’s been said time and time again that everybody, whether they’re rich and famous or a blue-collared run of the mill person, has a story. This notion that we’re all attached by these shared experiences has been an ongoing trait in the F-YOU Project’s goals – uniting us not by who or what we know, but how we experience life. On August 28th, The F-YOU Project is holding #Triggers, an exhibit that will consist of photos and commentary, at The Richmond (477 Richmond St W). One of these photos include Manifesto alum Rich Kidd, who took a moment to reflect on a time where life wasn’t as peachy and he wasn’t rocking the mic, but rather selling dope and living the street life.

The following day, Nova Browning Rutherford, a personal development coach and speaker with …But I Love Me More, is holding a seminar titled, ‘Like A Boss.’ Focusing on assertiveness and the importance of it, the seminar will reflect on both the #Triggers exhibit, as well as how to transform stories of hurt into stories of success and triumph.

Manifesto is incredibly proud to once again support the F-YOU Project, and we’re giving away a pair of tickets (2) to see Nova speak this coming Sunday. Winning is simple – tell us your favourite quote about overcoming adversity and why in our comments or on Twitter (with the hashtag #triggers), and the lucky winner will be chosen at random. 

RSVP for the (free) #Triggers Exhibit, and if you don’t win tickets to ‘Like A Boss,’ they can be purchased here. 

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Aug 20
0

Meet the Team: Jade Jager Clark

By | Dance, Meet The Team | No Comments

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.

Jade Jager Clark joined the Manifesto team this year as the in house dance programmer. She first came to Manifesto to promote one of her many dance events, and was later contacted by Managing Director Judi Lopez to discuss her participation as the Dance Programmer for the 2015 Festival.

Jade is a passionate artist; a dancer at heart, she started Jade’s Hip-Hop Academy in her home city of Brampton in 2006. Since opening, she’s taught over 2,500 kids how to pop, lock, break and krump, and has provided dancers for almost 300 events including Unity Festival, and TV appearances on Breakfast Television and TVOkids. This past summer alone her group has performed over 18 times at PanAm and Para Pan Am, as well as YTV Beach Bash at Canada’s Wonderland.

To learn more about Jade’s Hip Hop Academy, head over to http://jadeshiphopacademy.com/

See her also on Twitter @Jadeshiphopacad and Youtube

 

 

 

 

 

Aug 18
0

In Conversation With… Chronixx & Zincfence Redemption

By | Community, Events, Music | No Comments

Artscape x Manifesto x The Remix Project x IREMEMBER
In Partnership with The Ada Slaight Youth Artist Mentorship Program
Present…   

In Conversation with…
Chronixx & Zincfence Redemption
“A Community Youth Gathering”

Moderated by Donisha Prendergast | Hosted by Big Norm

 

Reggae star Chronixx has re-energized today’s reggae sound by taking it back to its roots and pumping the heart back into the music. With songs like “Rastaman Wheel Out,” the classic “Here Comes Trouble”  from his 2014 album Dread and Terrible and “Who Knows?” his hit collaboration with fellow conscious-raising reggae artist Proteje, Chronixx’s distinctive voice and positive ideals have quickly made the 22-year old a worldwide force. A young man with an old soul, he continues to cultivate his gift by linking the present with the past by connecting with reggae legends like Sly & Robbie, King Jammy and Leroy Sibbles.

 

Following in the footsteps of his father  (reggae artist Chronicle), Chronixx was known as Little Chronicle growing up and was surrounded and mentored by several legendary reggae musicians like Gregory Isaacs. Chronixx began his career working behind the scenes providing vocals and production assistance for artists such as Popcaan and Konshens but the death of his brother spurred on his emergence as an artist in his own right leading him to release his debut EP Hooked On Chronixx in 2010.

Hosted by Donisha Prendergast, a founding director of Manifesto Jamaica, this In Conversation With… event promises to offer an intimate and revealing conversation with Chronixx about the inspirations and influences in his life and the message in his music.

Chronixx-hero

Event attendees are encouraged to bring canned goods, school supplies, projectors and small cameras to be donated to The Homework Centre in Jamaica. THC is a small Community Space with shady trees located in the heart of the streets of concrete houses in Westchester, Portmore. Once a broken playground and old barbershop is now filled with books, documentaries, musical instruments and other information tools for all ages, collected from years of book drives at events and from our travels around the world.

Friday August 21, 2015
230PM – 4PM (Doors – 2PM)
Daniels Spectrum – Ada Slaight Hall
585 Dundas St. E., Toronto

This event is FREE with registration and seating will be first come first served, with seating preference given to YOUTH aged 18 and under.

Event Hashtags: 

#ICWChronixx
#ARTSCAPEChronixx
#MNFSTOChronixx
#TheRemixProjectChronixx
#IREMEMBERChronixx
#THEHOMEWORKCENTREJA
#CREATECLASSROOMSEVERYWHERE
#EACHONETEACHONE

—

Donisha-Prendergast

About Donisha Prendergast

Donisha Prendergast is a global citizen who has been on a journey around the world since birth it seems. As a child touring with Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers she witnessed how Reggae music was able to challenge social boundaries and even national borders with a true message of Love & Justice. Born and raised in Jamaica, this ‘80’s baby’ also saw the rise of dancehall and other sub-cultures driven by music. As a healer and community organizer she has put hands and heart into building a school for girls in the Mara Masaai region in Kenya with Free the Children, she has marched through the snow for justice with the Idle No More movement and the Indigenous youth and ancient elders of Canada. Donisha’s commitment to global community work includes her healing works with the youth of Tivoli Gardens Film Club, who she has been mentoring since the Incursion of May 2010 among many other projects as a founding director of Manifesto Jamaica.

About Manifesto’s In Conversation With..

Manifesto’s In Conversation with…series features intimate live interviews and audience dialogues with a diverse range of artists and leaders in their field. The talks provide an opportunity to go beyond the public performance persona of artists and creatives to explore these artists’ stories, career development experiences and valuable lessons.

We thank and acknowledge the Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Artscape, The Remix Project, IREMEMBER and the Ada Slaight Youth Arts Mentorship Program for making this event possible.

Aug 17
0

Save the Date

By | Community, Festival | No Comments

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!

 

 

Aug 14
0

Luxe Taylor’s Pipedream

By | Interview, Music | No Comments

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. 

 

Listen to his full album here

IG and Twitter: @luxetaylor

Aug 11
0

Meet the Team: Judi Lopez

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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

 

Aug 05
0

Bringing you The Goods

By | Fashion | No Comments

 

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.

Jul 31
0

Freshest Goods website launch

By | Meet The Team | No Comments

Freshest Goods website launch

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