History Canadian hip hop

1 history

1.1 late 1980s/early 1990s: rise of canadian hip hop
1.2 mid-1990s
1.3 1998: northern touch
1.4 2000s: breakthrough
1.5 2010s: new toronto sound

history
late 1980s/early 1990s: rise of canadian hip hop

artists such devon, maestro fresh-wes , dream warriors did manage, brief time in late 80s , 90s, break mainstream. in 1989, maestro s first single, let backbone slide , first canadian hip-hop single break national top 40 , u.s. billboard charts. remained bestselling canadian hip hop single of time until 2008. other notable rap singles of era include maestro s drop needle , devon s mr. metro , dream warriors definition of boombastic jazz style , wash face in sink , ground control s dope jam , mcj , cool g s no sex sister , listen , , kish s rhyme world in 80 days .

michie mee became, in 1988, first canadian rapper sign deal american record label. action did not result in significant chart success her—she has asserted in interviews reggae influences on 1991 debut album jamaican funk—canadian style met resistance american label executives , radio programmers.

the loose crew released independent mini lp in march 1988 own record label east park productions global distribution, becoming first canadian rap group international record sales. group featured first recorded white rapper (mc shadow) in canada. group disbanded in 1990 forming notable groups me, b-kool (a juno award nominee), , self-defence.

in addition, djs k-cut , sir scratch of toronto/new york-based hip-hop group main source toronto natives. in 1991, main source released hip-hop classic breaking atoms, featured debut of young nas before rise in popularity. rap began surface in canadian mainstream pop in 1990s. rapper frankie fudge performed rap break in celine dion s 1990 single unison , appeared in video. female r&b duo love , sas performed rap in 1991 single don t need yo kiss .

an important influence in development of hip hop in toronto ron nelson , fantastic voyage radio show aired saturday afternoons on ckln-fm 1983 1991. fantastic voyage first exposure many youths had hip hop genre , provided first airplay many toronto artists including maestro fresh wes, michee mee, rumble & strong , dream warriors. nelson hip hop concert promoter bringing important american acts canada first time, including first major hip hop concert in canada, held @ varsity stadium in 1987, featuring run dmc, public enemy , epmd, providing exposure local artists @ venues such concert hall, spectrum, , party centre, , music producer through studio, apache, located in scarborough.

early mid-1990s

in 1990, denham jolly s company milestone radio applied crtc urban music station in toronto, have been first such station in canada, application denied in favour of country music station—which toronto had on radio dial.

the decision controversial, , hurt canadian hip hop scene considerably. hip-hop , r&b fans in toronto relied on buffalo, new york s wblk, american station no canadian content responsibilities, while other canadian cities had no access urban music radio stations @ all. after 1992, michie mee canadian rapper make appearance on national pop charts until 1998—and didn t accomplish feat hip hop song, partnering alternative rock band raggadeath 1995 s 1 life .

sol guy, hip hop promoter figure iv entertainment, said in 1999 that

a special collaborative single, can t repress cause , released under name dance appeal advocate greater inclusion of hip hop in mainstream of canadian music. participating artists included devon, maestro fresh wes, dream warriors, b-kool, michie mee, lillian allen, eria fachin, hdv, dionne, thando hyman, carla marshall, messenjah, jillian mendez, lorraine scott, lorraine segato, self defense, leroy sibbles, zama , thyron lee white.

ottawa-based hip-hop group organized rhyme, featured young tom green before rise fame, had success on muchmusic check o.r. in 1993, did not receive widespread radio airplay or reach rpm charts. maestro fresh-wes, moved new york city in 1992 , attempted break american market albums maestro zone , naaah, dis kid can t canada?!!, found career faltering in era. snow, had number 1 billboard hit in 1993 informer , mistakenly labelled rapper, in fact style more accurately described dancehall, style of reggae, hip hop.

many american hip hop artists popular in canada, , black canadian musicians such infidels, deborah cox , philosopher kings had notable successes in r&b, pop , rock genres; however, prominent canadian hip hop acts during era, including ghetto concept, rascalz, farm fresh, tbtbt, graphidi logik , hip club groove, struggled gain kind of commercial traction. although toronto-market radio stations chog , cing-fm began include canadian hip hop songs in contemporary hit radio formats, hip hop audience in city remained loyal wblk—and artists venues available reaching audience anywhere outside of greater toronto area campus radio , muchmusic s rapcity , x-tendamix.

that began change in 1996, when urban music association of canada formed build domestic , international profile of canadian urban music. following year, dubmatique broke through first quebec rap band top canada s francophone pop charts, , controversy erupted in toronto when milestone again passed on urban radio station on second application. instead, cbc awarded 99.1 move existing radio 1 station, cbla, band—and, ominously, believed @ time last available fm frequency in city. crtc decision not met uproar there had been in 1990, because ruling not seen of shock; indeed, seemed foregone conclusion cbc receive frequency.

the notable canadian hip hop album during era, rap essentials volume one, compilation featured debut singles of both kardinal offishall , choclair.

1998: northern touch

however, 1998 proved transformative year in development of canadian hip hop, vancouver hip hop band rascalz quite unexpectedly found @ centre of sequence of events gave canadian hip hop unprecedented level of media attention, leading canadian music , broadcasting industries make number of structural changes give hip hop musicians more stable , commercially visible platform going 21st century.

first, rascalz collaborated emerging rappers checkmate, kardinal offishall, thrust , choclair record northern touch , galvanizing statement of purpose canadian hip hoppers released single in 1998—and beat odds become first canadian hip hop hit since 1991. although song barely missed national top 40 charts, peaking @ #41 in rpm, reached top 10 in major markets, , first canadian hip hop song reach top 100 @ all, , first garner widespread radio airplay both in canada , internationally, since definition of boombastic jazz style .

later year, rascalz won juno award best rap recording 1997 album cash crop. because of canadian hip hop s lack of commercial visibility, award presented during non-televised portion of ceremony, along technical awards, rather @ televised main gala. band had not yet arrived @ ceremony when award announced—when did arrive, pulled aside , told had won award.

alleging racism factor in award s scheduling, band refused accept award. speaking press afterward, group , co-manager said that

for several weeks cultural critics , hip hop musicians debated issue in press—some suggested, in fact, hip hop award s lack of visibility seen not result of canadian hip hop s poor commercial performance, contributing factor.

maestro fresh-wes, known maestro, broke own hit jinx in 1998, stick vision —buoyed, in part, guess sample—becoming first top 40 hit in 7 years. although not reach top 40 until 2001 s bakardi slang , kardinal offishall made first appearance solo artist in rpm s top 100 in 1998, peaking @ #91 on wit da show . artists such choclair, jelleestone , saukrates beginning make waves in press, year s more dramatic events renewed attention on canadian hip hop.

as result of rascalz controversy, junos moved rap award main ceremony following year. won, inevitably enough, northern touch .

2000s: breakthrough

on june 18, 1999, cbc s toronto station completed move fm. because fm frequency offered better broadcast coverage of region, cbc found able surrender 2 fm repeater transmitters serving communities outside of city—thus opening 2 new frequencies license applications. in response, federal cabinet issued order in council crtc directing give precedence applications took account toronto s cultural , racial diversity, guaranteeing milestone license in new round of hearings.

on june 16, 2000, crtc awarded 1 of frequencies milestone, on company s third attempt. other frequency awarded aboriginal voices station serve first nations communities. @ beginning of same year, internet became home canada s largest rap/hip-hop website publication , community, hiphopcanada.com. in 2000, cbc created , aired drop beat, television series hip hop music , culture billed 1 of first such series in world. show starred merwin mondesir , mark taylor hosts of hip hop show on campus radio station; cast included michie mee, dj shamann , kardinal offishall.

finally, in 2001, cfxj (flow 93.5) debuted canada s first urban music station. urban stations followed in several other canadian cities, well, , first time, canadian hip hop artists had network of radio outlets music—as numerous record labels committed rectifying past lack of interest in genre. in 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, kyprios , cadence weapon, many r&b artists, have emerged mainstream stars. cadence weapon, in fact, named poet laureate of edmonton, alberta in 2009.

in addition terrestrial radio, national satellite radio networks cbc radio 3 , bande à part, both dedicated canadian independent music of genre, include numerous emerging hip hop artists in playlists. bande à part has produced compilation album of unsigned quebec hip hop artists, 93 tours, distributed free download website. several prominent contemporary hip hop artists, including shad, cadence weapon, k naan, sweatshop union, radio radio , omnikrom, have in fact risen prominence through these channels instead of through terrestrial radio.

apart few major stars, however, hip hop scene has faced continued struggle. virtually of urban-format radio stations debuted in 2000s, including flow 93.5, have since shifted pure urban format rhythmic contemporary format. while stations still play hip hop, focus far more on artists have established crossover top 40 appeal—meaning emerging artists can no longer rely on stations them build audience. in 2010, further, milestone announced deal sell flow 93.5 chum radio, division of mainstream media conglomerate ctvglobemedia. (following sale, flow 93.5 owned newcap broadcasting of march 2014, , airs rhythmic adult contemporary format branded move .) however, new radio station, ckfg-fm, licensed toronto in 2011 community radio station authorized broadcast broad spectrum of african , caribbean musical genres, including hip hop, reggae, soca , rhythm , blues.

canadian hip hop musicians have continued face obstacles when attempting break american , international markets. music critics , journalists have attributed perception, real or imagined, stereotypes of canada land of igloos , hosers in way of canadian rappers being taken seriously. 1994, noted canadian hip hop record producer derek brin telling billboard americans sounds american. here, seems if don t have sound, ain t it.

it not until 2008, when kardinal offishall reached #5 on billboard hot 100 chart collaboration established american star akon, dangerous , canadian rapper had major chart hit in united states. shortly followed drake, 2009 single best ever had reached #2 on hot 100 , major international breakthrough came in 2009 when remixed version of k naan s single wavin flag announced official coca-cola theme song of 2010 fifa world cup.

2010s: new toronto sound

toronto based artist drake has since dominated canadian hip-hop scene last 7 albums/mixtapes , playlist peaking @ number-one on billboard hot 200 album charts thank me later (2010), take care (2011), nothing same (2013), if re reading s late (2015), time alive (2015), views (2016), more life (2017). drake s 2016 dancehall/afrobeat-infused single 1 dance successful canadian hip-hop song of all-time, charting @ number-one on singles charts in 15 different countries, including u.s , uk, making first canadian hip-hop single peak @ number-one on billboard hot 100.

with rise of drake s popularity in both canadian , american hip hop scene, rise of sharing music on internet based services such youtube , soundcloud many more artist becoming recognized toronto american hip hop , r&b. such artist named weeknd, partynextdoor, majid jordan, roy woods, nav (rapper), , tory lanez.