Friday, April 13, 2012

The Cypher- underground hip hop community events in Toronto

The Cypher is an underground hip hop event held about once a month in Toronto. This event is a showcase of underground hip hop talent in all forms as an art. Artists sign up for a chance to showcase their skills in front of a large population of aspiring hip hop artists and fans. This is a great chance to network, discover new talent or just be entertained. Featured artists affiliated with The Cypher are given a longer segment of time as a standard platform for their music. All artists rap over live beats from producers and DJs or beat boxers which adds even more intensity and overall entertainment. The best part of this is that it is open to artists of any caliber and freestyle competitions hosted by The Cypher claim that any artist that shows up is guaranteed mic time.
On March, 2012 the artists behind The Cypher were able to bring GZA and Masta Killa of the Wu-Tang Clan to perform at The Opera House in Toronto. Five artists from The Cypher opened for these world famous rap stars and got the crowd warmed up and on their feet! It was the first time Masta Killa had ever performed in Toronto making the event even more notable. The performance was amazing with a packed energetic crowd pushing the artists to go even harder. This is an example of the reach of this underground hip hop community and the artists within it. Its awesome that any one of us can become a part of this community at any time. Get involved by going to watch an event, you can find information on the events on The Cypher website thecypher.ca. The next Cypher will be on April 18th at the Augusta House in Kensigton Market, Toronto according to a twitter post by one of the founders MC Fubb.



Check out the official promo video of The Cypher!



Thursday, April 5, 2012

Underground/Unsigned Rap/Hip-Hop Artist Opportunity


I thought it would be interesting to present everyone this week with an opportunity within the world of Underground Hip-Hop. In collaboration with Reverbnation.com, many different record labels, concert promoters, event coordinators, etc. provide artists of all genres with opportunity to submit their music via Reverbnation for a chance to be selected for a variety of amazing opportunities. This week I would like to draw attention to a particular opportunity: Unsigned Only Music Competition.

Unsigned Only is unique in the fact that it is a competition open only to Hip Hop, R&B, and Rap artists that are not signed to any major label or any major label's affiliate. This opportunity offers artists great exposure, amazing prizes to be won, and a chance to be heard by a panel of industry-professional judges. The judges include highly recognized names like Kelly Clarkson and Musiq Soulchild! After the judges select the winner is when it truly gets interesting. The grand prize winner will be mentored by a group of record label executives, A&Rs reps and more! This will be an amazing development opportunity for the artist as well as an even more incredible networking opportunity! Imagine getting a chance to work side by side with some of the biggest names in music.

There are other categories as well that artists can compete in and a first and second place winner will be selected from each category. Each first place winner will be given $5,000 and mentoring from relevant industry moguls.

Artists can enter this competition through various online platforms such as Reverbnation.com and Myspace. You can also download the entry form from http://www.unsignedonly.com/enter and submit it via mail. The various online platforms are also linked through http://www.unsignedonly.com/enter . So pass on this opportunity to any artists you may know with a lot of potential. Who knows, it might be the next step to becoming great!

Just a warning, submissions are closing on April 11, 2012! So if your a serious artist looking for your next big break, check out http://www.unsignedonly.com/enter for your chance to enter!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Underground Hip Hop Artist Al Nino

Real recognizes real. Coldest Summer by Al Nino-  This is a deep and very personal track, but I still want to draw attention to it. Coldest Summer Ever was written and performed by underground Canadian rapper Al Nino. This track is a tribute to one of Al Nino's close friends who passed away. It tells a deep and emotional story, detailing the period before, during and after Al Nino's loss. Songs like this are something the underground hip hop world must respect and be proud of. Al Nino pours his emotion out on this track and brings a level of realism to his lyrics in this song that is rarely heard. It is much easier to get noticed as an underground MC if the rapper writes lyrics with only popularity and commercialism in mind; but an MC that shows their true colors within their work is the artist that deserves the recognition and respect! For this reason I wanted to showcase this track and give everyone a chance to listen to something so real it's rare. I also think this track is a great reminder to EVERYONE that life is short and friends and family are the most important things we have; far above money, fame, cars or all of the other things rap sometimes is nearly polluted with. So take a minute today to check out this track and a few more minutes to cherish the important people in your life! Life is short yet sweet, just like a good song.

Check out Coldest Summer by Al Nino:


Al Nino is an upcoming, dedicated rap artist that we should all look out for. He works hard within the underground hip hop community and often opens for big names within the Canadian hip hop scene. Al Nino has opened for artists such as Classified, Moka Only, Carl Wolf and more!