Music
Press
The crowd of nearly 500 inside the Capitol Theatre shushes as Amiga Taylor performs a spoken word piece on an impromptu runway.
"Increase the peace in our streets and set us free from the anarchy," she repeatedly says.
Taylor is one of the roughly 50 performers at the Poetic Fashion event -- a community initiative that builds bridges between youth living in Toronto's 13 priority neighborhoods.
Watching nearby, "Foots," a 26-year-old hip-hop artist from the east end of the city, says initiatives like these give youth hope for the future.
"In the 'hood, there's only basketball or becoming an entertainer to get me out of the hell," he said. "Within urban neighborhoods, that's all they think about.
"The first thing they pick up is a basketball, the second is a mic," he said. "If they don't invest in them, they're going to become future criminals."
Events similar to Poetic Fashion are happening across the city. And they are indirectly helping to bring down violence in these 13 priority neighborhoods.
However, Foots said pinpointing the 13 neighbourhoods is doing more harm than good. It doesn't address the "many more" areas that are going through the struggle, he said.
The stats, he said, can be deceiving because crime can shift from gun violence to petty crime.
"Crime is not down, it's a cycle, it continues (and with naming neighbourhoods), you're labelling people and people don't want to be labelled," he said.
- Toronto Sun
Discography
M.ADE I.N C.ANADA volume 1
TopLeft Recordings
M.ADE I.N C.ANADA volume 2
Top Left Recordings
MEGA CITYS FINEST volume 2 Dokumentary Entertainment
MEGA CITY MIXTAPE volume 2 Dj Christylz
CANADA VS. U.K.
TopLeft Recordings & KOTD
CANADA VS. U.S.A
TopLeft Recordings & KOTD
Made In Canada Vol.3 – Topleft Recordings
Poetic Fashion Unbreakable Voices – Literature for life.
Before The Deal Vol. 1 E.A.S.T.S.I.D.E U.P
Toronto vs. Mtl
Topleft Recordings
War Games Canada
Dj Young Mase
T.O meets Primo - Dj Christylz
Photos
Bio
E.A.S.T.S.I.D.E U.P. - Their exclusive sound is contagious, you just have to bop your head to it. Their lyrical flow is
unique and their own. They speak about a range of diferent things. They don't seem to be trying too hard, their swagger is natural as is their flow. Every time one of their tunes will play on my Mac at the once, who ever is in the room will ask, "Who is that?" if they hear it. It never fails.
The talented individuals you are reading about are Trinz and Foots. Trinz and Foots are childhood friends and
now make up the group E.A.S.T.S.I.D.E U.P. The talented duo realized they shared a mutual love for making hip-hop music and decided to work together. They decided to start a movement revolving around their passion.
E.A.S.T.S.I.D.E U.P. was the result of this collaboration. The name is actually an acronym for: Every Aspiring Soul That Strives Is Destined for Excellence with Unstoppable Progress.
Besides making a name for themselves, one of their goals is to solidify Canadian Hip-Hop. They strongly believe in being yourself and keeping it real. The duo have the ability to make music for the streets, the club, and at the same time heavily touch on social issues. E.A.S.T.S.I.D.E U.P. views creating music as a gift that was given to them.
In their own words, "our talent is being able to turn beats into magic, while maintaining chemistry and versatility." Their inspirations come from a variety of things, such as their surroundings and environment, role models,
different experiences and success - the ability to be able to set goals and achieve them. As they said, "We never
put limits on ourselves or boundaries, we experience that too much in society already."
E.A.S.T.S.I.D.E. U.P. Another one of their goals is to be a voice that represents, not only their part of the city but
Toronto as a whole. They strongly believe in working together. "Instead of hatin' on each other, come together.
There's strength in numbers," the duo was quoted during an interview (when asked about their goals). During
the same interview, when asked about what separated them from other artists of their era their response was,
"What separates us? Good question, but that's for the fans to decide. I could tell you what we all have in
common. It's the mutual love that we all share for hip hop."
These two seem to be destined for excellence. They're a strong mix of talent and determination.
Links
