What is The Word?

Originating in the south Bronx, hip hop has grown to become one of the worlds most versatile and impassioned cultural phenomenon. But as of late, it has been on shakier and shakier ground regarding originality and message. TV commercials, un-necessary violence, indirectly, and directly racist humor, money, and lack of taste are only a handful of the problems mounting troops around this beloved culture. But on the upside, more and more subversive activities have been going on in the outskirts of hip hop. Beyond the threshold of mainstream music, and it has been there for a while, growing and growing, is international hip hop, revolutionary hip hop, independent hip hop and just plain good hip hop.
Canadian rappers, dj’s and producers, graffiti artists, b-boys and girls, record shops, clothing company’s, label owners, type-ing to the beat myspacers and rabid, beat-boxing fans are in abundance. But what’s missing?
Some would say not much, but we here at The Word disagree. Fluency. A single seamless strand of history, connecting contributors to the Canadian Hip Hop scene, from one end of the country to the other for the sake of the art. Mainly though, we decided it was of grave importance that we absorbed the culture (and the rest of the country) ourselves, while showing as many other people as we can what we find along the way. No doubt there’s only one way to go about that kind of business: roadtrip. It’s a new world everyday, and the music changes just as fast sometimes, so we wanna be there.

Hosts

Our host, Axiom, is a Vancouver Island emcee who is fascinated by the world of beats and rhymes. He has opened for British Columbian emcees of notoriety such as Josh Martinez and Evil, Moka Only, Sweatshop Union, and Swollen Members. He has also worked with and performed shows with several other hip hop artists and bands in the Vancouver Island and lower mainland area. He will be talking about and delving into the art form he adores and looks forward to it, having had the chance already to interview Josh Martinez and Evil about touring, gas station sunglasses and America while on the sprawling beaches of Tofino, having rocked the mic the previous evening.

She

Originally from the East Coast of Canada, now based out of Vancouver, She is an up and coming DJ on the Vancouver circuit. Growing up in a house-hold filled with funk and soul, She quickly acquired a love for music. From funk and soul, a love for hip hop developed and her journey into music began. As a DJ, her style ranges from the roots of today’s music; classic funk and soul, but She also crosses genres of West Coast and Chicago House, funky mid-tempo Breaks and of course Hip Hop and R&B. Through her persistence and passion for music, She has been able to rock the decks along side some of Vancouver’s finest DJ’s, such as Mat The Alien, Pluskratch, Evo, Hubbz, U-Tern & Dana D. On the international tip, she has played with the likes of Cut Chemist, formerly of Jurassic 5 and Brooklyn’s own DJ Ayers of The Rub, to name a few. Currently, She is the manager of Canada’s #1 record store, Beatstreet Records. www.beatstreet.ca
She holds down a weekly DJ residency at the Bayside Lounge, The Payback! every Saturday and a monthly residency at Shine night Club.

The Premise
The Word will be made up of two parts, the TV show, and the online blog

The blog

The Bog will be contently updated with content. From CD reviews, interviews, music videos and so on. It will also serve to be a network that people can join and discuss hip hop culture.

The TV Show(long term goal)

Beginning in the humble northwestern island community we grew up in, the Campbell River and Quadra Island area, we will work our way down the island, on to the mainland, over the mountains, across the plains, and off into the east like a reverse frontier, concluding our trip at the edge of the Atlantic.
Armed with two HDV cameras and an in-van editing station we will release constant updates to our online blog, detailing our adventures and keeping fans informed of the events we will be attending and have attended, as well as updating a photo journal.
We intend to stay true to our quality and credibility based “music morals.” It is our belief that the importance and significance of this genre of music is determined by the energy it is given. Negative and hateful energy for the sake of self-indulgence is not what makes a good show, cd or song. Recounting strife, detailing horror, conceptualizing, excitement and just plain head nodding illness and are only a few examples of directions artists can go to be more innovative and interesting to seasoned listeners. With enough seclusion, Canada has been a breeding ground for the abstract as well as digital-era-reliant fakers. By now, you can probably guess which population we intend to cover.