Canadian hip hop
Canadian hip hop developed much more slowly than the rock music scene. Although Canada had hip-hop artists from the very beginning of the scene, there was simply no infrastructure to get this music to the record-buying audience. Even Toronto , Canada's largest city and one of the most multicultural, had difficulties getting a radio station with music from the city until 2000, so it was extremely difficult for a Canadian hip-hop artist to become known even with a record deal.
Devon , Maestro Fresh Wes and Dream Warriors managed to break through mainstream pop for a brief period in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Maestro's first chart hit, Let Your Backbone Slide , was the first Canadian rap single to make it into the Top40 and remained the best-selling Canadian rap single of all time until 2005. Other notable rap singles of the era included Maestros Drop The Needle , Devon's Mr. Metro , Dream Warriors' My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style, and Wash Your Face in My Sink and Kish's I Rhyme the World in 80 Days .
In 1991, Milestone Radio applied to the CRTC for a license to operate a Toronto urban radio station, which would have been the first such station in Canada, but that license was turned down in favor of country music (although such stations already existed in Toronto).
The decision was controversial and hit the Canadian hip-hop scene considerably. Only one Canadian rapper, Michie Mee , made an appearance in the national charts between 1991 and 1998 - and she only managed to do so through a partnership with the hard rock band Raggadeath . Snow , who had a hit with Informer in 1993 , is sometimes mistakenly labeled a rapper, but his style was actually more accurately described as dancehall (a style of reggae ) rather than hip-hop. Even Tom Green's band Organized Rhyme had on MuchMusic some success with the Check the OR , was played on the radio but not widespread.
At that time, American hip-hop acts were already enjoying success in Canada. Also had Afro-Canadian musicians such as Infidels , Deborah Cox and The Philosopher Kings remarkable success in the pop and rock genres. But the door stayed closed for a long time to Canadian hip-hoppers.
That began to change in 1997 when some significant events happened in a relatively short space of time: Dubmatique made their breakthrough as the first rap band from Québec to storm the Francophone pop charts, and a controversy arose in Toronto when Milestone was again passed over when it came to a city radio station went. Instead, another broadcast license for CBC's existing Radio One was granted.
Most importantly, Vancouver hip-hop band Rascalz brought together an all-star group of teenage Canadian rappers to record Northern Touch , a startling statement of determination for Canadian hip-hoppers that was released as a single in 1998 and against all Expectations became the first Canadian hip hop hit since 1991.
Later that year, Rascalz refused to accept the Juno Award for Best Rap CD because the award was presented during the non-televised portion of the ceremony. Hit by the allegation of racism, the organizers moved the rap prize to the main awards ceremony next year. Also in 1998, Maestro Fresh Wes, now simply known as Maestro, overcame its unsuccessfulness and had its first chart hit in seven years with Stick to Your Vision .
Hip-hop and trip-hop artists like Esthero , Choclair , Saukrates, and Cardinal Offishall also began to make waves in the press as the Rascalz controversy and Maestro's comeback renewed attention to Canadian hip-hop.
In the same year, CBC's Toronto broadcaster completed its switch to FM. Because the FM frequency offered better coverage, the CBC found it was possible to operate two transmitters to serve the out-of-town locations.
In 2000 , after the third, the CRTC assigned one of the frequencies to Milestone. That same year, CBC founded and broadcast Drop the Beat , a TV series about hip-hop culture.
In 2001, CFXJ ( Flow 93.5) made its debut as Canada's first urban music station . Other city channels quickly followed in other Canadian cities and for the first time Canadian hip-hop artists had a network of radio outlets for their music. The other frequency was given to Aboriginal Voices for a broadcaster to serve the First Nations communities.
Swollen Members , Nelly Furtado , K-os , Buck 65 , Sixtoo , Jully Black , Jarvis Church , Shawn Desman , Sweatshop Union , Glenn Lewis , Dead Celebrity Status , Remy Shand , Toya Alexis , K'naan , Shad and Classified were among them Rap and R&B artists who benefited from this new era of Canadian music.