Top two debut performances: “ Rhino, right off the bat, because none of us saw it coming. He always shows up at the beginning and completely destroys Kanye or some other crowd-pleaser. He was the first one to bring to the table more underground artists like Edan and Aceyalone. He always does stuff that’s off the map and lyrically challenging. Torontoist asked Dix to run down his top twos of the past two years of doing HHK. We’re into the serious business of having fun.” And I like it when people tell me we’ve started a great hip-hop night rather than karaoke night, and one that’s serious about hip-hop but still fun. It’s brought out all sorts of people who don’t look like regular hip-hop types but kill it, like Rhino, who is now a legend. “It sounds corny, but it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I think of all the people who have met through our night and become friends. If you really mess up there, the crowd boos you!” Which isn’t to say the two editions are enemies: in January the HHK NYC organizers drove up for the Toronto edition and loved every minute of it. “And their version is a bit more higher stakes and competitive. “We have twice as many songs as they do,” says Dix. Originally inspired by the New York edition, Hip-Hop Karaoke Toronto has always been its own entity and may in fact now be bigger than NYC’s night. But you definitely won’t have to wait another year to see us bring in someone else amazing.” “I asked him and he said he would do it, but nowadays he’s hardly ever in Toronto. I’d love to somehow have all the lyrics on screen like proper karaoke.” And stay tuned for more special guests, though Dix contends that perhaps the only performer who could generate Maestro-level hype would be Kardinal. You sign up on paper and then we give you a lyric sheet. “Right now we’re working with raw materials like pen and paper. There’s talk of bringing more technology into the fold to make the sign-up process and the actual karaoke run smoother. So how do you top having homegrown hero Maestro perform at HHK? Dix admits it will be tough, but he’s got some ideas for the future. Lately we’re packing the place, and we love Revival now.”įrom left to right: Dalia, Abdominal, Numeric, Ted Dancin’. But the owners saw promise in our night and supported us. “We wondered if HHK was big enough for Revival, just because it’s so huge, and at first it was looking pretty empty at peak hours. There was a short-lived stint at the Gladstone, and now they’re settled into their new home at Revival, although it took a bit of time to get comfy. The HHK crew were forced to find a new venue. Eventually, the Boat’s capacity became an issue: even early birds had to stand in line and still risk not even getting in the door. Then this guy went up and performed ‘The Bridge is Over’ by Boogie Down Productions, and I turned to Dalia and said, ‘This is it, we’ve started.'” Each month saw bigger and bigger crowds thanks to promotion and especially word of mouth. It was busy, but not crazy, about one hundred people. “We weren’t really sure how it was going to work. “The first one was very good,” recalls Dix. The fact that they are joining forces with a Canadian hip-hop legend shows how far they’ve come from their humble beginnings at the Boat. Having Maestro perform at HHK fulfills a dream for the monthly event’s organizers Dix, DJs Dalia and Ted Dancin’, and MC Abdominal. And all sorts of people might come out of the woodwork for this, so you never know who might show up.” It’s a homecoming show for him now that he’s living in Vancouver, and it’s been twenty years since Symphony in Effect came out. This time, with bringing in Maestro and the amount of press, it could get chaotic.
“Our last one in February was our biggest one ever, even with no special event. “I think it’s going to be ridiculous,” says Noel Dix, aka DJ Numeric. For one thing, most two-year-olds don’t have Maestro Fresh Wes perform at their birthday parties. The Toronto edition of Hip-Hop Karaoke celebrates its second birthday at Revival tonight, and its organizers are experiencing anything but the terrible twos.
News It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Right
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