Beatstreet being one of my all time favourites, I was shocked to learn that most people haven’t even heard of the movie let alone watched it, so I started forcing the movie upon anyone who had the time. It seems that the Hip Hop society today mainly focuses on mainly one element of Hip Hop, and yeah I know there’s the Hip Hop elites out there who goes out of their way to appreciate all forms, but I’m talking about the masses. I don’t really know if it is because the masses do not have the opportunity to experience the skills of breakdancers or witness the beauty of graffiti, but it just does not seem to be noticed as much as the music.

Expanding further into other components of Hip Hop, MVRemix had a chance to take a further glimpse of Toronto’s Hip Hop Art Community. We were invited to check out Earwaks.com’s Hip Hop Art Sale at the El Mocambo which included Toronto’s most prominent artists including Che Kothari, Press Pause, Elicser, Fathom, Phresha, Horus, EGR, Classical Material, Sketch, STRO, and Fdoe. Usually, when we talk about Hip Hop artists, we naturally assume a musician. Che Kothari, a local phenomenal photographer explains that it always has been that way, reason being a musician will always be able to present its face when presenting its form of art. A photographer or graff artist is presenting a physical piece of work and it is harder to have the mass remember the face of those kinds of artists.

The event had a fresh and new meaning to a party. They had a friendly bar, bumpin’ music which featured local DJs Nana and Serious, a relaxing atmosphere, and a whole lot of amazing art for sale. The art was no RAMO from Beatstreet, as graff art has evolved and taken so many forms over the years, but the impression the art presented was still exquisite. They had a variety of artists which ranged from photographers portraying people remarkably, to beautiful landscapes, to artists with Cuban flair, feminine subjects to hard-edge feel. A Toronto-based artist, Press Pause, sent chills down my spin when I saw his similar style and taste depicted in his artwork to the recently deceased Lee Matasi, a skateboarder and graffiti artist based in Vancouver. I also had the opportunity to be introduced to EGR, one of Toronto’s strongest female artists with very enriching dark images including artistic nude images of women. In the backroom, a chair was set in the corner of the room coaxing for a daring person to sit. A hairstylist was there giving out outrageous and funky haircuts to those who dared. It was a scene to be seen.

Nat Pope, an observer and shopper at the event has been a graff art admirer for many years, “EGR is one of the freshest artists I’ve seen in ages. This place is really chillin’ and the people are just so relaxed and friendly. They definitely need to have more art shows like this for the general community. I’ve gotten all my Christmas presents right here.”

So in the end, what do we have to say about all this? Art in general has been way too underrated in the pop culture. But we’re lucky that it is always gonna be there for us when we do decide to stop, pause and just take a look to appreciate.