Hip Hop Artists Lyrics Featured On Toronto Subway Platform Screens
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
In celebration of National Poetry Month, PATTISON Onestop and Manifesto are showcasing the poetic artistry of 10 Toronto Area hip hop artists with ‘Lyrics to Go’ on subway platform screens across the city.
Running for the full month of April, silent 30-second videos on PATTISON Onestop screens will draw commuters’ attention to the narrative revolution and metaphoric rhyming schemes of hip hop. Lyrics To Go is part of PATTISON’s ongoing Art in Transit programme.
Among the 10 artists being featured are two-time Juno nominated Eternia, international soul rebel Masia One and freestyle master SepTo, who can develop a rhyme, a storyline, and a punch line from any combination of random words.
“Celebrating the rich and diverse talent pool of hip hop artists and their lyrics within the Greater Toronto Area, remains a consistent mandate for Manifesto, and showcasing urban lyrics only makes sense as hip hop is the melodic cousin to poetry/poems,” says Dwayne Dixon, executive director, Manifesto.
“I’m looking forward to our first co-presentation with Manifesto, and can think of no better way to celebrate National Poetry Month than to draw from the deep well of lyrical creativity that our local hip-hop artists offer,” says Sharon Switzer, national arts programmer and curator, Pattison Onestop. “Lyrics To Go will hopefully bring a whole new audience to these artists, as well as a wider understanding of what poetry can be.”
Founded in April 2007, Manifesto Community Projects is a non-profit grassroots organization known for its annual Festival of Community and Culture as well as year-round dynamic urban arts programming including workshops, lectures, and showcases. Manifesto works to unite, inspire, and empower diverse communities of young people through arts and culture. As a result of Manifesto’s hip hop roots, our organization has thrived and established a distinct position within Toronto’s vibrant scene of youth-based community arts programming.
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