Jazz, R&B, soul and hip-hop. Henny on the rocks, with ginger ale or straight up.

The art of Hennessy and the art of music are intertwined in a unique and supportive collaboration, highlighted by their similarities through the art of blending.

As the dark-liquor cognac has always been a staple in the music industry, the culture behind its association became even more apparent during Hennessy Artistry’s sold out event in Toronto.

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The night, curated by 1LoveTO, rammed live music and dark liquor fans into the city’s Tattoo venue for a few drinks and a good time.

With a mash-up of sounds from Cuban violinist Yosvani who pulled guests to the dance floor, vocal arrangements from Toronto songstress Adria Kain who slowed things down and 1s and 2s provided by DJ Dlux, the vast talent merged together to create a unique experience.

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But nothing topped the night like the spinning legend, DJ Questlove, from the renowned Roots crew, who headlined via turntables, starting with a dancehall set that had the whole venue dancing, despite the fact that it was next to impossible to move within the packed concert hall packed.

Hennessy’s brand manager, Matthieu Heidsieck says that the strategy behind the collaboration of genres and liquor only makes sense.

“Hennessy is a cognac and to do a cognac, you blend different eau de vie,” he explains. “In music, what’s also interesting is also, the blending and what we’ve always been doing with all of our artistry events is blending different music genres. When you go to an event, it’s usually one type of music, one artist, but for us, we really wanted to show that music can be very interesting when you are blending different kinds of people and blending different genres and at the end of the night, you’ve got a very different experience.”

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Heidsieck also confirmed there will be more Hennessy Artistry events taking place later this year across the country and a national Hennessy tour this fall set to highlight the vast talent of Canadian artists.

Artists can reach out to the brand through the talent quest opportunities section on its website if interested in getting involved.

Words By. Samantha O’Connor + Photos By. Candace Nyaomi

By taking in her nickname, One Woman Army, it’s easy to understand the grind of Urbanology Magazine's Samantha O’Connor. Over the past two years with the magazine, she has positioned herself in the heart of Toronto’s urban music scene. She has interviewed the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, DJ Drama, Ciara, Tech N9ne, Machine Gun Kelly and Melanie Fiona, and reviewed live shows from artists such as Jay Z, Kanye West, Lauryn Hill, Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa and Action Bronson, to name a few. With a passion for the culture and helping build the future of the Toronto hip-hop community, she is the visionary behind Samantics, one of the original columns featured on UrbanologyMag.com.

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