“You can have hype and you can have people supporting you in the media and you can have whatever, but at the end of the day, are you actually putting out the best music?” Erikson Herman says.

Herman, of The Truth Music Group, threw together a roster of Canadian hip-hop talent who tackled Thursday night of Canadian Music Week at Toronto’s Wrongbar.

Completely original artists such as OSIYM, The 6th Letter and Tasha The Amazon entertained and celebrated the immensity and variety of hip-hop talent in the country with entertaining and interactive sets. The diversity in music and surplus of energy made it a showcase only possible during a music festival.

Rap duo, OSIYM, also known as the #CupInHandGang, proved where the name came from by pulling out a bottle of Stoli and pouring the contents in many mouths around the venue and even paused their energetic set to play some drinking games. Guy against girl, two audience members were brought onstage and poured many shots in a row in order to beat one another by pounding them back the quickest.

While swinging her blue dye-dipped braids, bulging her eyes and interacting with every person in the crowd, Tasha continued to prove why she’s a force to be reckoned with and she can get down with the best of them.

The 6th Letter performed alongside his Bakersclub founder Raz Fresco, performing new music off of his newest project NorthernPlayalisticGetHighMuzik, as the intricate beats, produced by Raz Fresco ricocheted through the venue. The pair’s undeniable stage chemistry resonated with the crowd members, even while many were hearing many songs for the first time.

But nothing came close to the electrifying performance from Tasha The Amazon, who began her set standing on the counter in the VIP section and jumped towards the stage. She performed tracks such as “Scallywags”, “Tru Life” and “Thru the Fire”, while the crowd danced and flailed around the dark room. While swinging her blue dye-dipped braids, bulging her eyes and interacting with every person in the crowd, Tasha continued to prove why she’s a force to be reckoned with and she can get down with the best of them.

One artist on the bill was a no show. Toronto rapper, Roney was unable to get a hold of and the crowd wondered why the up-and-comer was nowhere to be found. The next morning fans that support his music found out via online sources he had been taken into police custody.

Despite this one unfortunate, unrelated incident, The Truth proved once again that quality music and quality performance tops all else with the artists that hit the stage.

Words & Photos By. Samantha O’Connor

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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