Good Morning: At The End of Yonge Street

I found this video over on 1LoveTO. It's a 14 hour walk from Yonge St. & Wellington St. in Aurora south to the lake all captured by pictures. The pictures were then compiled into a stop-motion short film thanks to some handywork by the two tireless photographers. The point closest to my school and where I grew up was one of the shots at the 0:43 mark. Watch carefully; you're sure to recognize something.

Keys N Krates

Self-proclaimed "re-inventers of the remix" Keys N Krates is a trio from Toronto consisting of DJ Jr Flo, Matisse on the keys and Tune the drummer. The concept of their band is simple but not easy to execute: remix tracks live. For a DJ alone, this is hard enough but throw in real instruments and the level of difficulty has exponentially multiplied. Needless to say, these guys have no problem with a challenge.

Keys N Krates opened for Kid Cudi at the Sound Academy earlier this month, they have travelled all across North America and continue to delight audiences with their energetic performances and solid mix of electronic and instrumental grooves. Heads up to the Ottawans reading this, Keys N Krates are playing at Ritual on New Years' Eve so if you're looking for somewhere to jam, head over! They also have a few more dates in Montreal and Quebec City in the new year before heading off to Whistler to play at the Olympics. We know they'll have the snow bunnies going nuts and the club bumping.

If you can't make it to any of the shows, hopefully Chicago's @superfun video can tide you over. @superfun caught up with them after a gig in the Windy City and had a few questions about what it is exactly they do.

Recap of 1LoveTO's Pop-up shop

Wednesday night Josh and I had the opportunity to go and meet Bryan Brock and Tyrone Edwards, the founders of 1LoveTO, in some swanky loft above Nyood on Queen Street West. First and foremost, they were really nice guys. Although Tyrone was attending to other guests, Bryan took the time to talk to us for a few minutes and we got to hear how far they've come and what their future plans are. Bryan is originally a graphic designer and one of his older projects was designing the DVD covers for Degrassi, so he was able to hook up with Drake and they've kept in touch ever since. In fact, they co-hosted his 23rd birthday party and needless to say, the event featured the whole OVO crew and some of Toronto's finest. They have Melanie Fiona on their Blackberrys and Tyrone just recently hosted Kid Cudi's concert at the Sound Academy.

But on to some deeper stuff, the story behind 1LoveTO is worth mentioning. Bryan explained their whole existence in two sentences: They designed their t-shirts for Caribana a few years back, everybody loved them and wanted one. They decided to start a blog and here we are. Ok, I'm not sure it was as simple as that, but pretty close. Essentially 1LoveTO received a hugely positive response right from the get-go and Bryan told me that for their pop-up shop, they had received around 200 t-shirt orders and have now sold 2500 in total.

And if that weren't enough, both Tyrone and Bryan are staff at the Remix Project, a creative arts outlet for youth - a project that Governor General Michaëlle Jean has even visited and endorsed. Tyrone is the Art of Business Program Leader and Bryan is the Creative Arts Program Leader. Although recently marred by financial troubles, the Remix Project was completely rejuvenated upon learning that Paul Gross, a Canadian actor and director, plans on donating the $25,000 he received along with his Governor General's award so that the Remix Project can move into its new location. I'm sure Mrs. Jean is smiling.

It's clear these guys are legit. It was great meeting them and learning what their plans are, and how they came to be who and where they are today. It is my sincerest hope that someday we will be able to work with these guys in any sort of fashion. Until then, the best I can do is wear my shirt proudly.

Sadly, I took no photos of the event besides the one above, but I wanted to show you the venue so all the pictures below are stolen directly from 1LoveTO.

1LoveTO Pop-up shop

Sorry for the late notice guys, but I guess better than never. One of my favourite sites 1LoveTO is setting up a one-day pop-up shop tomorrow at Nyood where they will be selling their T-shirts. Nyood is located at 1096 Queen St. West (Queen/Dovercourt) and will be open from 3-10pm. I've been looknig to get a shirt for some time now so I will definitely be heading over at some point in the evening to pick mine up. They're selling them for $20 and are available in either white or black with (I believe) red, white or blue hearts. These shirts are popular and will go quickly; grab one while you can. Check out the event here and some pictures I found below.

Melanie Fiona - "Monday Morning" (Video)

Here's the latest video from Toronto-born Grammy-nominated Melanie Fiona.


Shouts to 1LoveTO

Toronto's Grammy Family

Ok ok I know that I only posted the VIBE cover yesterday but I wanted to wait until it was official before I announced it. Drizzy's "Best I Ever Had" was nominated for two Grammys last night; not bad for a guy who hasn't even released an album yet.

Also, a big shoutout to another Torontonian, Melanie Fiona, who's "It Kills Me" was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category.

Granted, all three of the categories are tough competition (think Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Eminem, and Beyonce), but this is the type of stuff Toronto has been waiting for. The Grammys air January 31st at 8PM.

Also, Drake leaked Steve Aoki's remix of "Forever" on his blog yesterday. The first time I heard it, I thought it was trash; the second time, it was better; and the third time, I've decided it's not actually that bad. Download here. Feel free to share your opinions in the comment section.

Levar Allen x Money to Blow

One of my favourite new acts at the moment, Torontonian Levar Allen, comes nicely with his "No money" verse on "Money to Blow". Check out my past post here for his Facebook info and his acoustic version of "Empire State of Mind" (Toronto-style)
She's asking/Can you get these Gucci frames for me/But the best that I can do/Is burn a Gucci Mane cd

T-dot State of Mind

I saw the video for Kiss 92.5's "T-dot State of Mind" today. I think it's a pretty cheesy video but the camera work's not too bad and they really hit all the spots in the city. Check it out here

But what I really wanted to hype is a MUCH better video I saw sometime earlier in the fall. I did some searching and thankfully I found it because it definitely deserves an AcrossTheProvince blast. It's Levar Allen's acoustic T.O.-inspired version of "Empire State of Mind", and frankly kicks Kiss' butt. This guy is a solid musician and just needs to clean up a rhyme here and there and then boom! watch out. Check some more of his videos on his Facebook page in the link above.

Happy 20th Birthday Reebok Pump - Toronto style

I've been waiting on the pictures from this weekend's 20th Anniversary Reebok Pump launch party at Stolen Riches, and they surfaced yesterday. The sneaker shop was able to design it's own Toronto-inspired shoe as part of a collaboration between Reebok and local retailers around the world. I'm not particularly a fan of the Pump but I give Reebok a lot of credit because after 20 years, they've stayed true to themselves by sticking to the basic design and similar colour patterns.
As for the party, it kicked off with a midnight drop and DJ Kid Koala on the 1's and 2's, aka there is no way this party wasn't bumping.
Now if only I could get invited to these things so I can take my own pictures...but since I can't, check them out below





Shouts to 1LoveTO for the photos