Points of view

Harbourfront Centre is really on to something with their panel discussion series, View Points! They find an issue to discuss, gather some pretty big names, then hold free events where the public not only listens to but can ask questions of the panellists.

Thursdays are the series’ day of choice, except for this Sat. Nov. 5’s event A Celebration of Film Music: Inside the Director-Composer Relationship with film composer Mychael Danna and filmmaker Deepa Mehta.

In this article’s case, the panel discussion took place almost a month ago on Thurs. Oct. 6. The topic de jour: Bringing Urban Music to Market, presented by SOCAN.

Scratch hip-hop funk tunes played over the speakers as people flowed into the Brigantine Room (235 Queens Quay W.). A collection of young and old and of all colours, shapes and sizes came streaming in as the time drew closer to 7 pm.

The three blue sofas on the stage set a very relaxed mood, this was going to be a very laid-back discussion. The Q&A session and later the informal Meet & Greet really added to the speak-with atmosphere.

The folks at Harbourfront Centre brought together an impressive group of panellists to discuss important issues around the growth and development of a Canadian Urban music marketplace.

On the panel were Keith Harris (Manager, Stevie Wonder, Omar, Jaguar), Divine Brown (R&B vocalist, Blacksmith/Universal), David “Click” Cox (A&R rep, Universal Music Canada), Justin Dumont (Music Director, Flow 93.5 FM), Rob Farina (Program Director, CHUM FM), Farley Flex (Canadian Idol judge, Plasma Corporate) and Kardinal Offishall (rap artist, BlackJays/Virgin/EMI).

A common notion was that radio was scared of Urban music, in particular hip-hop. Rock is familiar, leaving Urban well behind. That should come as no surprise, but what should be is that Urban music accounts for 10 per cent of spin time in the Canadian market, with no real Canadian presence.

Why? Everyone on the panel (and many in the audience) had their take. Moderator Dan Kershaw (SOCAN Relationship Manager) admitted someone he knew in the music industry said Canadian Urban just isn’t good enough, which triggered an uneasiness among the panellists and the crowd.

“If you understand hip-hop it’s not just the music, it’s about the culture: two turntables and a microphone is part of the culture… Hip-hop was not supposed to be mainstream,” said Kardinal (Kardi), who went on to say that Maestro Fresh Wes received little support after his first record, 1990’s Symphony In Effect. “I feel that as much as hip-hop has grown up, radio across the country has to grow up.”

With so many minds/voices discussing the ills of Urban music in Canada, it was the soothing UK-tinged voice of Keith Harris – the most prominent member of the panel – that really dug to the root of the problem.

“It all starts from an inferiority complex,” he said. “It has to start from our community, it’s no time to complain.”

This is true of all things Canadiana it seems. The Great White North is always waiting for its neighbour to the south to give the thumbs-up before we accept our own. We’re also apt to bash those who do break into the business.

Harris offered this as a solution: “Whenever you see someone doing something, get behind them rather than standing in front of them. The bottom line is, the people who do that (not support) lose people … the people who support the community stick around.”

The rest of the panel offered their various takes on the subject, but none captured the crowd like Kardi and Harris.

Like all good discussions, there’s always someone who will pose a question oft-ignored. A girl in the crowd posed a great question to the panel: segregation is due to the radio stations not the artists themselves. Her views caused some agitation, but she made good points. Harris tried to discuss getting away from the blame game but she wouldn’t listen so he stopped talking. Too bad… she made some good points.

The best quote rested with Kardi, who left on a cross-Canada tour shortly after View Points: “They still don’t play my records across the country … radio has not been a huge supporter of Urban or hip-hop musicians. If you hope for things to change, you will have to wait for a bunch of old guys to retire or die … Outside our multicultural centre of Toronto, the rest of Canada doesn’t look like this…”

For more info, visit the View Points website – www.harbourfrontcentre.com/viewpoints- or call (416) 973-4000

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