The Northern Power Summit recently took place on February 20th, 2021. This year’s event was called BLACK365 and was a virtual conference put on in partnership with Believe Music with an aim to provide education and tools, in addition to access to individuals who can help Canadian artists and industry professionals develop their careers. With workshops running from 1-6pm the summit was an informative event with a comfortable atmosphere. Rapper D.O. Gibson was host for the day and helped to provide an unpretentious atmosphere where lovers of hip hop could come together and bare witness to some really powerful conversations. With the event falling into Black History Month many of the speakers took the time to talk about last year’s global call to action by Black Lives Matter as the world watched police take the life of George Floyd and others like Breonna Taylor. The theme of approaching music authentically and evolving rang present through the entire event.

Henca Madura, founder of New Skool Rules International Urban Music Conference and Festival (located in Rotterdam, Netherlands) started the event off on a great note. As keynote, she spoke on the importance on giving it all no matter what. There are many times when upcoming artists can become frustrated by shows with a small audience or the general difficulty of making it up the musical chain. Henca wants you to know that your “network is your net worth” and it’s never a bad idea to work on expanding your circle with genuine connections. She recalled a story where an artist performed at a showcase at New Skool Rules where it was obvious that the were a bit disappointed about the lack of an audience and therefore didn’t give their best performance. That artist ended up making a big mistake by way of their lackluster attitude as the 10 or so people in the crowd all happened to be festival bookers and other music industry professionals who could have really changed their life. Henca says it’s always better to approach things with a positive attitude and leave the ego aside “Nobody cares about talent. We can make you sound good. Really good” – Henca Madura.

The next panel was an important discussion on gender identity, expression and queerness in the hip hop community. The panel was led by underground rap hero Mindbender Supreme in conversation with Vancouver artist, Ndidi Cascade and Toronto based artist, Dijah. The conversation was an informative window into the issues that queer artists can face. The group spoke of the patriarchy that still largely plagues hip hop. In particular the group mentioned the hostility that can be thrown towards female artists who are masculine presenting, or the sexual harassment put onto female rappers who appear to have a heteronormative or feminine look. We have seen strides with more female rappers being put forth and queer artists like Frank Ocean and Lil Nas X making huge waves but there is still work to be done. We hope to see a day in hip hop where artists who do not fit regular heteronormative expectations can show us who they are from day one and be embraced.

Chedo of The Come Up Show led a panel with theTAYcover, Wanz and E The Mad Assassin specifically speaking on the anti-black racism unveiled to the rest of the world in 2020. When asked if he believed that race relations were improving E The Mad Assassin said yes, we all watched it happen, some of us are so tired of the trend of police brutality and some of us were just becoming aware for the first time, either way people want it to stop. Although it can sometimes be exhausting to have to keep explaining the systemic issues that Black people continue to face in society Wanz said he took the “Negro whisperer” approach and decided to inform his colleagues and friends anyway. He went on to say that he was glad that they were asking because that meant they wanted to learn. theTAYcover felt that this Black History Month had a different energy. He saw that Black people were more cognizant of their buying power and that non-Black peers seemed more interested in acknowledging Black contributions to society. When Chedo asked how the artists felt about the use of the N-word by non-Black individuals in this day the answers varied. One thing for sure is that the general rule of thumb is if you’re not Black

then don’t say it! It was acknowledged that there are some non-Black individuals who grew up saying it culturally or that some of their Black friends were okay with their usage. There is definitely a difference between using it and calling someone it, the latter being a huge faux pas. At the end of the day just because some Black people you know are okay with it doesn’t mean that all Black people are, so you need to act accordingly as there will be consequences.

The BLACK 365 panel led by Michael Williams was an inspirational deep dive into success in the music industry. D.O. Gibson, Dru Grange, Jarrel The Young, and Terell Safadi all provided their unique perspective on the ups and downs that vocal artists and producers alike can face while carving out their own space in the scene. Dru candidly spoke about an early time in his career when ego caused him and In Essence to flop a pretty important show. Jarrel talked about really listening to yourself and going with gut feelings, the scene may not respond well at the beginning because you’re new, but you just have to get through it. Terell gave insight into playing the long game in hip hop and preparing oneself to go the distance. D.O. tied things together nicely by stating that you have to define what success means for you as an artist, we may not all make it to Michael Jackson status, but we can all inspire at any level. The talk ended a powerful quote by Michael “If you can’t make money make history”.

D.O. Gibson had a conversation with hip hop heavyweight, Shad and discussed the importance of humility in the game. Something everyone seems to enjoy about Shad is that even though he’s had such an amazing career having been a Juno winner and all four of his albums shortlisted for the Polaris Prize he still comes across as someone who is open and easy to talk to. When he’s interviewing other successful artists on Netflix’s Hip Hop Evolution, he keeps up his journalistic integrity by allowing the guest to tell their story without pulling the focus back to him and his career.

The last interview of the day and second keynote speaker was none other than the legendary Maestro Fresh-Wes. The Canadian hip hop pioneer spoke about his journey from Toronto to making the decision to move to New York as that’s where his first label was located. Physically being in NYC made a huge difference in terms of his momentum growing as he was available for the large demand. Maestro stressed the importance of knowing your history, referencing the contributions of Black people in his music and online presence, Maestro prides himself on leading the youth in the right direction. He remarked that in order for the youth to achieve greatness, they have to see it, to know about it. He used Quincy Jones as an example of someone who was able to find success by being brave enough to expand his musical repertoire as he had. Maestro is a great example of what any artist can be if they evolve with the times and focus on putting out great music. “Don’t make records, make history” are the words that continue to ring in one’s ear after the chat had concluded.

The last session for the day was an iconic DJ set by official Toronto Raptor’s DJ, 4Korners. The set went back in time to hip hop’s first days in Canada all the way to current times. All in all, the Northern Power summit was an amazing event that left me feeling motivated to create. Although the speakers ranged from artist, producers, event planners, founders and so much more one thing really stuck out, don’t be a jerk! Across every conversation in one way or another the speakers emphasized the importance of being a good team player and someone who is easy to work with. Great advice for an artist at any level is to put your craft first and to treat people with respect, the rest will come.