Not to be confused with Unity Charity’s annual Hip-Hop Unity Festival, the World Action Foundation (WAF) has put together their own music and arts festival for a good cause, and have also called it the Unity Festival. The free event would take place over two days at Yonge-Dundas Square, with the first day dedicated to Canadian Hip-Hop and the second day for Canadian Reggae music. Day 1 of the festival would be an all-Canadian celebration of Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, featuring an all-star lineup of Juno nominated and award-winning artists, including Rich Kidd and Choclair, and would be headlined by none other than Saukrates. Some fans may note that we may have gotten the ultimate Canadian Hip-Hop and RnB celebration with Drake’s All-Canadian North Stars show at History last summer, but it would be dope seeing WAF run it back with a smaller yet similar lineup to celebrate Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, along with Canada’s contributions to Hip-Hop.

While the festival was an all-day event running from noon to 11pm, we showed up to Dundas Square late in the afternoon after having dinner. With many passersby on their commute home from work, walking to/from the Eaton Centre, or simply being tourists checking out the square, the size of the crowd was fluid. There were plenty of food vendors set up around the square, including cotton candy for the kids, and a licensed 19+ section barricaded in the center where fans could purchase drink tickets to buy alcohol. By the time we got our drinks and got settled, Mississauga’s own Juno award-winning artist Rich Kidd was about halfway through his set.

Dubbed a “Rich Kidd & Friends” set, there were a few emcees who had joined Rich Kidd on stage, but they were just leaving as we arrived and Rich Kidd was getting into a DJ set behind the turntables. Rich Kidd wasn’t afraid to brag about being able to pull triple duty throughout his set by rapping, DJing, and showing off songs that he produced himself. He would give a shoutout to Saukrates before playing “On The Run,” which he’d say was the first hit that got him a gold plaque. He’d also shoutout Drake for opening up doors for him to work in the US before playing “The Last Hope” off of Drizzy’s Comeback Season mixtape, and Frank-N-Dank, a Detroit duo who would be performing later and who got Rich Kidd his first radio play with “The Get Right Song.”

After highlighting a few of his accolades, Rich Kidd came out from behind the turntables and performed the TassNata track “Let’s Go,” which features a fire verse from Rich himself and a hype House of Pain sample in the beat that got the crowd moving. He’d then bring out another pair of emcees from his hometown Mississauga, the duo J.O. Mairs and Gudini making up the group RunXGun, who actually co-headlined the other Unity Festival put on by Unity Charity a week prior, and who we saw open for D-Sisive last week as well. While the duo only got to perform one song, they absolutely killed it on the mic, both emcees spitting a sharp delivery as they performed “Purple Devil Emoji.”

Next, Rich Kidd would bring out another emcee we saw perform with D-Sisive last week, Adam Bomb. With Rich Kidd and Adam Bomb making up two thirds of the group Naturally Born Strangers, they decided to perform a track off of their 2015 Juno award-winning self-titled album together, rocking the single “Jameson Ave” with Rich humorously self-censoring himself for the family-friendly event. After recently celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his own solo album, In My Opinion, Rich Kidd decided to end his set with a couple songs off of that project, putting his showmanship on full display by jumping down into the crowd and interacting directly with fans and passersby alike as he performed “Can I Get A (Bom Bom)” and “Syke.” His calls for crowd participation were on point, as he got the left and right sides of the square each joining in for different parts of his “Bom Bom” chorus, and brought out his almost-7-year-old daughter to help guide the crowd through “Syke.”

Emcee host Famous and DJ Grouch seemed to be holding it down all day between performers, as they’d keep the crowd engaged and spin some songs until it was time to bring out Frank-N-Dank. Although the duo made up of Frank Nitty and Dankery Harv are from Detroit, they would make their Toronto connections known throughout their set, having worked with Saukrates in the early days and Rich Kidd already showing us one of their collabs. They would start off their set with the song “What Up,” which even gives a nod to the 4-1-6 in the first verse.

Detroit Hip-Hop has many historical arcs to follow, and the one that Frank-N-Dank connect to the most is the legacy of the late J Dilla. They would perform several songs produced by the late legend, including “Take Dem Clothes Off” and “Pause,” which got the crowd bouncing. They would move the crowd with a few more songs, including the Saukrates-produced “Nice 2 Meet U” before handing things back over to DJ Grouch.

Next to perform would be another Juno award-winning artist, Toronto legend Choclair, who would be backed by DJ Spence Diamonds and would bring out a few special guests throughout his set. He’d come out performing a few of his solo hits, including “Back Where I’ve Stayed,” “Flagrant,” and would give a shoutout to KRS-One and Ron Nelson before rocking “Breath Control.” The first guest he’d bring out would be another Toronto vet, Rochester (a/k/a Juice), who brought a ton of energy to the stage and turned the crowd up with the way his raps cut through on the mic. They’d also bring Rich Kidd back out to perform a song with them.

Not to completely give up the spotlight, Choclair would perform another one of his songs, getting Rich Kidd to back him on “Skyline” before bringing out another special guest, Solitaire. While we’ve seen Solitaire on stages in recent years as Kardinal Offishall’s hypeman, this time he would get to perform a handful of his own songs, including a throwback dedicated to anyone who’s lost someone, “Easy To Slip.” After a solid set from Solitaire, Choclair would bring Rich Kidd back out, who would take things back to basics.

It seemed like Rich Kidd was about to do an encore performance of “Syke,” getting the crowd to shout the hook with him, but instead got DJ Spence Diamonds to play the beat from G. Dep and P. Diddy’s “Special Delivery” for him to spit a freestyle to. He’d jump down into the crowd and rap off the top of the dome in the middle of the square, and Choclair would join him to make it an authentic freestyle battle, going back and forth doing a few bars apiece as the fans gathered around them. This might’ve been the most hype moment of the entire show!

Nearing the end of his set, Choclair would next bring up an artist who joined him on his very first tour in 1996, Dan-E-O. Another Toronto legend in his own right, Dan-E-O was completely repping the year 1996, wearing a De La Soul Stakes Is High t-shirt while performing his ’96 single “Dear Hip-Hop,” getting the crowd to wave their arms. Choclair would then close out his set with the classic routine, getting the crowd to spin their arms like they’re turning a steering wheel as he performed his 1999 single “Just Ride.”

There would be no time at all between performers, as Saukrates came out and immediately brought Choclair back on stage to perform their Jully Black collaboration together, “Light It Up,” with Saukrates adding a melodic layer to Jully’s vocals on the hook. He’d then get the crowd moving himself with his own throwback classic, “Money Or Love,” with both the fans and the artists who previously performed on stage getting hype! Many of the emcees who previously performed were sticking around on stage to share the moment with Big Soxx, acting as hypeman or just vibing out on stage.

While the DJ and the emcees on stage who still had mics wanted to help with backing vocals to Saukrates’ classics, Sauks would silence them so that he could get the crowd involved. He would tease his hooks to “Father Time” and “Hate Runs Deep” to see if the crowd knew the words, cutting the beat off just as the hook dropped so he could hear them. While they didn’t seem to deliver on “Father Time,” Sauks at least felt the crowd’s energy was high enough to perform his verse from “Hate Runs Deep” rather than skipping it. Throughout his set he’d often tease the hook to his song and quickly move on to the next if the crowd didn’t get hype right away. He’d go in with a high energy verse from his single “Comin’ Up” and sing the hook to “Wednesday” acapella before spreading the love to other artists.

Saukrates would bring Rich Kidd back yet again, bigging him up before performing their song “Salt & Pepper” together. He’d then get DJ Spence Diamonds to play a medley of collaborations he’s done with other artists, hyping up the crowd for each track and highlighting the reach and influence he’s had over the course of his career. In a tribute to the late King Reign, he’d play their collaboration “Fades Away,” letting a young Drake’s verse play out. He’d then give shoutouts to several American artists he collaborated with on The Underground Tapes, playing the features from Xzibit, Masta Ace, Heltah Skeltah and Common on his album. He’d also play another collaboration with Jully Black, saluting her recent induction into Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Continuing to share the love, Saukrates would bring out a few members of Canada’s Olympic breakdancing team, who are going to be competing at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Who knew breakdancing had become an official Olympic sport?! The members would show off some breakdance moves to the Rich Kidd-produced “2999,” getting a ton of cheers from the crowd. Saukrates would big them up and urge the crowd to support the team any way they can.

Saukrates would next bring back his homie Choclair, and together they would perform another ’99 classic, “Rubbin’,” getting heads to nod to the beat. Noting that he had just four minutes left before the sharp 11pm curfew, Saukrates picked out two last songs to perform, dedicating the Big Black Lincoln track “All Of You” to his wife, and getting the crowd to dance and soul clap to the beat. He’d then give Rich Kidd his props once again, performing the gold single he produced, “On The Run” with the crowd joining in on the chorus. Choclair seemed to have one last surprise in store for the crowd, but they unfortunately had to cut off the music by the curfew. Sauks would instead leave the crowd with one last word about the World Action Foundation and how they help kids overcome poverty, and would take some extra time to meet fans at the side of the stage.

Overall, this was a fun celebration of Toronto and Canadian-based Hip-Hop, showcasing the impact Canada has had on Hip-Hop over its 50-year history. A lot of the artists who performed are OGs who paved the way for the current generation of artists, and it was dope to see them all giving props to the relatively younger Rich Kidd, who proved to be one of Canada’s underrated performers. It was also eye-opening to see how far Hip-Hop has come along in Canada, with us now having our own Olympic breakdance team competing on a world stage. While the crowd wasn’t as large or energetic as this show deserved, this being a Thursday evening, the fans who did show up got to experience an epic celebration filled with Canadian icons, both old and new.

Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary celebration continues!
Choclair is headlining another show at The Rockpile July 28th, tickets are on sale here.
Saukrates will be headlining the Manifesto Festival at Echo Beach on August 11th, tickets are on sale here.

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