Alena Rosen

The Fair Trade Clothing Co-op (FTCC) held a celebration of its first anniversary at the Smiling Buddha Bar on Saturday August 4th, 2007. Starting up out of Kensington Market in 2006, the FTCC soon moved to their current retail location inside of Seekers Books (509 Bloor St. W). The Fair Trade Clothing Co-op is the first of its kind in Toronto, with an emphasis on a worker-run business and a fair trade ethic. Contracting primarily with the Single Mother’s Co- op (Cooperativa de Madres Solteras) of El Salvador, the FTCC is involved both with retail and wholesale sales, and do their own silk-screening. The Smiling Buddha Bar (961 College St.) is a good venue for small, intimate events, such as this one. After negotiating with a lineup change and the friendly folk manning the merchandise table, me and my compadres settled into a cozy blue velveteen couch. DJ Grand kept the records spinning in between sets.

While politics in music are nothing new, there’s something about political themes in hip-hop that grab the listener. This is what the music was meant for. The unbilled second act, a local MC by the name of Testament, came in with a fresh response to Mims’ much remixed radio hit “This is why I’m Hot”, rhyming “This is why I’m not[…]not gonna buy/not gonna shop.” Self-described as “not a rapper, but a revolutionary that raps GOOD,” Testament brought politically focused raps over some familiar crowd-favourite samples. His set was peppered with clever rhymes like “Local hands…boycott global brands,” which was delivered over a sampling of the most excellent Nas and Lauryn Hill collaboration “If I ruled the world. Testament’s socially conscious lyrics overtook the quiet beats, and the vocal delivery was crisp and concise. Testament is fun and political, a one-man hip-hop Propaghandi.

The Dope Poet Society, with tunes like their classic “Fuck Mike Harris”, have long been established as one of the leading underground Canadian hip-hop groups. Their infamy was in evidence as the small dance floor filled up with the arrival of Professor D and DJ Spinister, also joined by Georgia Fox, Newsense, and Thereasa. The Dope Poets got the party started with a rendition of Dead Prez’s “(It’s bigger than) Hip Hop”. With beats pumping away at about twice the level of the previous acts, their slick, driving lyrics were harder to decipher. Yes, this means they have skills. The Dope Poet Society delivered several numbers off their newest album, including the rousing title track “PROINTELPRO” with Thereasa on the chorus, a play on the FBI’s COINTELPRO. The Beatles influenced “I get high” felt out of place –there weren’t any Beatles fans in the audience, a first for the Dope Poets. Times change, but the Dope Poet Society still brings a bang.

Lila Rose, as the opener and only non-hip-hop of the night, started strong with an accapella spoken word piece. While Lila often performs backed by a more numerous band, she delivered a powerful set joined by Jason Dandeno on upright bass. Listening to Lila is like having a friend taking you close, whispering confidences in your ear. Her songs are both intimate and strong, and communicate hope and warmth, with a good groove. Her lyrics and vocals, ranging in delivery from sweet to aggressive, maintain positive, proactive message. While Jason added to the energy on stage, the best moments of the set were Lila’s solo performances. The most powerful song of the entire evening was an experimental “in progress” song. Haunting, ethereal looped vocals and live pedal effects transported the listener from a small bar in downtown Toronto, to a better place.