WINNER OF 2012 EOW WESTERN CANADA FINALS
M.E.D.S. is pleased to announce that Ian “Junk” Torino is the winner of the Western Canada Finals for End of the Weak’s 2012 “MC Challenge”!
Junk has taken the Western Finals title 2 years in row, and will again be representing Western Canada at the Canadian EOW Finals (date and location to be announced). Junk had to beat out 9 other competitors in challenges including written verse, a capella, grab-bag freestyle, cypher, and beat juggle.
This year, EOW had Vancouver heavyweights Evil Ebenezer, Snak the Ripper, Heatwave, and Prevail as judges scoring all the challengers, who ultimately felt that Junk was the most rounded and skilled MC in this year’s finals. Runner up is Rupert Common, a newcomer to the Vancouver stage but equally talented (and quite possibly the most surprising Vancouver EOW under-dog to date.)
A big thanks and kudos for all the other MC who represented Vancouver this year: Cander, Little T, G-Diss, Speeches Beyond, Glympse, Joblow, Kyirim, & Cloud Strife.
M.E.D.S. photographer Alyssa Biller was on scene and took some wicked photographs of the action, view the gallery here!
“EOW: VANCOUVER” MC CHALLENGE FINALS ANNOUNCED
We are proud to again sponser the “End of the Weak: Vancouver” MC Challenge finals, being held on Sunday April 29th 2012 at Fortune Sound Club (147 East Pender St., Vancouver BC). In the EOW MC Challenge, 10 of the city’s finest MCs go head-to-head in a competition which not only puts freestyle skills to the test, but also written verses, a capella, beat juggling with the DJ, and more.
The EOW MC Challenge is a more rounded and encompassing competition than most freestyle battles since the competitors are judged on their skills as an MC across the board, not just punchlines and freestyle abilities.
Last year (2011), Vancouver hip-hop artist Ian “Junk” Torino won the Vancouver finals, and was flown to Toronto where he competed against the rest of Canada’s EOW finalists. He won first in Canada and was then flown to Paris, France to compete in the EOW World Finals – where he came in third against the rest of the EOW World finalists.
This year we are again going to see some of the best MCs in Vancouver compete for the chance to go to the Canadian and World finals – if you are interested in registering to compete, head over to… Continue reading
JIMMY FLINT VS. HK BATTLE VIDEO POSTED – KOTD DEC 3, 2011
King of the Dot has posted the first video from the KOTD Vancouver MC battle, which took place on Saturday Dec. 3, 2011 at Fortune Sound Club. This battle pits Jimmy Flint VS Higher Knowledge, both of whom have extensive experience in the KOTD/Ground Zero league. These two MCs had great lines and delivery, Jimmy focusing mostly on HK’s looks and HK tearing into Flint’s British roots. Check out the Youtube video below to see who takes the win, and watch some of the other battles featured on the KOTD channel.
M.E.D.S. is a proud sponsor of King of the Dot Vancouver.
DJ MAKEWAY INTERVIEWED ON HIPHOPVANCOUVER.COM
HipHopVancouver.com recently posted an interview with DJ Makeway, delving into his journey as one of Vancouver’s most under-rated and over-looked hiphop DJs. We learn about how he was introduced to DJing, his influences, and also some recent and upcoming projects that Makeway is involved with. There is also a sweet video (shown below) that HipHopVancouver cut of DJ Makeway spinning at the M.E.D.S. tent at Center of Gravity 2011, which M.E.D.S. will be at this year as well.
Below is an excerpt from the interview, conducted by Attikus from Vancouver’s GroundBreakers (www.reverbnation.com/vancitygroundbreakers) & Prototypes:
DJ MAKEWAY – THE DJ YOU SHOULD KNOW BUT DON’T KNOW…YET. Written By: Attikus
First things first, in this age of swag, flash, pomp and DYI self promotion to the social media extreme, we can safely say Makeway is cut from a different cloth. He doesn’t have a gimmick or an angle. He doesn’t drape himself in the hottest gear or anything sparkly for that matter. He isn’t loud and boisterous and is in fact, the polar opposite to your typical everyday hip hop attention whore. Truth is, Makeway is a laid back and unassuming cat of the humble variety. He observes and downloads more than he… Continue reading
G-DISS’ “HIGHWAY MUZIC” VIDEO RELEASED
Better late than never, M.E.D.S. and G-Diss are proud to finally release the music video for “Highway Muzic” from his 2009 album “Stepping Stoned”. The video was shot in 2009, but cut together in 2011 when we found the footage in our archives. This track is dedicated to those who love cruising in their whip and is an excellent song to throw on while driving, preferably fast.
WRAP UP – KING OF THE DOT @ FORTUNE SOUND CLUB – DEC 3, 2011
M.E.D.S. was a proud sponsor of the last edition of King of the Dot: Vancouver, hosted at Fortune Sound Club in Vancouver BC on Saturday December 3rd 2011. Emotionz was once again the master of ceremonies at this live event which pits MC vs MC in written (and sometimes freestyle) battles against each other. This format of battling takes preparation and knowledge of the opponent’s past, which brings out alot of clever, witty, humourus, and sometimes humiliating lines.
Several of the battlers at this edition of KOTD were flown in from Calgary to take on the Vancouver residents, so there were plenty of punches and jabs at either province. The rivalry here was really felt by the audience and made for great battles with all the cheering and jeering.
M.E.D.S. also debuted the new “Nurses” line of our custom airbrush T-shirts by Vancouver graphic artist “Gerk” (who has an art show lined up on Vancouver Island in January 2012!) and also had the few remaining ladies’ sizes of the “Lifeguard” line.
Check out the photo gallery here to catch up with the action. Although the next KOTD Vancouver event is not yet set, keep your eyes on Facebook for info and… Continue reading
M.E.D.S. @ Center of Gravity 2011 – Highlight Video
The highlight video of M.E.D.S. @ Center of Gravity 2011 has been uploaded to www.youtube.com/getmedsnow – featured in the video are clips of DJ Makeway scratching at the M.E.D.S. tent, as well as pics from around the 3 day sports and music festival. Big thanks to international DJ Chris Laroque for repping the new airbrush tees at the COG afterparties!
SNAK THE RIPPER & EVIL EBENEZER DROP NEW VIDEO
Vancouver’s grimiest rap combo, Snak the Ripper and Evil Ebenezer, dropped their new video single “Crush Brews” in mid-August 2011. Both the beat and the video are produced by the incredibly talented Stuey Kubrick, who has been pumping out artistically unique music videos by Canadian artists for the past few years. prominently featured are the delicious and frosty beverages by local brewery Cariboo Brewing, as well as lots of hot bodies captured in Kelowna, BC during August long weekend (most scenes filmed at Center of Gravity 2011).
M.E.D.S. was lucky enough to grab a “behind-the-scenes” clip of the music video being filmed, and you can view it below.
After you’re done with that, click the video below to see the finished product!
Follow Snak at the following sites: SnakTheRipper.com | twitter.com/snaktheripper | facebook.com/therealsnaktheripper - and look out for his new album “White Dynamite”, coming 2012!
REVIEW OF “BABY C” CONCERT SPONSORED BY M.E.D.S.
Local BC brewery Cariboo Brewing has posted a review for one of Baby C‘s latest live performances at Shine Nightclub in Vancouver, BC. This event took place on Friday August 12th 2011 in the heart of one of Vancouver’s busiest nightlife districts, Gastown, at the renowned “Shine Nightclub”, which hosts a bevy of live events each week. In addition to Baby C, on the bill was DJ Makeway holding it down on the turn-tables all night, as well as performances by RcThaHazard, Ham-E, Drastic, Sirreal, and their guest features. M.E.D.S. photographer Alyssa Biller shot pics of all the action, and they can be viewed in the M.E.D.S. event gallery here!
Click here to link directly to the review posted on Cariboo Brewing’s website.
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Emotionz’ “8 Elements of Hip-Hop”: B-boy / Breakdancing
Most of us are aware of the 4 Elements of Hip-Hop: MCing, DJing, Breaking, and Graffiti, however, to translate that into the current status of the hip-hop movement, Emotionz has expanded it into 8 Elements. Over the next 2 weeks we will be posting his reflection of these 8 Elements: MCing, DJing, Breaking, Graffiti, Beatboxing, Production, The Grind, and Style.
“Since the early 90s when I started rapping, doing graffiti, and beatboxing everyday I always felt like the standard 4 Elements of Hip-Hop didn’t sum up the whole picture. The original 4 Elements from NYC were set as a foundation for the culture from the beginning, but over time I feel like we have to credit the people who are being left out of that original description…… Continue reading →