Instructors 2011
Dalton Higgins (Mentor – urbanNOISE Ambassador Program)
Dalton Higgins is a music programmer, pop culture critic, author, broadcaster and journalist. He is also Canada’s foremost expert on hip hop culture. He is the author of Hip Hop World, published by Groundwood Books. He is also the co-author of two books, Hip Hop (Thomson Nelson) and Much Master T: A VJ’s Journey (ECW Press). His work has been referenced in many popular culture essays and has been cited in influential urban culture books such as Erykah Badu: The First Lady of Neo Soul (Sanctuary Publishing). As a print journalist, Dalton is a Canadian National Magazine Award recipient, and his articles have appeared in esteemed print and online mediums in the United States (Vibe, the Source, Amazon.com, Urb) and Canada (Saturday Night, Now Magazine, Toronto Star, Quill & Quire and many others).
As a broadcaster, Dalton is a former TV host and writer of BPM TV’s Urban Groove, and he has appeared as a regular pundit on shows ranging from CTV’s Talk TV Chatroom to MuchMoreMusic’s Listed. An expert on a number of topics related to popular culture, Dalton has waxed about Barack Obama on CTV’s Canada AM, provided election coverage on CBC Radio One’s Metro Morning, debated legal issues on CTV Newsnet’s The Verdict, mused on fatherhood activism on TVO and ruminated on black culture on OMNI TV. He has appeared on many shows, including TSN’s Off the Record, Much Music’s The New Music and Rap City, as well as I Channel productions, providing opinions on hot issues of the day. Behind the camera, Dalton has produced documentaries about barbershop culture (More Than a Haircut premiered at the 2009 Reelworld Film Festival) and human beatboxers (CBC Radio One’s Outfront), and has worked on CBC and SUN TV broadcasts of the Canadian Urban Music Award shows as a scriptwriter for Russell Peters, Master T and Jully Black.
In the global arts and entertainment industry, Dalton is a respected online content provider, having co-managed the Canadian chapter of NYC-based youth web organization Shine and shine.com and created content for NY-based, urban multi-media company UBO (indieplanet.com). Dalton is a music programmer at the Harbourfront Centre, Canada’s Centre of Contemporary Culture, and has sat on a long list of juries that run the gamut from the Juno Awards (Canada’s equivalent to the Grammys) and the Echo Prize (presented by SOCAN, the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, to identify what’s best in current independent music) to Honey Jam (Canada’s all-female talent showcase). Dalton holds a BA (Hons) in English Literature/Mass Communications from York University, a Book & Magazine Publishing diploma from Centennial College, and he spent a summer doing graduate research on reggae music at the University of the West Indies (Jamaica). He lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Tazz Blaze (Hip Hop)
Tazz was born to dance. As the key dancer for Blaze Entertainment, Canada’s premiere urban dance company, Tazz is not only an extraordinary dancer but she also is a talented choreographer. She has toured and performed along side some of the worlds most recognized artists such as Sean Paul, Shaggy, Flo Ryda, 50 Cent, Rolling Stones, Akon, Beenie Man, Jully Black, Fabolous, and Kardinal Offishall to name a few. With Tazz’s unique style she has provided artistic directions for music videos, film and live performances. Born on the beautiful island of Jamaica her choreographic style is influenced by the dancehall culture. Tazz’s choreography has put her in high demand in the overseas market doing workshops in places such as Japan and Mexico. Her incite on the music and culture lead her to assist with the very talented Jae Blaze on the hit show So You Think You Can Dance Canada for two consecutive seasons. Tazz comes from a community center dancing back ground. If it wasn’t for those resources she wouldn’t be where she is now. “So giving back to the community, and reaching young children is a life long goal of mine.” Keep watching as Tazz spreads her passion for dance across the globe, taking the entertainment industry by storm.
Instructors 2010
d’bi young
d’bi young is an award-winning dub poet, writer and theatre practitioner. She has performed, published and lectured internationally, has produced five dub poetry albums and is the author of two dub poetry collections: art on black and rivers and other blackness between us. She is also the playwright of the double Dora Award-winning show blood.claat, which recently completed a national Canadian tour. d’bi recently launched a new arts initiative, anitAFRIKA! dub theatre – a radical arts centre founded on 7 principles of dub poetry & dub theatre as mediums of social change through storytelling. This movement provides communities with creative resources that facilitate and promote the ideas of accountability and responsibility between the storyteller and the people.
Check out D’bi’s Website and Video
Dwayne Morgan
Dwayne Morgan began his career as a spoken word artist in 1993. He is the founder of Up From The Roots entertainment, which promotes the positive artistic contributions of African-Canadian and urban influenced artists. He is the recipient of the African Canadian Achievement Award, the Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in the Arts, and three Canadian Urban Music Awards. Dwayne has shared the stage with top Canadian artists such as Kardinal Offishall, Jully Black, K-OS, Nelly Furtado, Saukrates and Raine Maida, and has opened for international artists Alicia Keys and Mutabaruka. Dwayne has published three books, most recently, The Making of a Man, which followed The Man Behind The Mic, and Long Overdue. He is an active and highly recognized artist in Toronto’s urban music community, as well as the North American and global spoken word scenes. Check out Dwayne’s Website and Video
Rose Kazi
Rose Kazi (far left) is one of the primary foot soldiers in Toronto’s underground electronic music scene and the lead singer of the band LAL. She has been instrumental in the growth of many of the city’s female artists, providing venues and forums for their musical expression. More importantly, she has managed to add an air of consciousness and political awareness to many of those events, and this awareness is the most distinctive factor of her music. She grew up in the Bangladeshi community where politics and art went hand in hand, where she sang and danced traditional Bengali folk music and went on to play in choirs and bands up until high school. She moved to Toronto to attend University and worked part-time at a record store, where she discovered the courage to pursue music. She now works part-time at the Toronto Women’s’ bookstore and she has been working with the activist and music community to bridge the gap between art and politics. She also does music workshops with youth on behalf of the RCM and other organizations across Toronto. Check out Rose’s Website and Video
Joel Gordon
Joel Gordon is a graduate of York University’s theatre program and has been acting professionally for 14 years. He has appeared in over 40 principal and lead roles in film and television including Maya Angelou’s Down in the Delta, Robert Townsend’s The Natalie Cole Story, and This is My Father with James Caan. His Theatre credits include the world premiere of George F. Walker’s Heaven at Canadian Stage. He is the founder of V-Formation Productions, which has produced the award-winning feature film, SUPERBOB, and the CBC documentary on Olympian wrestler, Daniel Igali. Joel was also guest actor in This is Wonderland and has acted in the movie Max Payne. Check out Joel’s Website and Video
