Featuring Talib Kweli, Rich Kidd, Rahzel, Lazylegz and more!
The 2013 UNITY Festival is getting ready to pop, lock, and drop some of the hottest acts in hip-hop for the 5th annual festival running July 18 – 21 throughout Toronto. UNITY is proud to announce a FREE show headlined by hip-hop legend Talib Kweli at Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday, July 20 with an opening set by Toronto’s own Rich Kidd, an underground king in his own right.
Following the success of last year’s four-day celebration, which brought together over 32,000 attendees and 200 youth performers, the 2013 UNITY Festival presents another stellar set of showcases led by some of the most prolific artists in urban culture, including the “Godfather of Noyze”, Rahzel, headlining the Festival’s Free Your Sound: 2vs2 Beatboxing Battle at The Mod Club on Thursday, July 18.
Entering its fifth year, the UNITY Festival is the main awareness event to celebrate UNITY’s year-round charitable mission and programs. Founded in 2007 by Michael Prosserman aka “Bboy Piecez”, one of Toronto’s most preeminent B-boys, UNITY Charity engages and empowers youth to be role models and leaders in their communities through artistic self-expression. Since 2007, UNITY has reached over 100,000 youth across Canada through its after-school program designed to teach positive self-expression through beatboxing, breakdancing, spoken word, poetry, graffiti, and more.
The four-day festival fosters freedom of expression through a plethora of events throughout the city. In addition to 2vs2 Beatboxing Battle, UNITY is proud to present Free Your Style: Breakdancing and All Styles with headliner KID DAVID at The Phoenix Concert Theatre on Friday, July 19, and Free Your Voice: Lyricist Battle and Showcase with QUEEN GODIS on Sunday, July 21 at the Daniels Spectrum Theatre, two electric evenings of rhythm, rhyme, and dance battles live on stage.
The Fest is also pleased to announce its participation in Canada’s National UNITY Day, being celebrated from coast to coast on Saturday, July 20, through the UNITY Concert at Yonge-Dundas Square. From 1-10pm, the Square will transform in to an urban mecca of artistic expression with live graffiti, performances by UNITY’s own youth, and participation from genre-defying pros like LAZYLEGZ, SCOTT JACKSON (winner of Beatbox Canada), and headlined by Brooklyn MC TALIB KWELI, whose latest release, Prisoner of Conscious, marks a major milestone, both critically and commercially, in the MC’s illustrious 15+ year career.
What is National UNITY Day?
National UNITY Day is a celebration of seven Canadian communities – Calgary, Winnipeg, Montréal, Vancouver, Halifax, Fort McMurray, and Toronto – coming together to create space for youth to tell their story through artistic expression. The slogan for the day is ‘What speaks to you?’ How are you creating positive space, sense of social belonging, and artistic expression in your community?
UNITY Festival
The UNITY Festival is UNITY Charity’s annual showcase event, which is held each summer. The upcoming festival is scheduled for July 18 – 21, 2013. This festival is the single most important event for the organization as it presents the most dedicated and talented youth performers from across Canada. Youth performers are recruited from the organization’s in-school and community programs, open auditions (community youth), and through connections with local arts organizations (local professional artists).
UNITY FESTIVAL 2013 SCHEDULE
Thursday, July 18
Free Your Sound: 2vs2 Beatboxing Battle in partnership with BeatboxCan
Headliner: Rahzel
6-11pm Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door
The Mod Club, 277 College Street, Toronto
Friday, July 19
Free Your Style: Breakdancing and All Styles in partnership with IBE.
Headliners: KID DAVID (From The Squadron & The Renegades crews)
5-11pm Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door
The Phoenix Concert Theatre, 410 Sherbourne Street
Saturday, July 20
National UNITY Day
Featuring Talib Kweli, Rich Kidd, Lazylegz, and more!
1-10pm FREE Yonge-Dundas Square
Sunday, July 21
Free Your Voice: Lyricist Battle and Showcase.
Headliners: QUEEN GODIS
2-5pm Tickets are $5 Daniels Spectrum Theatre, 585 Dundas Street East
For tickets, inquiries, and details, please visit UNITYCharity.com
Twitter: @UNITYCharity
Hashtags: #UNITYFestival
Facebook: UNITY Charity