{"product_id":"this-is-a-throwdown-a-toronto-hip-hop-history","title":"This is a Throwdown: A Toronto Hip-Hop History","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom blockos to Billboard hits, the previously untold story of the Toronto Sound\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLong before Drake picked up the mic, Toronto had a thriving, vital hip-hop culture fighting for recognition. It was shaped by multiple generations of artists, including Maestro Fresh Wes, Michie Mee, Kardinal Offishall, Saukrates, Choclair, and k-os\u003ci\u003e,\u003c\/i\u003e and fostered shrewd promoters and pioneering producers such as Ron Nelson, Noah “40” Shebib, and Boi-1da.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis Is a Throwdown\u003c\/i\u003e authoritatively chronicles the music, history, and environment that shaped the Toronto hip-hop sound, from its 1980s sound system scene through to Drake’s stratospheric success with 2011’s \u003ci\u003eTake Care\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eDrawing on Del Cowie’s two decades of experience as a music journalist, \u003ci\u003eThis Is a Throwdown\u003c\/i\u003e is the first book to critically assess and chronicle the largely untold story of hip-hop culture in Toronto, including: \u003cbr\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003ethe sound system clashes and block parties that were the foundation of Toronto’s early hip-hop culture \u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003ethe hidden pioneers who shaped the scene \u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003ethe diasporic fusion of Caribbean and African-American influences \u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003ehow Toronto artists broke barriers in an industry that overlooked Canadian hip-hop \u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOver 50 years after hip-hop began, now’s the time to move the 6ix from shadow to spotlight and celebrate the oft-neglected MCs, producers, and promoters who created this scene and this sound, starting from the bottom.","brand":"ECW Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46039106551999,"sku":"9781770415546","price":42.56,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/popweasel.co.nz\/products\/this-is-a-throwdown-a-toronto-hip-hop-history","provider":"Pop Weasel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}