The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) announced that the 2012 JUNO Awards is now accepting submissions in the category of Rap Recording of the Year. JUNO Week unfolds in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, ON March 26 – April 1, 2012. The celebration includes a series of exciting events leading up to the JUNO Awards presentation on Sunday April 1, 2012, which will be televised nationwide on CTV.

News: Call for 2012 JUNO Awards Rap Category submissions - HipHopCanada.com

The Rap Advisory Committee includes seasoned label representative Jay Devonish (eOne Entertainment), David “Click” Cox (Stylus DJ Awards), Greg Baptiste (MuchMusic/CTV), Jody Laraya (Universal Music Canada), Jesse Plunkett (HipHopCanada.com / It Lives In The North), Melissa “DJ MelBoogie” Langley (DJ/Publicist), Jay Swing (Donnelly Group/NationOfMillions.ca), Kyle Kraft (Battle Axe/ Krafty Entertainment), Dice B (CINQ 102.3FM), Don Smooth (K103FM), rez DigitaL (CityOnMyBack.com), Darryl Rodway (Urbnet), and Marlon Wilson (Music for Mavericks/Politic Live).

Collectively, the committee continues to make strides in developing outreach to rap artists across the country, both English and Francophone, to increase the number of submissions. As a result of these concentrated efforts, the number of submissions received by CARAS in the category of Rap Recording of the Year has been steadily rising since the category was established in 1990. By partnering with radio shows, online magazines and DJs across the country, the committee hopes to continue to raise awareness throughout the community about the submissions and judging process, specifically for rap artists. “We’ve assembled a great team of people from around the country who are actively working in various aspects of the urban music scene,” says Jay Devonish, Chairman / JUNO Awards Rap Advisory Committee. We’ve also worked closely with CARAS to ensure the jurors voting in this category are qualified and active within the urban community. We’re excited to work together with CARAS to ensure the rap community is properly represented at the JUNO Awards.”

The JUNO Awards have been proven to be an excellent networking vehicle, not only for artists who win, but also for nominees and/or participants in various JUNO Awards events.
Shad, winner of the 2011 JUNO Award for Rap Recording of the Year had this to say about his win: “The JUNO Awards have helped raise my profile both within and outside the music industry. My first nomination for “The Old Prince” and my second nomination and subsequent win for “TSOL” were both helpful in raising awareness for my music across the country.” The JUNO Awards have been proven to be an excellent networking venue, even for the nominated artists who don’t go home with the Award. Artist Prevail, from the four-time JUNO Award-winning rap group Swollen Members stated, “Before our win, there’s no questioning the positive impact that the JUNO Awards have had on our career. The momentum opened doors to more Canadian shows and the coverage elevated us to a new level and cemented our legitimacy.” Other previous nominees include Drake, K’Naan, Sans Pression, DL Incognito, Belly, Checkmate, Choclair, Kardinal Offishall, Classified, Dubmatique, Concise, D-Sisive, Eternia, k-os, Famous and Sweatshop Union.

Submission forms are available at http://junosubmissions.ca

All submissions must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on November 10, 2011.
Submission Fees and Deadlines

CARAS offers an early bird submission fee to those who submit between October 1, 2011 and October 21, 2011. CARAS members receive a reduced submission fee applicable to both the early bird deadline as well as the final deadline. If you are eligible to submit, you are eligible for membership. Please visit http://www.carasonline.ca for more membership information.

The submission fee can be paid online with a credit card or by cheque.

October 22 – November 10, 2011 (Final Deadline for craft or juried categories)
$70 for CARAS Members
$90 for non-members

January 10, 2012 (Deadline for all sales-based categories)
$70 for CARAS Members
$90 for non-members
How it works

350 Judges – Each year, judges are recruited for each of the 34 judged categories to adjudicate the material that is submitted. These individuals are responsible for listening to each of the submissions and voting for the best product in the genre. The judges change each year and are spread out in different facets of the music industry and different regions throughout Canada.
50 Nominating & Voting Committee Members – The Nominating & Voting Committee is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the JUNO Awards. It is their responsibility to monitor any changes within the industry as it relates to the awards. The committee brings any necessary changes to the attention of the Board of Directors.
180+ Music Advisory Committee Members- Each category has an associated advisory committee who is responsible for ensuring that each of the submissions in their specific genre meets the required qualifications for the JUNO Awards.

About CARAS

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/L’academie canadienne des arts et des sciences de l’enregistrement (CARAS) is a not-for-profit organization created to preserve and enhance the Canadian music and recording industries and to contribute toward higher artistic and industry standards. The main focus of CARAS is the exploration and development of opportunities to showcase and promote Canadian artists and music through vehicles such as The JUNO Awards. For more information on The JUNO Awards or The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ (CARAS) website please visit http://www.junoawards.ca or http://www.carasonline.ca.

For more on the benefits to submitting for awards check out:

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?saved& ... 8519190032

easy


Krafty

So what Canadian hip hop music was released after September 1st, 2010 that you guys feel should be amongst the nominees for this year's Juno Award for Best Rap Recording?

Please share your suggestions, we (the music advisory committee for the Rap category) want to insure that as many solid releases that are eligible are considered by the judges...

Thanks


Krafty

Yeah, that's a good one. Is someone submitting it?

I'll be submitting this year for:

http://handsolorecords.bandcamp.com/album/heatwave

Backburner - Heatwave
By Ryan B. Patrick
Even though having everyone physically in a room at the same time happens less often than they would like, for far-reaching Canadian rap collective Backburner to drop crew project Heatwave is a noteworthy feat. Under the Backburner banner, a legion of rappers, DJs and producers have been dropping underground head-nodders for a minute. With a current ensemble that includes underground names like Jesse Dangerously, Thesis Sahib, Timbuktu, Chokeules, SJ the Wordburglar and More or Les, it’s laudable that Heatwave retains a cohesive sound (delivered by a coterie of Backburner producers) while allowing each member their time to shine. If you’re down with the Backburner crew, you’re no doubt down with this 14-track album. Crew albums have the tendency to expose weaker members on wax, but there’s scant evidence of that here. The Amy Winehouse shout-out seems mildly ironic on “Lifers,” “Harm’s Way” stands as a straight-up lyrical showcasing joint and cheeky bon mots (”Getting brains like Jackie Onassis”) proliferate on standout “Show of Hands.” Heatwave solidifies the maturing Backburner sound and is an indication of the fact that these dudes aren’t leaving the scene anytime soon.
(Hand Solo)

Link: http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/HipHop/backburner-heatwave

CHECK THESE YOUNG UNKNOWN ARTISTS JUST STARTING OUT AND ALREADY KILLIN IT!,
TO SUPPORT THE MOVEMENT PLEASE LIKE OR COMMENT IF YOU HAVE A YOUTUBE ACCOUNT!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxs3_mjRAsg

You're speaking as if we have our shit together!

I just want to see you guys getting your shit together so you can get the shit you deserve...

Still, less competition for me... ha!

70 submissions for the Rap category this year, and about a third of them are serious contenders for the 5 nominee spots... a lot of quality hip hop coming out of Canada! Nominees will be announced in February, stay tuned!

easy


Krafty

I've got nothing but respect for those artist who have submitted their work, but at the end of the day it's gonna be hip hop, urban, black music still sitting, well more like being pushed to the back of the bus.

And there will still not be any artists being put in the televised portion of the show either, and then artists in canada will still be up in arms wondering why hip hop is still being ignored.

UMAC needs to step up or things like this will be happening for the next 10 years.

Congrats to who ever wins though.

I'm not sure you see the full picture as far as the Junos' TV broadcast is concerned. There are 41 Juno Award categories, and only 7 categories' awards presentations are televised. Keeping in mind TV shows (including the broadcasted portions of awards shows like the Junos) are about ratings and maximizing viewership, its a pretty tough sell to say that the Juno's Rap category award presentation should be televised when there are other categories that each nominated release averages substantially more sales than the Rap category that don't get televised either.

Regardless, there was a fair amount of Rap representation (performances, presenters, etc) on the last awards' televised show. The Juno's Rap music advisory committee (of which I am a member of) helped insure that happened, and has been singled out by CARAS as an example to be followed to all the other genre-specific Juno committees for the last 2 years due to the inroads we've been making for the category with submissions and advocating on the genre's behalf. With all due respect to UMAC and the good they do in other areas, their direct involvement in the Rap Juno music advisory committee would not change much. The Rap committee members volunteer a lot of their time to insure the genre is as well represented as is possible and there isn't much more anyone else could do for the genre than what is already being done as far as the Junos are concerned.

A credible award nomination has the potential to do an artist a lot more good than how much it gets their face on TV if they're utilizing the opportunity properly. Hopefully this helps clarify that despite the fact there are a lot of different interests that need to be balanced with the Junos (both the TV show and more importantly the awards themselves) they do help quality music get recognition and awareness that it might not otherwise get. A televised awards show, or any TV coverage for that matter, is not going to play a huge role in building a lasting career. The days of TV being a likely medium to create stars are over, people have way more options now and aren't going to sit through something they're not already interested in. Artists' best hope to build lasting success for themselves now is years of consistent hard work and making a name for themselves as being a creator of quality music, something awards like the Junos assist with.

easy


Krafty

I'm not sure you see the full picture as far as the Junos' TV broadcast is concerned. There are 41 Juno Award categories, and only 7 categories' awards presentations are televised. Keeping in mind TV shows (including the broadcasted portions of awards shows like the Junos) are about ratings and maximizing viewership, its a pretty tough sell to say that the Juno's Rap category award presentation should be televised when there are other categories that each nominated release averages substantially more sales than the Rap category that don't get televised either.

Actually krafty, with all due respect, i do, and have seen the full picture, and to be quite honest, when it comes to televising the the rap catagory, it should be put on television, and i say that because by doing that, that would greatly help expand not just that artist specifically, but all the other artists that would be able to perform live on the show.

And secondly, that would trickle down to all rap, hip hop artists within canada being able to increase their brand within the country, and it would also help those artist be able to tour within canada in larger venues, help an artist secure a larger pay on a per show basis, and lastly, it would help hip hop gain more market share, and units being sold.

Regardless, there was a fair amount of Rap representation (performances, presenters, etc) on the last awards' televised show. The Juno's Rap music advisory committee (of which I am a member of) helped insure that happened, and has been singled out by CARAS as an example to be followed to all the other genre-specific Juno committees for the last 2 years due to the inroads we've been making for the category with submissions and advocating on the genre's behalf. With all due respect to UMAC and the good they do in other areas, their direct involvement in the Rap Juno music advisory committee would not change much. The Rap committee members volunteer a lot of their time to insure the genre is as well represented as is possible and there isn't much more anyone else could do for the genre than what is already being done as far as the Junos are concerned.

Again, i would have to respectfully disagree with you krafty, when you talk about inroads being made, it seems to be being made in very small increments, i mean it's been years since the Rascalz got fucked over on live T.V, and then just to add insult to injury, that waste of fucking skin Mike Bullard had the balls to shit on rap, and hip hop in canada right across the county, and since then, it's been kept at the back of the bus.

So i would have to say that when it comes to inroads being made by the junos to get more awards presented on the live portion of the show, as well as artists performing live, it's been a fucking catastrophe for all parties involved.

And when i mentioned UMAC, i was referring to them putting together an awards show, that would ensure that all hip hop, rap artist would get a chance to be seen live, as well as getting awards live on television, and not ignored, like hip hop, rap isn't as important in canada, just because labels here have made the effort to push rock bands, pop artists, and native canadian artists across the board

A credible award nomination has the potential to do an artist a lot more good than how much it gets their face on TV if they're utilizing the opportunity properly. Hopefully this helps clarify that despite the fact there are a lot of different interests that need to be balanced with the Junos (both the TV show and more importantly the awards themselves) they do help quality music get recognition and awareness that it might not otherwise get.

Well, i think that this brotha will still be willing to stand by his quote from 2007


"I guess in a sense urban music has lost its foothold in the country," Red1 continues. "Much doesn't really play us anymore; all these radio stations that were playing us have switched to pop. In a sense I'd say we're back to where we were before we rejected the award." And he doesn't hesitate to point out where he thinks the problem lies. "It's the people in power in the music industry. They're working to keep their jobs, not to do their jobs. So when some young guy comes in and is going to turn everything upside down, they don't want that." And again, Kardinal Offishal is the perfect example. "Kardinal has been one of the top three dopest cats in the country and he has been for years. The people on the Juno committee don't know what's going on.

Among artists it's almost a joke.

You go up to someone and say, 'I'm nominated for a Juno?' And they say, 'So? So what?'"

And while Red1 stops just short of calling the Junos racist (the show and associated parties are "almost segregated" he says, and "almost racist"), as far as the reputation of the show is concerned, it's already too late. Year after year the producers of the telecast have shown that they are not interested in giving airtime to the young, exciting, up-and-coming acts of any genre. Their priority has long been to support established artists and milk them for all the ratings they're worth. And there's a price for that: anyone who knows anything about Canadian music knows that when you're looking for great artists, the Junos are one of the last places to look.

And let's take it one step further, why hasn't someone within the committee thought about making a mixtape awards catagory, so that new artists who don't have large budgets in canada like a kardi, k'naan, but who have a product out and are touring across canada to support the release can have a chance to get exposure, or an award for their mixtape / street album as well?

I mean, these are things that should have been implemented since day one.

http://www.soundproofmagazine.com/Canada/Features/SoundProof_Recycled_Are_the_Junos_Racist.html

To be honest it sounds to me like you are saying the Rap category should get special treatment over the other 32 categories that also aren't televised, and your only reasoning is that it would help artists in the genre out. The same could be said for artists in each of the other 32 untelevised categories, and therefore that isn't enough for us to present a compelling argument to CARAS and the CBC about airing the award presentation for the category.

I'm not sure why you think that an award being presented as part of a televised show would open the door to even the nominees, let alone all the artists in a genre, getting to play larger venues or get paid more for their performances; the only significant factor that usually affects how much an artist get paid or how large the venues they're getting bookings in is their draw (the amount of people who would pay to see that specific artist) in that city, not whether presentation of awards for the genre the artist's music most closely is associated with are televised. There are no hand outs in the music business.

While you may not agree, there are many more inroads that can and are being made on behalf of a genre with the Junos other than whether the award presentation is televised, and as I said in the last couple years CARAS has singled out the Rap music advisory committee as being an example for other genre's music advisory committees to follow. The reality is that most TV viewers aren't interested in watching the presentation of dozens of music awards, so don't expect the number of categories being presented on the televised show to increase significantly any time soon. Since the widespread adoption of broadband internet in the last decade people no longer are willing to sit through what they aren't interested in, they will tune out. In general, TV just doesn't matter anymore or act as the career builder it did a decade ago; I work with artists who had their music videos in Heavy rotation on both MuchMusic and its specialty channels this year, and there has no been no significant increase in their sales as a result of either airplay of their videos or appearances and even interviews on their shows. Most people that care about music discover it online and live now, not on TV. That's something that a lot of people do not yet fully understand.

UMAC used to run the Canadian Urban Music Awards, but they don't anymore. Nor they need to, I think that the Stylus Music Awards ( http://www.stylusgroup.ca ) do an excellent job of getting more in depth with the various facets of urban music than the Junos ever could. BUT you aren't going to force a bunch of people that aren't interested to watch the presentation of those awards either, even if they were televised.

With regard to your comment about us (the Juno's Rap music advisory committee) not thinking about suggesting to CARAS that an additional Rap-related category (you said mixtapes) should be created to allow for the inclusion of "artists who dot have the budgets of Kardi or K'Naan", not only is that a flat-out wrong assumption, but your whole reasoning for the existence of such a category is flawed. The Rap Recording of the Year category is not called the Rap ALBUM of the Year category for a reason; individual tracks (including singles from mixtapes) are just as eligible to be recognized in the category as albums are. Furthermore, many of the nominees in the Rap category don't have anything close to the budgets of Kardi or K'Naan. Just look at last year's nominees; D-Sisive, Eternia, and Ghettosocks all operate on shoestring budgets. Kindly do your homework before questioning this sort of thing, as while I want to insure that as many people as possible have the best understanding of the category as is possible I am busy providing for my family so would prefer to not reiterate facts that are posted on the Junos' website.

In spite of the aforementioned the Rap Juno committee is definitely working towards building a compelling enough case to convince CARAS to create a second Rap category in order to hopefully allow even more quality Rap artists (than the 5 nominees that are recognized per category) to get some much-deserved shine. This is going to happen primarily due to having enough submissions to the category, which was at 70 this year - up from 26 three years ago (just one example of the kinds inroads the Rap music advisory committee is making).

The Junos and most awards in general are about a lot more than just a television show, they are about recognizing and creating some awareness for some of the best music in the country. While some people (you can't please everyone, especially artists who aren't selected as nominees) may not agree, the list of nominees in the Rap category of the Junos is a great place to find some of the best hip hop being released, and being a Juno-nominated artist can help open doors that might not otherwise be open to you. That is what matters far more than any discussion about the TV show.

I'm hoping all of the above puts this issue to rest, and will just finish this off by providing quotes from a few other recognizable sources:

Shad, winner of the 2011 Rap Juno Award, had this to say about his win: ""The Juno Awards have helped raise my profile both within and outside the music industry. My first nomination for The Old Prince and my second nomination and subsequent win for TSOL were both helpful in raising awareness for my music across the country."

Prevail, from the 4-time Juno Award-winning rap group Swollen Members stated, "There's no questioning the positive impact the Juno Awards have had on our career. The momentum opened doors to Canadian shows. The coverage elevated us to a new level and cemented our legitimacy."

Sol Guy, manager of K'Naan (and former manager of the Rascalz) regarding K'Naan's nominations and win: "The benefits of K's first Juno are enormous and quite simple. To develop a global career the first thing you must do is build your base at home. For us to be able to travel to the world and state that we had won the Juno it was an instant entry point cause it said to anyone in the industry abroad that we were considered the best in our genre."

easy


Krafty

Krafty, special treatment, seriously?

Naaaaaaaw, how about an equal playing field, for once, in a country where white music has been helped to be the main focus, and interest.

I mean let's be honest, artists in the rock, pop, country, and native canadian music genre, not to mention folk, have had more screen time on the junos then any other hip hop, rap, or r&b artist in what, eleven years

How do you not realize that be an artist being nominated, it would help to raise that artists stock, profile, to people across canada who otherwise wouldn't have heard about that artist before.

That in turn, would help that artist draw more fans to his show, whch in turn would allow that artist to get paid more, on a per show basis.

Krafty, look, i can appreciate you having to defend the juno awards, but in all honesty, the juno awards have established their track record with how they have treated hip hop, rap, and r&b artists in canada, and i really think that artists in canada really need to stop being suckers, and thinking that the junos are no longer excluding black music intentionally, when we all know that they still are, i mean damn, look how they played that dude drake.

Kardinal Offishal Addresses Juno Awards Drake Snub

Award winning Canadian artist Kardinal Offishal says that Juno, the leading awards show in recognizing Canada’s top music talent, showed a lack of regard to his fellow Toronto native Drake this past March after the Young Money star went home without any awards although he lead all performers with six nominations followed by superstar Justin Bieber's four.
The Canadian Press reported that Kardi lambasted Juno officials in an interview held Friday (May 6) morning in where he stated Drake deserved better treatment given his level of success. “To me, that's just utter disrespect," Kardinal said in the interview. “He had one of the biggest years ever in rap history as far as being a Canadian, they have him hosting the entire thing — that just looks terrible on them more than him.”

The “Dangerous” rapper continued his rant against Juno. “It makes absolutely no sense. There's nothing more that he possibly could have done within his career,” said Kardinal. “He sold a gang of records, had great success, has a huge fan base, and then he comes, he hosts the whole thing, and to me, it's disrespect, what they did. Absolute disrespect.”

Kardinal didn’t let up with his criticism of Juno, remarking that while Drake did perform and handled the snub well that there was an extreme lack of R&B and hip hop performances at the awards show saying it “made no sense” given that acts Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene were given more air time.

http://rapfix.mtv.com/2011/05/09/kardinal-offishal-addresses-juno-awards-drake-snub/

As for UMAC not needing to run, or air the canadian urban music awards, i will strongly disagree with you on that statement, hip hop needs to have a show on the air, where hip hop, rap, and r&b artists will be the main focus, and will be treated with respect, not like they're sammy davis junior, and have to do that shuckin, and jivin and say yes massa to the juno awards.

And again, i'll respectfully disagree with you about the mixtape catagories, i think that it would greatly help alot of artists if there was a catagory for mixtapes for a rap, hip hop, and r&b, and if there would be a chance for sub genre's, that would be outstanding as well.

And of the last three paragraphs that you added, two thirds are artist, but tell me, how many other well deserving artist have been ignored, or denied all together?

Misconductin’ Thangs
The tortured history of rap at the Junos

Then came 1993. The Maestro copped his third consecutive nomination, but also his second consecutive defeat, this time to Devon, a.k.a. Mr. Metro, a two-hit wonder who instructed his fans to Keep It Slammin’. That alone is no calamity. Toss in the nomination of Organized Rhyme, though, and one has to wonder if lunatics had taken over the Academy. OR, it pains to recall, was how comedian Tom Green found his first 15 seconds of fame, rapping as MC Bones. (Green’s rhyming skills? On par with his acting chops: “I lay more chicks than Mother Goose / Pass the OJ, ’cause I got juice.”) Their novelty hit Check the OR had all the artistic merit of Kris Kross crossed with Marky Mark, but won CARAS’s heart anyways.

What should have been a one-time gaffe started a trend: from 1993 onward, the history of the Junos’ rap category reads like a dramedy of errors. (Nominees for the rap category are not determined by sales numbers, and are chosen by a “panel of experts;” winners are voted on by CARAS’s members. Last year, there were 1,632 eligible voters.) Among the lowlights:

1994

And the Juno goes to... You must be kidding. Too Bad To Be True, a quartet of smooth-cheeked Toronto teens (their eldest member was 16 at the time), claimed the hardware for their single One Track Mind — despite should-have-been-obvious questions about the fitness of young boys flipping lines like, “This goes out to all you girls out there with a one track mind / ’cause girls like you are hard to find.”

CARAS’s bigger boo-boo, though, was failing to nominate Snow in the Juno rap category. (He won the reggae award that year.) Granted, Snow — an Irish roughneck who performed in a put-on West Indian patois (“Pure black people man that’s all I-man know / Yeah, me shoes are-a tear up an-a my toes used to show-a / Where me-a born in-a the one Toronto ”) — was basically the northern Vanilla Ice, but he moved records like no Canadian urban performer before or since. His smash single Informer, a slick mix of dancehall, hip hop and pop, sold eight million copies worldwide. Stumping for the song feels like backing Titanic as a legit Oscar winner, but TBTBT’s victory? Simply too bad to be true.

1998-1999

Rap at the Junos plunged to rock bottom in 1998 when Vancouver’s Rascalz publicly declined their trophy for their album Cash Crop. Reason? In this and preceding years, the show’s producers omitted urban music categories (i.e., rap and R&B) from the televised portion of the awards ceremony. “[The award] feels like a token gesture towards honouring the real impact of urban music in Canada,” Rascalz member Misfit explained backstage.

A year later, Rascalz returned with a roar, this time taking the stage alongside peers Kardinal Offishall, Choclair, Checkmate and Thrust to perform their posse banger Northern Touch. The act sizzled; the rappers claimed a Juno later that night for the song on live TV. Juno host Mike Bullard, however, rescued defeat from the jaws of victory, joking about hip hop as the sound of a “drive-by shouting.” The CBC’s cameras cut to the scowling faces of Rascalz et al.

2001

Heading into the 2001 ceremony, Kardinal Offishall seemed poised for coronation as the nation’s newest rhyming hero: the Toronto dynamo was nominated for his own single, Husslin’, then again with Baby Blue Soundcrew for Money Jane. Kardinal was featured in the urban music tribute that preceded the rap category’s (televised) presentation — but was then caught on camera, mouth agape, as the Juno went to... Swollen Members, a duo from Vancouver that, at the time, was little-known outside their home city... for an album released in 1999.

“What bothered me about that night was how my crew was treated,” Offishall later told Toronto’s NOW Magazine. “We were told by the people running the Junos that I was going to win. That was the reason we were sitting in the audience. [The organizers] were like, ‘After you win, go here and then go here to do your press.’”

2004

The rap category has received intermittent screen time in the years since Northern Touch. Last year’s winner, Choclair, thanked his mother twice in his acceptance speech. His fans had to read about it later: rap was omitted from the ceremony’s broadcast lineup.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/misconductin-thangs.html

The juno's can't change their perception that they've gladly established, it's like trying to close the barn door after the horses have run out of the barn.

First of all, you make it sound like you are suggesting that I have an obligation to defend the Junos but I don't HAVE to, I am CHOOSING to spend my time answering your misguided criticisms specifically regarding the Juno's Rap category. I am not a CARAS employee and I am not compensated for the time I spend as a member of the Juno's Rap music advisory committee, or for the efforts I make on my own to create awareness of the benefits artists get from submitting for the Rap category of the Junos (including countering all of your negativity directed at the Juno's Rap category). I spend my time doing all of this because I am trying to help as many Canadian Rap artists who are making quality music as is possible further their careers.

I want to be crystal clear, by making these posts you are actually undermining my efforts as your comments may encourage some solid artists not to submit for the Junos in the future. It would be a shame if your comments had that effect as getting as many Rap submissions as possible is the best ammunition the Juno's Rap music advisory committee has to convince CARAS to create a second Rap category for the Junos, which in turn would allow for more Rap nominees and therefore for more deserving artists to further their careers. I hope you consider that carefully if you choose to continue to try to criticize the Juno awards' Rap category and potentially undermine the efforts we are making to get as many Rap submissions as is possible. Regardless you can rest assured that if you continue to do so I will address every criticism you make about the Rap Juno as I have time; I want to insure that artists who may be reading this thread are as informed as possible so there is as little chance as possible that they choose not to submit because of something they read.

So getting right into it, an "equal playing field" without special treatment for any category would mean the TV broadcast being hours longer to accommodate televising 41 categories' awards presentations, do you really think that would work as a TV show? I can assure you CTV (who makes the final decisions regarding the Junos' TV broadcast) does not. Do you think anyone other than fans of Choclair are interested in hearing him thank his mother twice, or that his speech being televised would really have been a significant help to his career? Or that Shad's career would have been significantly bigger if his acceptance speech was aired last year? TV just doesn't matter like that anymore.

CTV is carefully choosing from 41 Juno categories to determine which 7 or so categories' awards presentations they want to air, balanced with performances and other commentary (again both of which did have fair Rap representation last year, contrary to what Kardi was quoted as saying in the first article you linked), to create a TV show that as many people as possible will watch (TV is all about ratings, that isn't going to change). It is a well documented fact that televised awards acceptance speeches lead to people tuning out and less viewers in general, so why would the TV broadcasters add more categories when it would hurt the viewership of their TV show? No matter what else you want to bring into the discussion, the bottom line is you are focusing on a TV show. I'm trying to focus on the awards themselves, and doing as much good as is possible for the Rap genre in Canada. That is much bigger than a TV show that most of the target demographic doesn't watch (and wouldn't even if the Rap category's award presentation was aired); TV is no longer the end all be-all for artist career development thanks to the internet.

That aside, it seems like you think UMAC is something it is not. It is not a difficult argument to say that the Stylus Awards are better than what the Canadian Urban Music Awards used to be. And while it would be great if the Stylus Awards or something like them were televised that isn't going to result in a bunch of people who aren't interested in urban music becoming fans of the artists highlighted in that show, which seems to be what you're suggesting would happen if the Juno's Rap category's awards presentation was televised. If someone isn't interested in what is on TV, they change the channel. Or in the case of A LOT of the urban music demographic, they weren't watching the Junos in particular or TV in general in the first place; they are on the internet, playing video games, making use of the numerous other pastimes that technology now allows, etc. With all the options people have for ways to spend their time most people just don't sit through things they're not interested in anymore, the world has evolved; keep up!

I'm not going to bother addressing the circumstances surrounding nominations and awards in the Rap category from almost 20 years ago that you choose to quote as those are no longer relevant to the musical community today, other than to say the examples cited only further serve to demonstrate why the way the Rap category is adjudicated now (with Rap-specific judges choosing the nominees and winner, which makes a lot more sense than the winner being decided by a voting of CARAS members) is the right way for the category to be set up.

With regard to the other article you quoted about Swollen Members not being known outside of their own city prior to winning their first Juno in 2001, not only is that bad journalism as it was incorrect but is just one more example of the kind of myopic blinders a lot of the Toronto-based musical community and media people seem to wear. By the time Swollen Members were nominated for their first Juno they had sold over 50,000 records (and since the writer of the article made it sound like Kardi should have won because he was more known I'll point out that this is more than Kardi had sold at the time) and had also toured the United States, Europe, and Japan multiple times by then. Just because they hadn't performed in Toronto or weren't particularly well known there doesn't mean they weren't deserving of the win. Swollen's first win should only reinforce the fact its not always the most popular artist who wins the Rap Juno, and that gives artists who make great music but aren't well known yet the opportunity to get recognition via the Junos which can be utilized to make substantial forward progress in their career development. Maybe if more of the Toronto-based music community recognized that it takes a lot more than airplay to have success more Canadian Rap success stories would originate from Toronto. Maybe in spite of the fact that a lot of Canadian media and music industry is based in Toronto it isn't the center of the universe, and maybe the Toronto-based music community could learn a thing or two from the people creating real Rap success stories outside of Toronto.

I too was disappointed Drake didn't win any of the Junos he was nominated for last year, but at the same time I don't think he should have won the Rap category just because he has had the most success out of any of the nominees. Quite the opposite in fact, I am happy that someone who has had less commercial success than Drake (Shad) won as it reaffirms that the Rap category is about quality music being recognized regardless of commercial success, and that it is not the popularity contest that is has been in the past (in the years that the winner was determined via a vote of CARAS membership, who definitely aren't knowledgeable enough about Rap to be making that decision).

Of course musical quality is subjective and open to interpretation, but at least there is the possibility of less known artists who make quality music being nominated, and its not a foregone conclusion that the best known or most commercially successful artist is going to win. Awards should be about recognizing artistic accomplishment, not popularity or sales. Otherwise what's the point of even having the awards at all, to reemphasize what people already know? The fact that the Rap Juno allows less know artists to be recognized is a great thing; bitch about how other Juno categories work all you want (I won't be responding if its not Rap-category related), just stop shitting on the Rap category as it is a lot better than it has been in the past and the music advisory committee is spending a lot of their time doing everything they can to insure it is as strong as possible.

Easy