Image by Janice Lau

The Art Gallery of York University is pleased to present Vanguard Voices in Hip Hop, an event hosted by Britta B.

Leading hip hop artists Exmiranda, Keysha Freshh, and Sydanie each take the stage and spotlight in an outdoor performance showcase hosted by Spoken word powerhouse Britta B., celebrating how women MCs are shaping and leaving their distinctive mark on Toronto’s burgeoning rap scene.

Britta Badour, better known as Britta B., is a Toronto- based award winning artist, spoken word poet, performer, emcee, voice actor, and educator. Most recently, Britta was named the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Artist of 2021. Her work has been featured and performed across North America at the Art Gallery of Ontario, CBC Arts: Poetic License, The Walrus Talks, TEDx, and The Stephen Lewis Foundation. She is an alumnus of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity Spoken Word Residency and was a Toronto Arts Council Leaders Lab Fellow in 2018.

A stand out artist in Toronto hip hop, Exmiranda has developed a unique sound that combines rap, soul, funk, Afrobeat, and Afrofunk. Celebrated for her impeccable flow, Exmiranda gained international recognition when her song Steam was featured on the premiere episode of the Gossip Girl (Reboot) 2021. The audience for her music has grown exponentially thanks to her viral 5-second funk breaks on TikTok, with some garnering over 240K views. In 2021, Exmiranda organized Women in Hip Hop, an exhibition and series of performances presented as part of Toronto’s Annual Myseum Intersections Festival.

Known for her hard-hitting bars, Keysha Freshh is an acclaimed hip hop artist who has shared the stage with the likes of Drake Snoop Dog and Mc Lyte. Embracing the sounds of boom bap, Keysha’s music continues to evolve as she challenges stereotypes around what a female MC should look and sound like. Resisting misogynoir, Keysha Freshh is committed to ensuring that the contributions and legacies of hip hop matriarchs are celebrated and honoured.

A self-described supernatural rapper mom from the South Side of Jane, Sydanie is a ground breaking voice in Toronto hip hop. Called “one of the new faces of Hip Hop” by the CBC, her notable achievements include Purple Carousel being nominated for the 2021 SOCAN songwriting prize and her album 999 being long-listed for the prestigious 2019 Polaris music award. Crafted with lyrical dexterity, Sydanie’s songs are meditations on love, motherhood, and healing overlaid over rhythms of electro house.

Programmed by AGYU; Curated by Allyson Adley