The 6th Annual UNITY Festival takes over Toronto from  July 23 to 26, with some of the best hip-hop acts in the biz, with a wide line-up of break dancers, MCs/spoken word artists, beatboxers and bands including Maestro Fresh Wes, Biz Markie, Raz Fresco, Airplane Boys, Ball-Zee and many more.

The festival kicks off on Wednesday, July 23 with UNITY Beatbox at The Mod Club, in partnership with Beatbox Canada. Headlined by Ball-Zee, the 3rd annual beatbox competition will showcase Canada’s best beatboxers of all ages, from youth (aged 13-18) to professionals (19+).  I am always impressed by the skillz in takes in beatboxing. If you have not seen it done live, here is just a sample of Ball-Zee making it look so simple.

On Thursday, July 24, UNITY Break Dance will bring out North America’s top BBoys and BGirls for the 3 vs. 3 Under 19 Breakin’ Battle, headlined by Moy (Havikoro) at Tattoo. Moy has been a BBoy since the mid-90’s, so you know he knows what breakin’ is all about.

On Friday, July 25, in partnership with RISE, UNITY MC & Spoken Word will unify the two essential elements of hip-hop by bringing together Toronto youth MCs and spoken word artists under one roof at 918 Bathurst, headlined by Shaun Boothe, Amanda Seales, and Rudy Francisco.

The festival will end with a FREE show, presented by Tangerine, at Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday, July 26, featuring performances by UNITY Youth performers and headlined by some of the most sought-after hip-hop entertainers: Maestro Fresh Wes, Biz Markie, Raz Fresco, and Airplane Boys.

Piecez (Michael Prosserman) getting down… Photo: Freedom Photography via UNITY Charity

The UNITY Festival is UNITY Charity’s annual showcase event presenting the most dedicated and talented youth performers from across Canada. Youth performers are recruited from UNITY’s school and community programs and open auditions from the community. Founded in 2007 by Michael Prosserman aka Bboy Piecez, one of Toronto’s most preeminent B-boys, 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. You can read more about Prosserman from my interview with him last year.

With such an array of events throughout the four days, UNITY Festival offers a nice taste of hip-hop culture, while also promoting youth involvement and diversity. For full details on the festival, check out its website.