June 21, 2012 — RapFestWest is the inaugural showcase of what will be a series of shows featuring independent western Canadian hip hop artists. The event will take place at the republik as part of the Stampede After Dark and will feature a variety of Canada’s finest up and comers and established artists in the Canadian hip hop world. The diverse lineup features: Son Real (Vancouver), Dragon Fli Empire (Calgary), Politic Live (Edmonton), MitchMatic (Edmonton) and Tru-Ly (Calgary).

About Son Real (Vancouver)
On February 28th, 2011, SonReal released the highly anticipated full-length project titled, Where’s Waldo? Labeled SonReal’s most diverse work to date, this project showcases raw creativity and demonstrates a clever approach to Hip-Hop music. Where’s Waldo? features some of Canada’s most respected artists such as Eternia, Saukrates and fellow up and comer, Rich Kidd. The album recently went on to be nominated for Best Rap Recording at the 2011 Western Canada Music Awards.

SonReal is currently putting the final touches on what is to be his best work yet. Fresh off the success of a number of releases online, SonReal is preparing to drop the highly anticipated album, Good News. Featuring some of Canada’s top producers such as Arthur McArthur (Drake, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne), Chin Injeti (Eminem, Dr Dre) and MoSS (Eternia, Obie Trice). Good News will captivate a much larger audience and solidify SonReal as one of Canada’s hardest working hip hop protégés.

About Dragon Fli Empire (Calgary)
Dragon Fli Empire is on the rise. The Calgary based duo, comprised of Cosm (DJ, producer) and Teekay (emcee, producer) have quickly become one of the city’s more popular groups, gaining respect from a wide variety of music lovers for their upbeat, melodic and positive sound.

About Politic Live (Edmonton)
Politic Live is a hip-hop group that fuses their West Indian roots with past and modern day hip-hop influences. Their name, which represents the balance of art and commerce, is reflected in their subject matter which ranges from songs about the cons of Alberta’s economic boom, rising violence in Edmonton, to finding companionship. Together since 2002, Politic Live’s most notable work is their 2006 sophomore album, Adaptation. Praised for its honest lyrics, varied topics, and diverse sound, Adaptation also received critical acclaim in both Canada and the US along with multiple Award Nominations.

Politic Live’s body of work includes having 4 music videos added to rotation at Much Music; touring western Canada on multiple occasions; being awarded over $100,000 in grant funding since 2006 from organizations like the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Edmonton Arts Council, & FACTOR; showcasing at nationally recognized music conferences like Canadian Music Week, New Music West and the Western Canadian Music Awards (aka Breakout West); opening for the likes of Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and Nas; and syncs in indie films like Doppelganger (Phyraz Production), By Waist Side (Santoro Pictures), and Halo (Diluvian Motion Pictures). Politic Live is presently preparing the release of their third album, Ellipsis.

About MitchMatic (Edmonton)
In 2010 Mitch released his first mix-tape “Two Weeks Off” to much acclaim. The pre-debut charted nationally on Earshot and elicited invitations to open for Big Boi (Outkast) and Chali 2na (Jurassic 5) among others. 2012’s follow-up “It’s Probably Raining” (considered a debut) pushed his music even further. It recently reached #2 on Earshot’s National Hip-Hop charts and caught the attention of local Edmonton station Sonic 102.9, who made Mitchmatic their band of the month for April. The record’s single “Why Don’t You Know” debuted on NPR’s All Songs Considered, with the accompanying music video still creating quite a buzz online.

Mitch has performed for several Edmonton Poetry Festivals, The Works Fest, The International Fringe Fest’, Improvaganza, Metropolis, TEDx Edmonton, and NextFest to name a few. He was also invited and intends to play at the 2012 Winnipeg Jazz Fest’, with more dates set for the remainder of the summer.

About Tru-Ly (Calgary)
Tru-Ly is an up and coming Calgary hip-hop act who recently collaborated with Calgary’s Transit on the track Runnin’ Around.