Music Africa presents Afrofest

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Zion Joubert Johnson is an 11 year old student, musician, actor with a few live music performances and commercials already on his resume. His latest work was an endorsement to promote music in education through MusiCounts which was part of the 2009 JUNO Awards Broadcast. In addition to performing at community social events with his sister Kaya, he also performed to an audience of delegates at the Proclamation of Bob Marley Day by the Mayor of Toronto at City Hall. Zion loves sports, playing guitar, jamming with his friends in his basement studio, filming and travelling.

Kaya Joubert Johnson is a mature, enthusiastic and professional 7 year old actor and musician. She has done numerous commercials, plays piano and sings. Kaya performed Redemption Song to an audience of delegates at the Proclamation of Bob Marley Day at Toronto City Hall, leaving them in awe. She has performed at many other community social events. She enjoys music, school, playing with friends and filming.

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MissG was born in Scarborough and lived a childhood like many others on the outside but on the inside it was quite different. Personal tragedies in her childhood made her grow into the strong person she is today at twenty years old. MissG is powerful and inspirational woman with a real message to send. Writing since the age of twelve she was first encouraged by her 6th grade teacher to take writing and poetry more seriously. In the eighth grade she and three other class mates won a creative arts writing competition and had their work published in a young writer's book.

Joining the "Toast Masters" development class taught her to be comfortable when talking to crowds of people. This is evident when you see her stage presence when she performs. Not just a poet but also social activist, currently she's working on a project named "t.h.i.n.k" - a youth mentoring program for the GTA. MissG plans to unite all the youth because she prides herself on the belief that the children are the future and what is done for them now will be the building blocks to their destiny.

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Ngoma Small evolved from a collaboration between dance Immersion's Youth Arts Program (YAP) and Ngoma Dance & Drum Ensemble. This program provides a nurturing and supportive environment where children are given the opportunity to build self esteem and self discipline through expressions that relate to them. The organization has served over 7000 youth with programs designed for community involvement, exchange and education. Participants are provided with positive role models who facilitate social skills development and communication through movement and rhythms. The organization offers ongoing drum and dance classes that focus on rhythms and movement from West Africa while introducing and exploring other styles and techniques. Various classes are held at the Driftwood Community Centre in drum and dance for children from ages five to twelve. These classes are instructed by Yvonne Francis, Mafa and others. For more information, contact Yvonne Francis at 416-301-9142.
www.danceimmersion.ca

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Poet and artist Peter Bones was born in Ethiopia. He has always used music as a tool for social awareness as well as personal therapy. His sound is a combination of hip-hop, folk and alternative music. Well known in the streets of Toronto and one who has been an active member of the Canadian urban scene since the early 90's, Bones recalls working and growing up with artists such as K'naan and Director Lil X well before they both became internationally recognized artists.

Bones recently joined the Stolen From Africa Movement, which has allowed him to share his experiences growing up in the streets of Toronto with high school youth in underserviced communities of Toronto via peer to peer workshops. Recently Bones has been featured on MTV talking about his involvement at Sketch, a program that creates opportunities for street-involved youth.
www.myspace.com/torontobones
www.StolenFromAfrica.com

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Edward Ulzen (Kwame Stephens) is the coordinator/ producer/ artistic director for Afrofest Youth Zone. Since the inception of the Youth Zone at Afrofest, he has continued to be driving force behind Youth Zone. He continues to write - mainly poetry and stage plays. You can read some of his recent work in his notes on Facebook where he can be found as "Kwame Stephens". As part of Black History Month celebrations this year, Kwame's theatrical sketch Here Comes The Bus was staged. He also facilitated his interactive education workshops Postcards From Africa in two schools this year.

Ayodele

Born in Lagos, Nigeria to two young teachers struggling in a politically unstable environment, he came to Canada at the age of four where more opportunities were available to make it out of poverty.

As a student, he performed well but his passion remained with sports and music.After learning various instruments, he finally chose the microphone as his weapon of choice to cry out against the injustices of the world. Ayodele graduated from the University of Toronto in 2008 and hopes to use the knowledge he gained to serve as fuel for his musical ambitions.

Baobab Stage (Youth Zone) - Sunday 5:00pm

After graduating from the University of Toronto, Ayodele was stationed in Tanzania on a United Nations project. He has been sharing his poetic thoughts on Facebook. Whether through the mic or through a hopeful career as a diplomat, this young MC is definitely stampings his mark on the world. Ayodele has performed at several Afri-Youth Nites in the past and in 2006 he helped inaugurate the first Afrofest Youth Zone. We welcome him back to the new expanded Afrofest Youth Zone!

JayShawn Thomas

Baobab Stage (Youth Zone) - Saturday 5:00pm

He has also attended workshops at the National Dance of Canada organization. J’Tradz began professional choreography at the age of 15. His technical dance steps and hot and unique freestyle has made him a desirable choreographer in the industry. His creative influences were embraced by dance groups such as Myrsti Syck-wit_it, Baby Boys, and now S.M.P. J’Tradz has had the opportunity to perform alongside some of the industries finest dancers and choreographers.

His devotion and passion for dancing has landed him some inspiring opportunities, working with the industries hottest sensations such as Destiny's Child, Kelis, Missy Elliot, Keshia Chante, Mistro, Rihanna, Chris Brown and G-Unit, just to name a few. Performing in over 300 live showcases and many fashion shows and pageants, J’Tradz has proven that hard work does pay off and sticking to your dreams is the key to life.

www.myspace.com/j_tradz

Kgomotso 'KG' Tsatsi

cdbaby.com/cd/kgsings

Baobab Stage (Youth Zone) - Sunday 7:45pm
Baobab Stage (Workshop) - Sunday 4:00pm

Her song In Love paints her as the mirage of a jazz singer from another time. She pours her voice over you like a fine red wine; simply irresistible. But she is also a competent performer and dazzles audiences with her South African moves.

In Toronto she often lends her voice and guitar to support grassroots organizations, student initiatives or major galas to promote causes close to her. She also performs around Ontario with her R&B-blues band, ‘KG & the VIPs.’ For two years running she wowed the audience at “Honey Jam”, a female showcase which launched the careers of Nelly Furtado and Jully Black. KG was a winner of The Beat 91.5 FM’s Rhythm of the Future, and in 2007 she participated in the USA World Showcase where she made the top 20 out of over 40,000 auditions.
The future looks bright for this young international star!

www.musicbykg.com
www.myspace.com/musicbykg
www.sonicbids.com/musicbykg

King Poetic

King Poetic - The Greatest Show on Earth

King Poetic has embraced the culture and lifestyle of the ever-changing world of hip-hop and made it his own. As an early teen, without the presence of his father, King Poetic became a self-supportive youth, turning to the streets and honing his skills on every block.

Baobab Stage (Youth Zone) - Saturday 5:00pm

Ask King Poetic what he sees in his future and the enthusiastic but soft-spoken artist will waste no time in telling you like it is. “I’m here to innovate and change the people’s perception of music. I want the world to understand that us folk up North have a voice that needs to be heard. I plan to leave behind a legacy; I’m a pioneer in my own right.”

This talented young rapper’s artistry doesn’t end at just spitting rhymes, he’s also a songwriter and producer. King Poetic is ready to master and conquer Hip Hop culture with his unique perspective to send a message to a wider audience than any other individual before him. “I tell people all the time that I want longevity in this business, it’s the most important thing to me. From this moment on, I’m forever looking forward and never looking back.”

www.myspace.com/dpoetic

Kings of Kush

Together the men offer a unique style of grassroots hip-hop intertwined with new-age poetry, supported through traditional pan-African rhythms. The Kings of Kush are on the cusp of innovating and creating a new form of artist and storyteller.

Baobab Stage (Youth Zone) - Saturday 7:45pm

The Kings of Kush are currently performing in and around the GTA at numerous festivals, shows and high schools. They especially enjoy the opportunity to engage youth in both their art and their message. Each band member has recorded previous solo/group projects but they are now recording their first full album together and hope to deliver it to eager fans within the year. Currently a 4-track demo has been released is available online on their myspace page (below). Their music will open minds to a genre that ventures into uncharted musical territories. Songs such as Boogie Man and Heart of the Horn are immensely thought provoking and challenge everything from education to oppression to the hip-hop industry.

The Kings of Kush are currently in the business of creating crucial and thought provoking art meant to challenge and surpass the status quo. Their artistic mandate involves producing art that is intrinsically linked to their cultural heritages, allowing them to resonate with audiences worldwide. Encouraging all humankind to engage in conversations so desperately needing to take place, their anthems have the ability to unite people of all ages and backgrounds through both rich melodic structure and eloquent substance.

Kings of Kush will feature Kamau during their performance at Afrofest.

www.myspace.com/thekingsofkush

Lameck Williams

Lameck Williams - Over Now

www.myspace.com/lameckwilliams

Baobab Stage (Youth Zone) - Saturday 6:30pm

After nearly a decade of experience he has decided to release some of his powerful lyrics with a signature flow that he built over the past decade with careful and hard training. In 2006, Lameck was first discovered on the well-respected political activist Wasun’s album What Must Be Done. Lameck went on to release the first of his own products Kamouflage Kollage that featured the heavyweight Abdominal and Rapper Nish. Kamouflage Kollage was mainly focused on the 90’s sound with K.L producing and playing all the songs on Serato before pressing the copies. Last year, Lameck released an EP entitled Eclectic Soul Encounter, which blends various styles of music such as Reggae, Dub and Hiphop with Lameck’s lyricism that stays true to the form of Hiphop.

This year Lameck released his cd Over Now. Three years in the making, with production work by KL, Tyme and Simple P, Dutty Brucks and Anonymous D, the album has a classic remurmuring sound that brings back the joy and pride of the art form founded in Brooklyn. This cd is expected to blow a lot of people’s minds who thought that Hiphop is dead and attract old school listeners who are not content with today’s market.

Lameck says that you’ll be seeing him in his own music videos and upcoming movies. He’s planning to release a book of his poetry as well as more musical products that will be taking it to the next stage. After Lameck got engaged to his fiancé he has made it his life’s resolution to raise a family and live a fulfilled life, giving his gifts and energy to the joy and power of expression, mastery, love and durable fulfillment through his life’s work as well as helping others not so far down the path.

Samini

Without a doubt, Samini represents the future of African music and will continue to churn out the best of Music and hoist the African flag high.

www.saminionline.com
www.myspace.com/samini1

Baobab Stage (Youth Zone) - Sunday 6:30pm

At age 18, Samini collaborated on a single with Ghanaian singer Mary Agyapong, which featured his free-style lyrics and reggae/ragga style. Using the stage name “Batman”, his popularity grew as producers sought him out to contribute lyrics to over 50 other releases. There was a time when every hit song had Batman’s signature written on it. In 2004, he released his solo album Dankwansere, featuring the hit track Linda, which shot him into fame winning the Hip-life Artist of the Year and New Artist of the Year at the 2004 Ghana Music Awards. Two years later, he released his second album Samini which won him four awards at the 2006 Ghana Music Awards. Samini received international recognition when he was named “Best African Act” at the 11th annual Music of Black Origin (MOBO) awards in the UK. In 2007, he was nominated for MTV Europe Music Awards, Channel O Spirit of Africa Music Video Awards and the Radiophonie Prize in France. In February 2008, Samini won the Best African Artist Award at the Hip Hop World Awards in Nigeria.

Samini has shared stages with Sean Paul, Akon, Kevin Little, Shaggy, Wayne Wonder, Damien Marley, Bennie Man, Jay-Z, Chaka Demus And Pliers, Culture (of blessed memory) and Steel Pulse. His latest album, Dagaati (Know Your Roots), was released in 2009 and features collaborations with Etana, Steel Pulse, Sway, Nameless and others.

He is the most featured artist in Ghana and Samini has featured on over 63 tracks. He recently did collaboration with Steel Pulse from the UK and Etana from Jamaica. His industrious carrier has received international recognition which has earned him yours to many countries including the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, Holland and many more where thousands have trooped to the event site to be mesmerized with his performances.

Youth Zone Coordinator Edward Ulzen Edward Ulzen (Kwame Stephens) is the coordinator/ producer/ artistic director for Afrofest Youth Zone. Since the inception of the Youth Zone at Afrofest... Read more...	Kgomotso ’KG’ Tsatsi Kgomotso ’KG’ Tsatsi released her debut album entitled The Art of Love in April 2008, (available on iTunes and cdbaby.com. The music of this former South African Idol echoes the likes of Marvin Gaye, Lauryn Hill and John Mayer. Read more...	King Poetic is a Toronto-based hip-hop artist. He is a poet of life, a student and a servant of the Creator. He has taken the lessons that life has dealt him and created poetry like no other. With hits like These Days, King Poetic is proving why Read more...
Zion and Kaya Zion Joubert Johnson is an 11 year old student, musician, actor with a few live music performances and commercials already on his resume. His latest work was an endorsement to promote music in education through MusiCounts which was part of the 2009 JUNO Awards Broadcast. In addition to performing at community social events with his sister Kaya, he also performed to an audience of delegates at the Proclamation of Bob Marley Day by the Mayor of Toronto at City Hall. Zion loves sports, playing guitar, Read more...		MissG was born in Scarborough and lived a childhood like many others on the outside but on the inside it was quite different. Personal tragedies in her childhood made her grow into the strong person she is today at twenty years old. Read more...
Emmanuel Andrews Samini Emmanuel Andrews Samini, known in show business as SAMINI hails from the northern part of Ghana, specifically from a town called Wa. Samini is one of Ghana's biggest musical stars at the moment! His genre of music is a melodious mixture of highlife, dancehall, reggae and hip-hop, which he calls "African dancehall" .Like many African performers, Samini's introduction to music was through his church choir. At age 18, Samini collaborated on a single with Ghanaian singer Mary Agyapong... Read more...		Lameck Williams blends his talents as Rapper, MC, Freestyler, Actor, Poet, Social Activist, and Student of Business Administration - Marketing, and has insight in Social Sciences, Sciences and Technology. Lameck is a graduate in the school of Liberal Arts and Science, Read more...
Peter Bones Poet and artist Peter Bones was born in Ethiopia. He has always used music as a tool for social awareness as well as personal therapy. His sound is a combination of hip-hop, folk and alternative music. Well known in the streets of Toronto and one who has been an active member of the Canadian urban scene since the early 90's, Bones recalls working and growing up with artists such as K'naan and Director Lil X well before they both became internationally recognized artists. Bones recently joined the Stolen From Africa Movement, Read more...		Ngoma Small Ngoma Small evolved from a collaboration between dance Immersion's Youth Arts Program (YAP) and Ngoma Dance & Drum Ensemble. This program provides a nurturing and supportive environment where children are given the opportunity to build self esteem and self discipline through expressions that relate to them. The organization has served over 7000 youth with programs designed for community involvement, exchange and education. Participants are provided with positive role models who facilitate social skills Read more...
Youth Zone part 2

Youth Zone Coordinator

Zion and Kaya

Emmanuel Andrews Samini

Sponsors and Co-presenters