A dope hip-hop initiative from CBC and Manifesto.

Blurb taken from theManifesto.ca:

CBC Radio… announces THE HIP HOP SUMMIT, a month-long celebration of Canadian hip hop throughout March 2011. Canada’s pre-eminent artists, community groups and advocates join forces to showcase Canadian hip hop with special programming, interviews, artist spotlights, performances and much more.

THE HIP HOP SUMMIT presents an unprecedented and historic event– an exclusive gathering of the biggest names in Canadian hip hop performing on one stage including: k-os, Kardinal Offishall, SHAD, Saukrates, Classified, Maestro, Michie Mee, Red1 of The Rascalz, Choclair, Ghetto Concept, Reema Major, Cadence Weapon, Skratch Bastid and many more. The event will be broadcast live on CBC Radio 3 and will be taped for future broadcast as well as online streaming. Throughout the month of March, tickets to the taping will be made available through contesting by various community partners and CBC Radio 2.

Hip hop music and culture have been a vibrant part of Canada’s national fabric for more than 25 years. CBC celebrates this unique contemporary art form in partnership with Manifesto Community Projects and Northside Hip Hop, with project mentor broadcaster/author Dalton Higgins and project advisor/MC Adhimu “Mindbender” Stewart.

More details after the jump!

“Hip hop is such a vibrant part of contemporary culture,” said Mark Steinmetz, director of radio music for CBC. “We are incredibly excited to honour Canadian hip hop as both an art form and a movement with The Hip Hop Summit – a celebration of this magnitude has never been experienced by Canadians before.”

Highlights of THE HIP HOP SUMMIT include:

March 1 – April 1: cbc.ca will feature an interactive timeline, podcasts, playlists and interviews exploring the cultural force of Canadian hip hop over the last 25 years.

On March 28, 2011, a week-long series of profiles, concerts and interviews begins on all three national radio networks (Radio One, Radio 2 and Radio 3).

On March 29, 2011, a live taping of the performance by the biggest names in Canadian hip hop will take place at the CBC Broadcasting Centre in Toronto and broadcast live on CBC Radio 3.

Highlights from the performance will be featured on CBC Radio One and CBC Radio 2 as well as on cbc.ca.

On April 1, 2011, THE HIP HOP SUMMIT culminates in a free, day-long public celebration in the Barbara Frum Atrium of the CBC Broadcasting Centre in Toronto. Featuring breakdance and street dance, hip hop, live visual arts, beat box, turntablism, and The Freshest Goods fashion market and more, this event includes:

· Panel discussions focusing on the evolution of Canadian hip hop, issues of the past, the current landscape and a look to the future;

· T-Dot Pioneers 2011: The Glenn Gould Remix, a visual exhibit documenting the history of hip hop in Canada that will be featured at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto during the week of March 28 – April 2, 2011;

· And the video broadcast premiere of THE HIP HOP SUMMIT performance featuring the biggest names in Canadian hip hop.

Manifesto Community Projects is Canada’s leading urban music, arts and culture festival bringing together hundreds of artists and performers with thousands of attendees to unite, energize, support and celebrate Toronto’s vibrant urban music and arts community.

Northsidehiphop.ca is an online archive that aims to capture the many oral histories that best embody the essence of hip hop’s youthful exuberance in the 1980s and 90s.

Dalton Higgins is one of Canada’s foremost experts on hip hop culture. His books, including Hip Hop and Hip Hop World, are used in classrooms across Canada and the United States.