Maestro Fresh Wes & Rich Kidd Unite The Toronto Hip-Hop Scene (Video)

Toronto’s Hip-Hop scene has been making some noise lately, with Drake skipping the Grammy Awards to host a King Of The Dot battle-rap event, and now Maestro Fresh Wes and Rich Kidd releasing a new music video for “Born In Toronto”. For those who don’t know, Maestro Fresh Wes is a Toronto Hip-Hop legend, releasing six albums between 1989 and 2000 before going on a hiatus to focus on an acting career. He appeared in Hip-Hop-related films including Honey (2003), Four Brothers (2004), and Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ (2005), before returning to music with 2013’s Orchestrated Noise. Some of Maestro’s notable singles include “Drop The Needle” from 1989’s Symphony in Effect and a Showbiz (D.I.T.C.) remix of “Bring It On” from 1992’s Naaah, Dis Kid Can’t Be From Canada?!!.

Rich Kidd on the other hand, is a newer, younger rapper/producer/film director who has produced beats on Drake’s Comeback Season mixtape and Talib Kweli’s Gravitas album. He’s also previously worked with Maestro on Orchestrated Noise.

maestro fresh wes

The new song, “Born In Toronto” has hometown legend Maestro trading bars with Rich Kidd about growing up in Toronto. They also touch on some of the struggles the city has had to face, including the G20 protests and a famous, crack-smoking mayor. Maestro and Rich Kidd are able to provide interesting perspectives on the city, as they are nearly 20 years apart in age. The video itself shows them in various parts of Toronto including live performances in Dundas Square, the Scarborough streets, and even scenes from the city’s famous Caribana Festival. There are also cameos from other Toronto Hip-Hop stars including Kardinal Offishall, Shad, and Solitaire, among others.

While it is unclear if Maestro has any music-related projects coming up, he currently has a regular role on the CBC hit comedy series Mr. D. Get a taste of Toronto in the video below:

Related: Listen to the Best Hip-Hop of January 2015 in One Playlist (Audio)