Ottawa’s annual hip-hop and urban arts festival, House of Paint, returns Sept. 10-14 and is reaching out to fans for a new stage after losing their previous stage to a harsh winter.
“Essentially the storage wasn’t the best it could’ve been,” said Patrick McCormack, the new executive director for House of Paint. “It was kind of like an industrial tent and the really harsh winter just blew it over.”
The organization has set up a GoFundMe page to replace key items inside the tent, including the dance floor, which was previously praised by performers.
“People who danced all over Canada said it was one of the best they’ve used for crew battle competitions,” McCormack said.
“We really want to replicate the dance floor itself and we’ve already proactively looked into better storage so we won’t encounter this same unfortunate occurrence,” he said.
McCormack also said he hopes to extend the reach of House of Paint, making it more of a year-round organization offering opportunities to artists with their new mentorship program that closes out the festival.
“The goals of the mentorship program are to work toward excellence in artistic practice as well as develop more networks and capacity in the business side of the arts so artists can self-manage,” McCormack said.
DJ So Nice, the production half of Ottawa rap duo Buck N Nice, was asked to consider involvement in the mentorship program for up and coming beatmakers.
“We put out our first album last year and had some lessons learned from that experience to share—practical stuff about planning and scheduling releases,” DJ So Nice said.
DJ So Nice is also involved in helping with a Beat League competition on Sept. 10, a first for the House of Paint festival.
“It’s a competition for beatmakers, but incorporates live performances from hip-hop artists too. That night will give you a little bit of everything—you get the beats, you get the DJs playing, and you have the live hip-hop performances,” DJ So Nice said.
Buck N Nice performed at least year’s festival and said they will be returning because of the positive atmosphere.
“House of Paint is a gem for this city and the community itself,” Buck N Nice’s MC Sawbuck said.
“It’s a beautiful festival for days on end where families come and see that hip-hop is a community and a culture that’s more than just the music—it’s a lifestyle.”
According to McCormack, one of the main goals of the festival is further connecting the hip-hop scene of Ottawa and potentially growing it more.
“As we see a lot of communities are becoming more disconnected, we’d like to become more connected,” McCormack said.
The festival includes dance crews, poetry slams, beat making competitions, and of course concerts. This year’s lineup features New York rapper Your Old Droog, along with DEMIGODZ, Black Moon, and more.
“In my experience, hip-hop is an art form that can bring people from a lot of different backgrounds or walks of life together, at least momentarily,” McCormack said.
