Youth driven. Youth led. Manifesto's 106 & York is giving the future of Toronto's entertainment a platform to showcase their talents. Local entertainment groups Highclass and Rated Inc. brought artists and designers together for a night of performances and unity. "It's love for everybody regardless of what talent you have or regardless of what you're doing," said Rated Inc.'s Brandon Roache about the event. "United we stand, divided we fall. If your city doesn't support you where else can you go for any type of love?"

The show started with a beatboxing intro by Ballistik. Then the hosts of the evening, Bullet and Brooklyn gave the crowd a few laughs before letting the artists have their moment. Even the legendary Master T came out as a special guest co-host. He spoke about the youth being leaders amongst their peers and also about 106 being a platform to showcase talents. "[This event] actually bring[s] [youth] together and [has them] working together from different areas."

Many young acts showed they are not bound by their environment. Expressing art forms such as dance, spoken word, singing and rapping, performers Lydia, Lost Lyrics, Little Honeys and Pryceless, among many others, showed the crowd they can do it just as well as anyone else can. "This is my first time performing in front of a huge crowd," said rapper Pryceless.

After a brief intermission, Scott Jackson hyped the crowd with an amazing beatboxing stint. NISE clothing designers "rocked" the runway with models displaying their latest fashions. Famous, A-Game and Rich Kidd graced the stage representing Toronto's hip-hop future in a huge way. Daniel Daley and Kim Davis gave the crowd an R&B performance. The icing on the cake was Rated Inc. They electrified the crowd with a dance routine defining their status as arguably one of the greatest dance groups in the country.

Established Toronto producer Rich Kidd, who started out in much the same way, as a young rising talent in the city, left 106 proud of what the event accomplished. "It takes kids that have a lot of talent and puts them on stage in front of their own."

Words by. Shaun Bolden + Photo by. Adrian McKenzie