Breakout Avenue

Exploring the diversity of hip-hop in Regina

victoria baht staff writer

On January 14 at 8 p.m., there was a very interesting event happening at The Exchange. The Exchange is a music venue that gives talented locals the chance to show their skills before venturing out to bigger commercial venues, as stated on their website. Dan Innes took the time to organize an event called The Jam: Breakout Avenue, which highlighted hiphop culture and dancers with an added special guest break-dancer from Vibes YQR.

We thought it would be good to bring you the background story of this event to take a bit of a different approach compared to a typical review. We did an interview with Innes to give you insight into what it takes to run an event at The Exchange, and what inspired The Jam: Breakout Avenue. Innes is an MC, goes by ThatManDan, and he has been pursuing music since 2015.

Can you tell us what inspired you to run this event?

The first reason is that hiphop in Regina is an underserved population, especially in terms of getting shows and having shows at different venues. […] The inspiration was to create awareness of the hip-hop community in Regina and give the opportunity for five acts to get the opportunity to perform and to be seen.

What are you hoping the vibes of this event are going to be?

Positive, and good times. I want to give a vibe of sharing the culture. Hip-hop has a culture that is made of four elements: breakdancing, DJing (turntablism), MC (rap), and graffiti. So, we want to share that information as well, not only are we a group and artists for that night but we are ambassadors of hip-hop and share that information to educate.

What influence will this event have on Regina’s hiphop culture?

We are hoping it raises the profile of hip-hop culture in the city. […] We all are hoping to gain some exposure and break down some stigmas around hiphop. […] This event is for all ages, and it can be a family show to create awareness.

Do you have any personal feelings or reasons why you decided to highlight hip-hop culture?

I think it has the potential to be helpful to people in so many ways. In my life, it has helped me in so many ways. […] I think overall it can be helpful. Even if you are just a listener to hip-hop that is an activity, listening is an activity. So, when you are listening and identifying lyrics and taking in even punch lines, […] and processing information while you do that, it is an exercise thanks to hip-hop. Thanks to all music to some degree, but it allows me to think of hip-hop as my governing body, my perceptions about life.

A different sort of twist-and-shout.

Photo: Lee Lim

How did you collaborate multiple different hip-hop cultures into one specific event?

I think how we came to it is that we wanted to attract a fair, well-rounded representation of what exists in hip-hop.

This event was free, but was a fundraiser for the General Hospital Mental Health Unit. Would you like to tell us why you choose them specifically?

Since 1998, I have lived with bipolar. […] It is an understatement to say these people have saved my life. […] The care they gave me was so huge and now we can do a fundraiser, raise some dollars, and give back to the community and unit so that they can support some other people.

We learned lots of new facts and information about hip-hop culture in Regina, and we hope you did too! We hope this event was a success for ThatManDan and all the other artists who performed.

Karavan: a shop of curiosities

Your local shop for all things creepy and cool

Regina has plenty of hidden gems waiting to be found. From The Broom Closet to Paper Umbrella, there are a variety of unique shops selling unique product. Karavan – Curio and Collectibles has all things horror, goth, and witchy. Name your area of interest and they will likely have something there for you.

Upon stepping inside, visitors are greeted with a friendly face and walls of dark merchandise. To the right are a variety of mugs and coffee beans with fun descriptions. Some were based on cryptids, and others famous horror movie villains. Despite how these might sound, the flavours look delicious. How could anyone go wrong with a salted caramel latte?

To the left is a collection of smaller items, from enamel pins featuring mysterious quotes and famous spooks all the way to larger patches perfect for that denim jacket. There are also some fun gifts ideas, like skull lip balms and sticker packs.

As visitors venture further into the store, it is much larger than it first appears. Everything is sectioned off, with a large clothing section towards the back, a wall of horror collectible figurines, a smaller music display, vintage VHS tapes, and even a unique boardgame section. I want to highlight a few of my favourite sections, though I could spend hours in here with everything there is to offer.

As a boardgame fanatic, I was immediately drawn to the wall of unique boardgames they had in stock. Most of them I had never seen before, and yet each one I picked up looked immensely fun. It’s clear that whoever takes care of the stock carefully selects their items. There was a Godzilla game with 3D figurines, and a cryptid card game (which I couldn’t resist bringing home with me). All of the games have beautiful artwork to match what are very clear sets of rules.

The shelves of Stranger Things merchandise tempted me with more than one item. More specifically, they had a metal Hellfire lunchbox that was absolutely dreamy. There were also a variety of character figurines, and even the Hellfire t-shirts.

Stepping into the clothing section gave me a similar feeling to stepping into Hot Topic as an edgy 14-year-old, only this place is so much cooler. There were dresses with checkered patterns and leather, themed – you guessed it – black and white. There were also a variety of classic tees with a good range of sizes. They had classic horror film prints, as well as vibrant graphic tees. Anyone with a dark sense of humour would find something to love here.

While out of my range of typical interests, the figurine wall deserves an honourable mention. There were more collectible characters than I could name, and each of them were uniquely created. The packaging was all in mint condition, and the organization was commendable. For anyone looking for a special figurine, particularly in the horror genre, this place is worth checking out.

Whether you’re someone invested in collecting merchandise for all things horror, or someone who is just looking for an interesting outing, Karavan is sure to impress. This place is fun to visit alone or with friends, and employees are always willing to lend a helping hand. This is hands down one of the best places to grab a fun and unique gift for someone, whether for a holiday or a little pick-me-up. Happy ghost hunting!

wren gessner a&c editor

in thaw