#2404 | musicians' fav 48 in Toronto
a rediscovered time-capsule tour guide from ten Toronto-based DJs & musicians on how they'd spend their dream weekend at home; what's survived from a decade ago; and the rabbit hole that got us here.
Hi friends!
Years ago, with my old blog Freshmen Friday, my cousin Karim and I would record interviews and short-form Q+A’s from various creatives we found interesting. That series quickly became my own personal source of: where to go for an after-work drink, what to listen to when I was licking my wounds from a heartbreak, even suggestions of friends of friends to connect with in x industry in x city, along my travels. For example, when I had a college-life-crisis and took a semester off to get as far away from New York as possible, and lived in Melbourne for 3 months, something like this became a bible of sorts. It was my very own Yellow Pages; my own little black book; a rolodex for all things of interest — essentially, a play-by-play lifestyle guide.
Working on Freshmen Friday also allowed me my passions: photography, writing, and good conversations. Most importantly, it provided me with a space (and the ability to hold space) for connection, creativity and community. Lately, I’m feeling strongly called to that same mission, so I keep wanting to revive that project. Hence this newsletter, in many ways.
But instead of doing what I usually do: get excited and preemptively decide that [insert new hobby here] is the thing I’ve been looking for to sink my teeth in to and build my dream business from (…and, cue the visions of grandeur); it need just be a couple of articles that live right here, so I can explore things first, instead of making up a whole business plan, an IG account, and general thing of it on day dot only to not follow through. So, enough of the self-deprecating ramble, let’s get into it!
To give you a better idea of what I’m on about and why this is a worthy rabbit hole to dive into today, here’s a little bit of context… I was tasked with putting together a multi-day luxury experience in Toronto for one of my clients. And at first, I was drawing blanks. To be fair, it has been a couple years since moving back to Los Angeles and I’m a bit out of touch with my Canadian roots. I was on the hunt for restaurants, bars, venues, local artists, sights to see. ‘Twas a job for my browser’s bookmarks, for my saved section in Instagram, and for my text history with my Mom. The search was successful and yielded a few results that sparked inspiration:
Passerby - an online magazine I’ve subscribed to since their start in 2015 that has beautiful write-ups, recommendations and intimate portraits of everyday women all over the world, who’ve offered readers an honest look into their lives. Eva Jorgensen is another one - a designer who used to run a stationary brand my Mom used to carry in her shop, who over time transformed the company into a creative studio, and then into travel design, where she curates retreats to France & the American West. Essentially doing the very thing I'm discussing, but with a Francophile niche. Then there’s (drumroll, please)… Steal My Vacation - a column on NY Mag’s the Strategist that guarantees to find those spreadsheet planner people (sound familiar?) who’ve already done all the work and have them walk us through a particularly wonderful, especially well-thought-out vacation they actually took, that we can actually steal.
This is typically the point in the rabbit hole where I respectfully have to eject. Or reversely, I double down in my research instead (as I’m doing now). I’d eject because that last link, especially, is so perfectly what I was imagining that it’s like why even try to do my own version, if it already exists? Well, for now, the answer to that is I have a lot of amazing and interesting friends that I 1) think more people should know about, and 2) that I want to not necessarily steal the itineraries for their own trips (or dream day, etc.) but to collaborate with and learn from them instead. A lifestyle school.
So I persisted - I thought about all the people I know doing similar things, and a rough itinerary quickly started to form. I imagined a breath-work course from Bianca Harris (who you may recognize from my last entry, or from Meg Thee Stallion hollering her name when the girlies needed a breather in her latest Nike campaign); stretching it out at the newly launched Toronto-based yoga center, The Yard, co-founded by Sam; or something similar to the residency KOTN recently did bringing friends and Canadian artists to their studios in Cairo, Egypt. I also thought about the Toronto-born, India-bred, and now LA-based NBNW opening in Fairfax - a project that I’m so honored and excited to be working on, with my dear friend Mriga (more on this soon). The list is truly endless. And the cultural cross-pollination has always excited me — for example, this is why Miss Lily’s was one of my favorite spots when I lived in NY (a restaurant converging Jamaican & New Yorker culture) or Sway Lounge (where all the Suedeheads there for the venue’s Morrissey night would mix with the Rastas there for MeLo-X & Jasmine Solano’s Electric Punanny party) — it’s the very reason anyone’s interested in suggestions from likeminded people to begin with.
To fine-tune all of these floating recommendations, I went back into my own archive — largely a disorganized array of Google documents, a graveyard of ideas, and old emails. Then I remembered these old Freshmen Friday questionnaires. And it all clicked. I patted myself on the back, feeling proud that even in my twenties, I had the foresight to be a hoarder of random musings - many of which will never see the light of day. Nonetheless, save from being slightly outdated, this list provided a thorough sampling of some of the coolest creatives I know’s favorite 48 hours in their hometown. And now I get to share my learnings with you! It’s not the weekend-of-luxury itinerary I’ve yet to deliver my clients. This version’s a more localized approach to Toronto, from the perspective of emerging artists.
What I’ve done for this first round-up (as I plan to do more) is surveyed all the Toronto-based folks in the music world that I had up on the site — DJs, musicians, songwriters, rappers, radio personalities, etc. I’ve consolidated their answers to questions like: where's your favorite place to eat, shop, dance, drink? And is there something in the city you haven’t yet done yet that you’d love to? To more lifestyle probes, like what’s your favorite song for: rising, exercising, getting ready for a night on the town? And what do you believe are the qualities of a life well lived?
So here we have it! — producer Bambii, rapper Sean Leon, DJ Me Time, the hosts of the beloved Pep Rally party, and more Toronto music-aficionado’s favorite 48-hours in their hometown…
Top of the morning, what are we listening to while getting ready to leave the house?:
DJ Me Time: Will Smith - Big Willie Style (album).
Sean Leon: Marvin Gaye - It's A Desperate Situation.
Jayemkayem: I have a 90s and 2000s R&B playlist that I love for the mornings. I recently rediscovered Monica's "The First Night" so I've been jamming to that pretty heavily.
Matthew Progress: Tears For Fears, The Prodigy and Donell Jones.
I’ve always lovingly seen Toronto like the 90s in physical-form. I can’t quite put it into words but there’s just a level of unmatched nostalgia that exists in the air there. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside; makes me smile with my heart. So I’m glad to see I didn’t make that up, and that everyone’s music selections here reflect this idea that we’re perhaps collectively stuck in the past? We know what’s up.
Where's your favorite place in Toronto to shop?:
This one was a resounding: thrifting along Queen Street West. Dre Ngozi opted for Black Market with Syd Beaumont choosing it’s sister boutique Public Butter; whereas Matthew Progress’ fav was Mama Loves You Vintage; and Sarah mostly thrifts in Arizona while visiting her Mom, but when in Toronto, she picks Space Vintage —
“when I walked in to hear Natasha blasting Honey Dijon's Sugar Mountain set, it was love at first sight! It's a dangerous place because you literally can't go there without falling in love with something. I also love that they're a WOC mother-daughter team (though you would totally think they're sisters!)”.
There was also the Queen West staple, F as in Frank, whose legacy still continues online. And if you were really around back when, you might recall ‘The Art of ReUse’ pop-up trunk shows that Sean Brown used to host — the original version of his now SSENSE-stocked houseware brand Curves, that’s all the craze. We also love: Livestock, and Ghanaian Canadian designer SP BADU.
I’ll add a caveat here that these answers were logged quite a few years ago, so while everything included is still open (which is a pleasant surprise), I’m sure as our tastes -and hopefully salaries- evolve throughout the years, our selections would too. That said, I must add my 2024 two-cents here to throw VSP Consignment into the mix. This luxury consignment boutique is one option I don’t think was around back then, but even if it was, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. Now, it’s my go-to for rare specialty splurges (i.e. where I found a matching vintage JPG shirt to one my Mom rocked in the 90s, allowing me to add to my now small but mighty collection).
What are your go-to tunes for exercising?:
DJ Me Time: UZ ball trap makes me feel like I CAN LIFT BRO. I also just DJ'd a spin class and 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue' was such a bop.
Sean Leon: Frank Ocean - Slide.
Jayemkayem: "I Am A God" or "Black Skinhead" from Yeezus both do it for me every time.
Matthew Progress: At the gym it depends… lately it's been A$AP Ferg.
Next up, where's your favorite place to eat?:
The Asian culinary scene in Toronto is a particular highlight among the group — with Santouka Ramen, Mother's Dumplings, the spicy tuna hand roll at 416 Snackbar, and the tofu soup at Buk Chang Dong in Koreatown taking the top spots.
As a former Toronto native myself, I must add in a couple of my old favorites here too:
Imanishi Kitchen (get the the hamachi sashimi, corn kakiage, and the taro root ice cream for dessert); Rhum Corner (must try the accra and the griot at this Haitian / Caribbean gem); and Maha’s Egyptian on Queen East for brunch (the date grilled cheese with the lentil soup is quite literally what my dreams are made of).
For a bit higher-brow, there’s of course Terroni (whose LA location I’d frequent weekly when I first moved here as a nostalgic reminder of Toronto) and Giulietta for Italian, or Bar Isabel for Spanish cuisine. For fast food — Sarah’s been going to Burger Shack for 25+ years, “they've watched me grow up and as soon as I walk through the door, Joe starts cooking up a chicken burger and fries for me. It's just the most comforting comfort food there is.” Whereas, Just John’s guilty pleasure is Chito’s Pizza (various locations), where they serve up shawarma on a slice, “a genius invention.” Which brings me to my next question…
It’s a night out on the town — what are we listening to?:
DJ Me Time: Anything out on Night Bass Records.
Sean Leon: Max B - Baby I Wonder.
Jayemkayem: Right now it's "Bartier Cardi" or anything by Missy Elliot.
Matthew Progress: Leikeli47's album 'Wash and Set'.
***And because he won’t, I’ll add in a banger by Progress himself - see below:
And where are we going?:
Now this is an important and interesting insight for Toronto — a city that even before the pandemic, witnessed more industry closures than openings, and with a reported 96% of Canadian music venues at risk of failing in 2020, many of these answers were collected at a time of “venue crisis” there. Four years later, and not much has improved. If anything, it’s gotten worse. Not a single small music concert hall or bar mentioned in the original answers is still around, so it’s incredibly important, now more than ever, to support our local businesses y’all! But, not all hope is lost, as there’s a plethora of DJ’s to keep an eye on their dates and where they’re playing, since we can’t rely on the city’s venues to be a fixed, reliable source of entertainment.
The general displacement is felt by the group; with many of them opting for a night in as their favorite dance spot: “at home in my living room”, “anywhere I can control what's playing”, and “I have a wall of mirrored closet doors, so you know it gets sexy.”
Otherwise, “honestly, anywhere Karim or Bambii is DJing. I always know I’ll be whining up when they’re playing.” Conveniently, we interviewed both Karim and Bambii and included their answers here. Yes Yes Y'all is another event not-to-be-missed.
The bars mentioned that have made it through include: Apt 200, Cold Tea, 416 Snack Bar, Bar Raval, and lots of votes for Rhum Corner which is now making the list for the second time. First for its food, and now for its drinks and overall vibe. Not mentioned earlier, is Roland — the co-owner who you will see if you go there, which I love. He’s usually sitting in the corner at the bar or on the bench outside.
Maybe one day, I’ll do an updated round-up of friend-owned businesses that have been added to the mix, that I make sure not to miss when I’m in town. For example, this list would include Manita for coffee, breakfast, and lunch; then strolling down the street to the hidden-under-a-laundromat, Bar Bowie, for drinks, and familiar faces. AKA my where everybody knows your name spot.
Welp, that’s all folks! Thanks so much for reading. See you next time! x
Soooooo goooood! (and not just because I'm your mother!)...😘