Some young hip-hop artists from Drumheller and beyond put together their MC skills to raise funds to fight cancer.
The first annual Hip-Hop for a Cure event went on March 25 at Neighbours Pub in Drumheller. Local artists such as J McLean and Limitlis MC were joined by other hip-hop artists from across the province for the benefit concert.
Thomas Schow, who also goes by Apollo XCII said they have been working on the event for a few months.
“My dad passed away from cancer when I was 17, so when we finally got to the stage of wanting to do an event, we wanted to do something that gave back to the community,” he said. “We wanted to do something cool and that was my first choice for a charity.”
When all was said and done, they were able to raise just over $500 and presented it to the Drumheller Area Health Foundation for the local cancer unit.
The event also showcased a growing hip-hop community. Schow explains there is a number of local MCs who have been honing their craft, and Drumheller is also becoming a popular venue for out of town artists.
“We are growing as a place for artists from Alberta to come to,” he said.
He says there is strong support to make this an annual event. “We’ll see how much bigger and better we can get next year,” he said.