"The first time that we had artists actually performing at our event was in 2018. We had an event called Nano Fest. We rented out an Airbnb rooftop and we called it Nano Fest because we billed it as a mini-festival. Basically, it had all the trappings of a music festival but it was tiny and we did everything. We were the vendor, we provided the stage, we hosted the event. We put out the call for artists and we got a number of young, emerging, really talented artists. It was a cool vibe. 66 people came, it was a sold-out event. It was a tough battle to launch the event, though. I would send out emails to potential venues, they would be very open to the idea and then when I would show up in person to confirm the booking, they’d be like, “I don’t know about the crowds you are going to bring” and deny us the space. So, we ended up paying a huge amount for an Airbnb spot and made it happen."

Peter speaks in the inclusive “we” pronoun but he shoulders the lion’s share of the work organizing the artist-driven gatherings. The recent OCAD graduate and entrepreneur possesses a low key, yet relentless drive when it comes to creating opportunities for artists to shine.

"I have to be honest, it’s scary! With Nano Fest I didn’t know any of these people before they performed. I put an email out there and it turned out to be a great show! These are people who hadn’t had a chance to grace a stage before and there were amazing performances. We don’t care what stages they performed on, or what accolades they have, for me, you’re an artist, just do it.

For UP2SUMIN we had planned for 3 events, September 21, 2019, January 11, 2020 and the third was to take place in June, then COVID hit and we thought we wouldn’t put the show on. Then the death of George Floyd happened and we know his death is not an isolated event in the States. What was different this time is people got in the streets, people we’ve never seen before got involved and they were finding out things that were happening to the Black community, our community, for 400, 500 years and they were filing social media so algorithms were picking it up. I didn’t want to take anything away from this moment, I wanted to see people organizing and understanding this history on my feed. Also, we had artists grieving from this moment saying they weren’t sure if they wanted to be singing and dancing at this time. So we put a pause on UP2SUMIN 3. Then, as I started to think about it, I thought Black lives can’t just be political, it can’t just be something that’s only associated with grief and death, so we’re like, “Alright. This one’s gonna be Black. Black, Black, Black!” We’ll call it #UP2SUMINBLACK. And everybody’s gonna like it, everybody’s going to enjoy seeing Black people singing and dancing, you know? In contrast to what we often see which is police violence."

So, it will be a digital gathering with open mic night and battle of the beatmakers. Is the goal of the event to make folks forget about the pain of anti-Black racism?

"Our responsibility is to make this event a moment that we’re experiencing joy but it’s not to take away from reality. We are planning to have folks on to talk about different things, different movements that are going on."

Such as?

"Such as explaining what defunding the police means, how long certain movements have been in existence and why. This is important and needed. I’ve seen people I’ve known my whole life reveal their experiences with anti-Black racism on my feed and I had no idea they went through what they did. So we will create a safe space for discussion and yes, we’ll have artists performing as well.

Listen, the news cycle is going to move on. In July, you’ll see people will start saying, oh, we did that, we marched, let’s move on! We feel incredibly lucky to be able to have Black artists, to have a community where we can put our Black artists in the forefront, and give our community a chance to show up and show the beauty and talent that’s within our community."

#UP2SUMINBLACK has been asking different artists for a Black joy quote, I was wondering what your quote would be?

"My Black joy quote is, 'We will all be free.'"

The celebration of Black artists will run from 7pm-10pm, July 4 beginning with a panel discussion on “Blackness in Canada” featuring NDP MP Jill Andrew, OCAD’s Dean of Design Dori Tunstall, the founder of unobscured open mic, Levyi Alexander-Love. Kimani Peter will moderate the discussion. Event details can be found at: www.LOUD.army/UP2SUMIN.

Rosey Edeh spent a decade (2005-2015) bringing the latest entertainment and pop culture news to the masses as a senior reporter on Global TV’s ET Canada. Building on her vast experience as a news anchor and TV personality as seen on CNN, MSNBC and Global News, Rosey has founded an award-winning production company, Micha Muse Media Inc. Movies, plays, art exhibits, good books and all things track and field get this journalist, filmmaker and three-time Olympian excited for life. Human connection, struggle and triumph, maintain Rosey’s mission to tell meaningful and even entertaining stories that hopefully offer readers insight, depth and even a little levity. Twitter: @roseyedeh