History
Necessity is the mother of invention, and in 1995, after recognizing the need to do something about the lack of exposure and promotion given to local female performers, as well as the lack of female representation on the business side of the industry, particularly in Urban music, we decided against just kickin’ sad raps about “too bad it’s like that” and came up with ideas on how to give exposure to and encourage more women to step up and over the existing biases and sexist attitudes. The first show was supposed to be the only show, a celebration of the publishing of an all-female entertainment magazine, but the enthusiastic audience wanted more, so:
PhemPhat Entertainment Group was formed in 1995 to foster the growth, education and promotion of women in all aspects of the music business, to break through and establish a presence in areas which have traditionally been “boyz clubs”, not only as artists, but also dj’s, producers, engineers, managers, label owners, and promoters.
Over the last 15 years, PhemPhat has produced the successful all-female talent showcase called “Honey Jam” featuring a wide variety of local dj’s and artists representing hip hop, jazz, gospel, reggae, blues, r&b, dance and spoken word. The Honey Jams are stellar showcases of homegrown talent. Hundreds of artists have played to hyped and capacity crowds including Nelly Furtado, Jully Black, Anjulie, Graph Nobel, Toya Alexis, Natasha Waterman, Melanie Durrant and many more.
PhemPhat believes in giving back to the community and has made donations from past Honey Jams to Big Sisters of Toronto, Each One, Teach One’s Sista 2 Sista mentoring group, the Immigrant Women’s Job Placement Centre, At the Crossroads Women’s Art Journal, the Coalition for AIDS Prevention, Breast Cancer Research, Sistering, and Voices of Positive Women. In 2005 we started working mainly to promote and donate to YWCA Toronto’s programmes for women and girls.
Here’s a rundown of the last 15 years:
1995
We did 3 Honey Jams that year, with the last one at Lee’s Palace as part of Jonathan Ramos’ Hip Hop Sundays. It was sold out, and we were on our way!
1996
PhemPhat expanded in the business of music and fulfilled its educational mandate by successfully launching an annual urban music seminar at the Harris Institute, the first ever seminar of its kind in Canada catering to the interests of women who wish to pursue careers in the urban music industry.
1997
We branched out to film promotion, coordinating CD release parties, artist promotion and theme parties.
1998
We started the Women on Wax dj showcases featured internationally on Ooh La La, a line of t-shirts and a dance agency.
1999
Highlights included having Honey Jam sponsored by New York’s Honey Magazine, we were pleased to welcome male panellists to our seminar, and our dance agency, now independently run under the name Blaze, was reviewed in the National Post as bringing the artform to a new level.
2000
We were proud to host the Canadian premiere of Rachel Raimist’s documentary on women in hip hop, Nobody Knows My Name and to premiere our spoken word focused event, Brown Girls In Da Ring. PhemPhat was also honoured in 2000 with a special Achievement Award by the Urban Music Association of Canada.
2001
Saw the meteoric rise of Honey Jam alumni Nelly Furtado and many other power moves in the PhemPhat Phamily in front of and behind the scenes in the industry, including the publishing of HoneyJam Magazine and receiving a nomination for Best Promoter in Canada at the UMAC Awards. Honey Jam 2001 broke attendance records necessitating a move to a larger venue for 2002.
2002
Universal Music came on board as our major sponsor, which made it possible for us to produce a promotional compilation cd of Honey Jam alummi entitled “Honey Drops.” Hundreds of hopefuls turned out at our June auditions, arriving 3 hours before start time with lineups a couple blocks long! Tickets began selling for Honey Jam 2 months prior to the event. We saw more of our artists making power career moves, getting signed, releasing cd’s and videos.
2003
The largest blackout in North American history decided to happen the night of the show, but we were too powerful to be stopped by a power failure, and rescheduled a few days later, delivering another amazing showcase of awe-inspiring talent. We were also nominated for 3 awards at the Canadian Urban Music Awards, including Best Compilation for the Honey Drops CD. Alumni Toya Alexis reaches Top 10 in Canadian Idol.
2004
We welcomed back Jully Black to a powerhouse performance – her first time back on the Honey Jam stage since 1995. Another first was the performance by an all-female rock band, Surface, from Saskatchewan, who won the coveted Honey Jam Hookup Prize Pak.
2005
PhemPhat CEO Ebonnie Rowe was honoured with a YWCA Women of Distinction Award, we celebrated our 10 year anniversary and participated for the first time in the Toronto Street Festival.
Flow 93.5 sponsored a major production prize worth over $7500. One lucky artist, Lori Nuic, was chosen by acclaimed producer Saukrates who will produce a track for her to be released by the end of the year. Renee Wynter walked away with the Honey Jam Hookup Prize Pak which included a gorgeous electric blue Yamaha guitar worth over $1,500!
2006
Another amazing year showcasing stellar talent. One of the featured artists, Cali goes on to get a role in the film Hairspray co-starring Queen Latifah.
2007
We partnered with Universal Music to produce the HONEY JAMS cd featuring local and international female artists. Degrassi Actor and Honey Jam alumni Andrea Lewis hosts along with Matt Babel.
2008
Ebonnie Rowe welcomes Vivian Barclay and Aisha Wickham Thomas as Board Members of PhemPhat Entertainment Group. Several members of PhemPhat are chosen to participate in the Luminato Mille Femmes photo exhibit featuring portraits of a thousand women from all artistic fields including art, architecture, dance, theatre, fashion, design, film, literature and journalism. Co-produced by Luminato and Lancôme, Toronto’s Mille Femmes captures inspirational women who embody the passion, heritage and inspiration behind Toronto’s artistic community. We welcome MuchMusic’s Sarah Taylor as Honey Jam Host!
2009
The recession hits! We’re refuse to become Recession Roadkill after 14 years we’re not going out like that, and so with relentless determination and the help of Factor, Toronto Arts Council, Socan, Slaight Communications and Nelly Furtado’s company Nelstar Entertainment, we made it through! Juno Nominee Esthero participated as an audition judge. Courtesy of World Vision, Tom Jackson, renowned performance coach to international superstars like Taylor Swift, travels from Nashville to coach Honey Jam artists at a workshop at the Harris Institute. Juno award-winning Alumni Jully Black participates in the workshop as well to share her career journey, answer questions and give advice. PhemPhat’s story is featured in a book written by U.S. BET executive Thembisa Mshaka entitled Put your Dreams First, Handle your Entertainment Business.
2010
We’re turning 15!! 3 artists from the 2009 show got signed Alysha Brillinger, Trish and Elise LeGrow. Kim Davis, an alumni from the 2008 show was nominated for a Juno. Honey Jam was prominently featured in the T. Dot Pioneers Hip Hop Exhibit (showcased at the Toronto Free Gallery) a documentation of the evolution of Toronto’s Hip Hop scene. Alumni Anjulie will perform on the Toronto leg of the Lilith Fair tour along with Mary J Blige and Sarah McLachlan where Honey Jam will also have an information booth. Alumni Nelly Furtado will be honoured on Canada’s Walk of Fame!
