In 1986, a young and ambitious junior producer was tapped by MuchMusic to spearhead Canada’s first-ever TV program dedicated to exploring a full range of Black music. The program was Soul in the City and the producer was Michele Geister. The show’s hip hop segments were such a resounding success with audiences that Geister was asked to create and produce a separate program solely focused on hip hop. She would respond by launching RapCity, one of the most important hip hop platforms in Canadian history.  

Launching in 1989 and running until 2014 (with a brief hiatus from 2008-2010), RapCity was the first Canadian TV program to feature hip hop exclusively, showcasing a broad range of Canadian artists alongside well-known American and international acts. The show helped break countless Canadian hip hop artists to both domestic and international audiences and was instrumental in fostering a national hip hop community in Canada.  

To celebrate RapCity’s 35th anniversary, the AGO is teaming up with Toronto-based hip hop education group Roots Rhymes Collective for an event honouring the legendary show’s legacy. Live from Baillie Court on Saturday, March 22, Remembering RapCity: The Legacy of Canadian Hip Hop Television is a symposium featuring seven of the show’s past hosts and producers. Moderated by historian Francesca D’Amico Cuthbert and artist Matthew Progress, the panel conversations will cover multiple eras of RapCity’s history and will feature previous hosts Tony “Master T” Young, Nam Kiwanuka, Oliver Walters and Tyrone “T-Rex” Edwards, as well as founder and producer Michele Geister and videographer Basil C. Young. 

Before the event, Foyer spoke to Geister about the beginnings of RapCity and some of her most cherished memories from her time at MuchMusic.  

Michele Geister with Michie Mee. Image courtesy of Michele Geister.

Foyer: Can you share the inception story of Much Music’s RapCity? When did you develop the idea for the show, and how did you bring it to fruition? 

Geister: After laying the groundwork with rap coverage – including an extremely beloved hour-long Rap special – on Soul in the City in 1988, there were many pleas and petitions for a Canadian rap show that could not be ignored any longer. In early 1989, MuchMusic’s visionary program director John Martin called me into his office and told me I could begin to develop a half hour rap show, starting with the submission of a list names for the show. John liked Rap City but wanted to spell it RapCity [as one word] like MuchMusic or the NewMusic. Creative director Michael Heydon commissioned Toronto mural artist Runt to create an animated opening montage while I curated several tracks to use for the music bed. I strategized the special pre-produced elements and made them standard within the 30-minute run time, outside of music videos. Since not every episode had live production, I chose to have a weekly top five records chart to expose the maximum amount of music possible. Envisioning that this show would have the power to support, build and unify the culture coast to coast, I also created a segment I called, “The Canadian Hip Hop Nation” to share relevant information outside of concerts, allowing national networking through information decimation. MuchMusic already produced concert listings for other music genres so I made sure to submit details for rap shows to be produced to run on RapCity but also throughout the rest of programming cycle.  

Later on, when I felt we weren’t getting additional resources to expand coverage I chose to use my studio postproduction time to do live to tape recordings in the environment, showcasing the culture with MC cyphers, breakdancing and deejays performing-this was a cost-efficient way to highlight new talent. 

After determining how I wanted to structure the show, it was just business as usual—hunting down new exclusive videos and continuing to shoot interviews and live shows for content. The first RapCity episode aired on a Thursday afternoon in September 1989, after the Power Hour. RapCity was expanded to an hour in 1990 and then became a weekday Monday through Friday afternoon half hour staple on the network, during my tenure. 

Michele Geister with Naughty By Nature and MG. Image courtesy of Michele Geister

You also produced, directed and edited MuchMusic’s Soul in the City. What was your approach to producing a show that covered such a wide range of artists? How did you narrow down who/what to cover?   

Firstly, it is important to understand that the show was being produced without the aid of today’s technological niceties (Google, Youtube, streaming services etc.).  I researched via imported music magazines, listening to new vinyl releases from specialty record stores, networking via phone with labels or industry associates locally, south of the border or in the UK for exclusive videos, as well as noting what new videos released each week by Canadian labels. 

Our production style was a constantly evolving mix based on a combination of newly released music that had music videos, combined with the live shows and interviews that were shot locally or on the road.  Programs were produced weekly, often changing format from all videos to artist features, to retrospective stories, trying to balance coverage across the various genres of Black music while also giving a healthy dose of exposure to Canadian acts.   

Image by Laurence Dean Ifill

RapCity is of monumental importance in Canadian hip hop history. After producing the show for years, can you share two or three of your most cherished memories from your time there? 

I’m so grateful to have had the planets align with the evolution of my production skills and give me the privilege to create RapCity. My life was supremely enriched and taken on a metamorphic trajectory by hip hop culture. With so many treasured memories it’s hard to choose but here are several: 

1. Having my consciousness and awareness of social justice heightened by icons/teachers of the genre like Chuck D, Ice-T, KRS 1 and others via lengthy personal conversations. 
2.  Being flown out to LA to do the first Canadian interview with Snoop Dogg is another prominent memory. He was on trial for murder at the time, yet we were stalked by autograph-seeking schoolgirls as we set up the interview in an alley behind the Death Row offices on Wiltshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills.  
3. Following the Dream Warriors on their European and UK Tours with Gang Starr as their opening act is forever imprinted on my mind. Seeing the sold-out crowds going crazy and knowing every lyric, while I videotaped the tour to show the rest of Canada the heights our own homegrown talent had achieved, is another priceless memory.    

Remembering RapCity: The Legacy of Canadian Hip Hop Television is happening on Saturday, March 22 from 1 pm to 4 pm in Baillie Court, on Level 3 of the AGO. Get your tickets here.