Isolated in Northwestern Ontario can bring out the best and worst in some people. The region is an oasis of natural beauty and a very clean atmosphere. So you wonder to yourself, what are people in Thunder Bay rapping about. Well you see Thunder Bay is like any other city in North America. You have your rich folk, you have your poor folk and you have your plain old' grimy folk. The hip hop culture started to actually boom in the 1990's, but stems back to the 80's with break dancing. Hip Hop in Thunder Bay actually started to really boom in 1995 when Canadian rap started to get more exposure across the Country. A group of emcees from Toronto and Vancouver went on a cross Canada tour and decided to stop in Thunder Bay. It was titled the Rap Essentials Tour which happened in 1996 at a night club "Stages". It featured such acts as Saukrates and Choclair; these acts would later sign major label deals. As the years went on touring acts from Canada would make pit stops in Thunder Bay to collect a few extra dollars. The majority of actual shows really started to hit in 1999 when Sub Zero Entertainment hosted a regional DMC DJ Championship at the Apollo. This was the first of its kind in Thunder Bay and over 200 patrons jam packed the sweatbox of a bar the Apollo is. From there the boom really hit over the next few years with shows on a bi-monthly basis with local acts such as Maddpsyense, Rogue, Dj Wurlwind, Bravo, Wax Philosophic, and Dystrakted. DJ's were huge for the first few years, but this eventually died down and the MC was back at the forefront. Weekly MC battles at "The Zoo" would bring in crowds of upwards of 600 people and touring acts such as Naughty By Nature and 2 Live Crew would grace Thunder Bay stages. It seems that rap music isn't really a fad, and the people who know the history in the city know the people working hard to preserve it. So next time you go to a hip hop show remember that if it wasn't for a few local bar owners and a few kids trying to their favourite music popular in high school you wouldn't be seeing what you are seeing today.