This past Thursday marked the finale of the 1999 summer run of Toronto'sIll-A-Mental|. Eight consecutive Wednesdays (which began July 14) werededicated to the manifestation of hip-hop culture by amalgamating talented'underground' U.S. and Canadian artists in a small, intimate setting.

A sweltering heat escalated among the 500 bodies packed into the ComfortZone nightclub when O.C. took the stage for the season closer. Despite thesting from the sweat that dripped into his eyes, the New York MC whipped theall-ages crowd into a frenzy with an amped-up performances of "War Games,""Dangerous" and "Time's Up." O.C. took great care at the end of his set toacknowledge the formidable talents of local opening acts Dan-e-o and IRS ofthe Monolith, who proved Toronto artists can clearly hold their own.

The brainchild of three Toronto promoters (REMG, Kola Kube Ent. and ClassicEnt.), Ill-A-Mental was created as an avenue to expose quality hip-hop acts.Says promoter Alok Sharma, "we wanted to make every show legendary so peoplewould walk away saying, 'I was part of the Ill-A-Mental movement.'" PreviousWednesdays showcased Slum Village, Da Grassroots, Bahamadia, various Torontodeejays, Mathematik, DJ Craze, The Rock Steady Crew, The Arsonists andMountain Brothers.

"We had heard about Toronto's scene, and were into the music we've heardfrom there, but this was our first time out of the US so it was new to us,"says Mountain Brothers MC/ producer Chops of the experience. "Bahamadia toldus she had a lot of fun when she performed there the week before. But thecrowd response was better than we even expected. They were catchingpunchlines, the freestyles, everything."

A little groggy the morning after the last installment, promoter JonathanRamos recaps Ill-A-Mental's success. "I loved the shows because for me, halfof the time I'm watching the incredibly live crowd, and that's what gets mecharged. As a promoter, it's nice to make money, but it was never aboutthat. What made it worth it was the kids that came up to me after lastnight, gave me pounds and told me: 'Ill-A-Mental made my summer.'" -Celine Wong