Dance Appeal
Can't Repress The Cause, originally titled Dance Appeal: Can't Repress The Cause, better-known as Can't Repress The Cause, was a Toronto-based supergroup of politically-motivated Canadian hip hop, rap, reggae and soul artists that made up the monumental 1991 Can't Repress The Causecampaign[1] for greater recognition and representation of historically Black cultural-rooted artistic works within the Canadian music industry.[2] Led with the release of the soundtrack single titled Can't Repress The Cause,[3] the carefully crafted song title composed to capitalize on the dualities of "CRTC" initialism,[4] the socio-politically driven public campaign was sparked as a direct response to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's 1990 decision that denied an FM radio license to Milestone Radio for what would have become Canada's first urban music station.[5]
Participating artists included Maestro Fresh Wes, Dream Warriors, Michie Mee, B-Kool, Eria Fachin, Lillian Allen, Devon, HDV,[6] Dionne, Thando Hyman, Carla Marshall, Messenjah, Jillian Mendez, Lorraine Scott, Lorraine Segato, Candy Pennella, Self Defense, Leroy Sibbles, Zama and Thyron Lee White.[7]
The song, Can't Repress The Cause, received a Juno Award nomination for Best R&B/Soul Recording at the Juno Awards of 1991,[8] and the music Video Can't Repress The Cause won the MuchMusic Video Award for Best Dance Video.[9][10]
References
[edit]- ^ TheRealDonCarlito (2014-11-23). '91 "Cant repress the cause" Much Music Video Awards. Retrieved 2025-06-21 – via YouTube.
- ^ Weaver, Jackson (August 11, 2023). "Canadian hip-hop got huge without help. It shouldn't have had to, say artists". CBC News.
- ^ Wheeler, Brad (2024-02-22). "Maestro Fresh Wes becomes the first ever hip hop recipient of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ "Song has a double message: Dance song disputes new FM station licence". The Globe and Mail, September 21, 1990.
- ^ D’Amico-Cuthbert, Francesca (December 6, 2021). ""We Don't Have Those American Problems": Anti-Black Practices in Canada's Rap Music Marketplace, 1985–2020". Canadian Journal of History. 56 (3): 320–352. ISSN 0008-4107.
- ^ Jacky Jasper (2024-02-26). Dance Appeal - Can't Repress The Cause (HDV Performance 1991). Retrieved 2025-06-21 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Urban Music" Archived November 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Rap music makes presence felt in '91 Juno Awards nominations". Montreal Gazette, February 7, 1991.
- ^ "Crash Test Dummies pick up MuchMusic's top video award". Waterloo Region Record, September 30, 1991.
- ^ "Dance Appeal: Can't Repress the Cause (Music Video 1991) - Release info". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-06-21.