So you think you're a true hip-hop head? If that's the case, then you've likely been in attendance at one of Fredericton's fastest growing weekly traditions - Hip-Hop Night at The Capital. Every Wednesday of every week, open mics and turntables bring Fredericton DJs out to spin records, while their counterparts in rhyme, the emcees, appear to drop fresh freestyles or pre-written verses.

Organizer Scout aka Jody Wagstaff discovered the turntables just a year ago while in Vancouver and quickly fell in love.

"I started playing at The Capital when I first moved back to Fredericton in May, but I still didn't know much about the scene or about proper mixing or scratching techniques. I figured the best way to learn was by actually getting in front of people and playing."

His efforts would soon pay off as he quickly networked with local DJ's and promoters in an effort to shake up scene. He soon launched Urban Scout Productions in a professional attempt to help promote and unite a hip-hop community with enormous potential.

"During the summer we did a couple shows and promoted a few including the Low Pressure tour. This fall we decided to try something a little more organized, which turned into open mic Wednesday's."

Co-organizer, DJ STV aka Steve Hodgson, has had the Fredericton hip-hop scene locked down for nearly 20 years. At the age of 11, back in 1984, he started breakdancing and even formed a crew called The Barker Point Breakers. Shortly after that he donned the name King Cash and hooked up with emcee Jeff Jewett, known at the time as The Hated, and DJs Lloyd Payne and Stayfresh J aka Jason Lyons, to form the group P.O.R. (Prophets of Rhyme). They gained comparisons to a Canadian Public Enemy and even completed an album.

"We used to rap over beats that Lloyd made by mixing different instrumentals," reminisces STV. "He was the first DJ at the Cosmo back in the seventies and definitely sparked my interest for Djing. I have yet to see someone mix as well as him."

The loss of one's rhyme book can be traumatic, but for STV it led to his change from an emcee to a DJ. Since that loss he's been holding it down with his weekly hip-hop radio show 'Strictly Hip Hop' for almost 10 years on CHSR. He's interviewed Erick Sermon, Keith Murray, Maestro Fresh Wes and many others, while making connections with people from here to Cali.

He also joined forces with several other local emcees to form the Illogic crew, which currently consists of DJ STV, Apostrophe, Jed Nice, Monarch, Symphantry and Phakt, and who have an album in the works. He's also one quarter of the ear-turning group First Words, whose debut album is set to shock the world in the coming months.

His involvement with The Capital's hip-hop night naturally followed his life's path of supporting and promoting the underground hip-hop scene.

"We just wanted to give a venue for heads to come out and do their thing. We try to keep it positive and not battle, but sometimes egos clash and cats get personal. I've had to turn off the beat on emcees that get too personal. Our main goal is to build and not have people afraid to come up and rap."

So as this hip-hop night continues to grow, so do the skills of the emcees and DJs who venture out in front of the ever-hungry crowd. It's one night per week where Fredericton's conventional rock scene takes a back seat to the ever-growing trend of hip-hop music. It's a night that no true hip-hop head can pass up.