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a dynamic, all-female production company that works
to counteract some of the gender inequalities of the
entertainment business.
Her work has earned her many awards, including a
Special Achievement Award from the Urban Music
Association of Canada and, most recently, the YWCA's
Women of Distinction Award.
The daughter of a Barbadian diplomat, Rowe had to
look no further than home to find a role model. Her
mother Joan raised her and instilled in her the
value of community service and helping others. Her
father, Owen, aside from being a red cap porter,
diplomat and a WWII veteran, was a pianist and a
classical guitarist. Captivated by the role the
arts, particularly music, played in her community,
Rowe began early. “At age 3 I started studying
ballet, at age 5 piano, at age 8 singing in a choir
at school. I also write poetry.” In addition to her
parents’ example, her reading of the Autobiography
of Malcolm X at the age of 12 sowed in her mind
seeds of self-reliance. “He talked a lot about us
being responsible for our own destiny, and that
rather than sit back and complain, we needed to look
in the mirror first and ask what we were doing to
contribute to the solution. That struck a chord with
me.” With that background in place, the spark would
come unexpectedly in the form of personal tragedy.
While Rowe was studying English literature at U of
T, a friend of hers committed suicide. The loss was,
of course, devastating for Rowe; but, realising the
shortness of life, and the silent despair suffered
by many, she rebounded and took action. Determined
to have a positive influence on the lives of others,
she left school to co-found and direct a mentorship
program, Each One Teach One (EOTO), which matched
black youth with black professionals. EOTO was quite
successful and would spin off into two smaller
groups: Brother 2 Brother and Sista 2 Sista. In her
professional life, Rowe would wear many hats, yet
remain focused on the betterment of her community.
Her work as a journalist brought her to her next
idea.
In 1995, she edited an all-female edition of the now
defunct Mic Check magazine. The celebration party
for that issue, intended to be a one-off show, was
called “Honey Jam.” The success of the show pointed
to a void in the artistic community. Rowe formed
PhemPhat to help organise Honey Jam and to provide
promotional and educational services for upcoming
female artists. “PhemPhat focuses on promoting
exclusively female artists because traditionally
they have had a harder time of it, particularly in
the urban music genre, and at the time we started 10
years ago, shows featuring female DJs, rappers or
break dancers were practically non-existent.” Honey
Jam has become an annual showcase of upcoming
artists, where talents such as Tara Chase, Jully
Black and Nelly Furtado have performed.
The company would go beyond showcases to start a
magazine and organise industry seminars. “At the
shows I’d see artists being preyed upon by
‘producers’ and I feared they would sign contracts
that weren’t in their best interest in order to get
“put on” and access to very expensive studio time.
That is how the seminar was born – to provide them
with the basic knowledge of the industry they would
require to make educated decisions. It’s difficult
for a new artist to get any sort of media coverage,
and so we started our own magazine where we could do
in-depth interviews.” The company would also
organise other events to showcase women, including
the Women on Wax DJ series and a poetry/spoken word
event, Brown Girls in Da Ring. In 2002, PhemPhat
would release Canada’s first all-female urban
compilation album, “Honey Drops” and this year
released “Honey Jams,” also in collaboration with
Universal Music Canada. |
