Jordan Manners, Smugglaz & Pressa: The Toronto Rap History Behind Before The 6

As May brings renewed attention to the story of Jordan Manners, WorldWide Entertainment TV is revisiting a deeper Toronto history connection that goes beyond headlines.

Jordan Manners was only 15 years old when he was shot inside C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute on May 23, 2007. His death shocked Toronto, led to a school lockdown, and became one of the city’s most painful youth-violence tragedies. CityNews reported at the time that police found Manners with a gunshot wound at the school after initially receiving a call about a possible drowning, and he later died after being taken to hospital.

Years later, his name still carries weight in Toronto. Not only because of the tragedy, but because Jordan Manners’ story is connected to a wider era of Toronto hip-hop, neighborhood history, and the early SmugglazTV foundation that WorldWide Entertainment TV documented long before Toronto rap became a global conversation.

Jordan Manners’ Story Still Matters

Jordan Manners was a Grade 9 student at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute in the Jane and Finch area. His killing became a watershed moment for Toronto because it was reported as the first time a student was fatally shot inside a Toronto school. CityNews’ case timeline notes that Manners’ death triggered citywide concern, arrests of two youth suspects days later, and calls from his mother, Lorraine Smalls, for an inquest into what happened.

The case continued for years. Two youths were charged in connection with his death, but because they were minors at the time, they could not be publicly identified. A later trial ended in a mistrial after jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict.

For Toronto, Jordan Manners became more than a name in a news cycle. His story became part of a larger conversation about youth, school safety, gun violence, community trauma, and how quickly a young life can be lost.

The Smugglaz Connection: “45th Dumpin” and Before The 6

For longtime WWETV and SmugglazTV supporters, Jordan Manners is also remembered through Toronto rap history.

Jordan appeared in the Smugglaz music video “45th Dumpin,” a record and visual tied to an earlier era of Toronto street rap. The video is remembered by many local hip-hop fans not only because of Smugglaz, but also because it included a young Pressa, years before Pressa became one of Toronto’s internationally recognized rap figures.

That connection is important because it shows how much Toronto history was already being documented before the city was branded globally as The 6.

Before Drake and OVO made Toronto a worldwide hip-hop reference point, there were local crews, street DVDs, mixtapes, neighborhood videos, and independent platforms documenting the city’s rap culture from the ground up.

Smugglaz were part of that foundation. WWETV’s original YouTube presence, SmugglazTV, grew from that world.

Sticky Green’s Tribute and WWETV’s Archive

WWETV also connected the story through Sticky Green of Smugglaz, who appeared in the platform’s 2016 Before The 6 Toronto Rappers and Hip Hop Documentary.

In that archive footage, Sticky Green spoke outside Jordan Manners’ house, adding a personal and historical layer to the connection between Jordan, Smugglaz, the music video era, and Toronto’s early rap documentation.

Sticky Green also honored Jordan Manners musically through “The Kids,” a tribute video that remains part of WWETV Media’s archive. The song and video reflect the grief, memory, and community pain surrounding Jordan’s story while keeping the focus on the young life that was lost.

This is why WWETV is revisiting the footage now. It is not only about a viral throwback. It is about making sure Toronto’s foundation stories are not forgotten.

Young Pressa, Smugglaz, and the Era Before Toronto Went Global

The appearance of a young Pressa in the same Smugglaz-related visual world makes the archive even more important.

Today, Pressa is recognized as part of Toronto’s modern rap export era. But footage like this shows how connected the scene was long before global attention arrived. The younger generation did not appear out of nowhere. They came from neighborhoods, families, older crews, local music videos, and a city that was already creating its own hip-hop identity.

That is why the Before The 6 framing matters.

It gives context to the Toronto rap story:

• Smugglaz represented part of the early street-rap foundation.
• Jordan Manners represents a real young life tied to that era and remembered by the community.
• Sticky Green represents the artist perspective and tribute lane.
• Pressa represents the later global Toronto rap wave.
• WWETV / SmugglazTV represents the archive that documented those links before many people outside the city were paying attention.

Why This Resurfaces During Drake’s May Window

With renewed attention on Toronto because of Drake’s expected May release cycle, WWETV is using this moment to remind viewers that Toronto rap history did not begin when the mainstream arrived.

Drake helped make Toronto globally unavoidable, but the city’s rap foundation was built through years of neighborhood storytelling, independent videos, community figures, and artists who created before there was a worldwide spotlight.

That is why Jordan Manners’ connection to Smugglaz, Sticky Green, young Pressa, and Before The 6 matters. It shows the deeper layers of the city’s story.

The global version of Toronto rap may be polished, branded, and streamed worldwide. But the archive shows the roots: real neighborhoods, real loss, real music, and real people.

Remembering Jordan Manners With Respect

Any conversation about Jordan Manners must begin and end with respect. He was a young person whose life was taken far too soon. His name should not be used only as a trending topic or a piece of rap trivia.

The purpose of revisiting this history is to remember him properly and to recognize how deeply his story affected Toronto.

Jordan Manners’ death forced the city to confront questions about safety, youth violence, schools, grief, and community responsibility. Nearly two decades later, his memory still matters.

WWETV’s archive adds another layer: the music, neighborhood, and Toronto hip-hop history connected to that time.

Watch The WWETV Archive

WWETV Media has revisited this story through a new Short titled:

“Jordan Manners, Sticky Green of Smugglaz & Young Pressa: Before The 6 History”

The Short connects Jordan Manners’ appearance in a Smugglaz video, a young Pressa, Sticky Green’s exclusive WWETV archive appearance, and the larger Before The 6 documentary history.

The original Sticky Green tribute video “The Kids” is also part of the WWETV / SmugglazTV archive and remains a reminder of how Toronto artists processed the pain of that era through music.

As Toronto’s rap history continues to receive renewed attention, WWETV will continue documenting the stories that shaped the culture before the world was watching.

Rest in peace Jordan Manners.