Our Arena hip-hop stage is packed with heavy hitters this year: we're representing the local scene with a thorough cross-section of the talent of the West Coast. We're pretty excited that Northwest Division are on board because their sound is sharp and engaging, and MCs Junk and Hungry are both intelligent, talented individuals.

Electric Love interrupted these guys practicing at Fortune Sound Club to ask a few questions and snap a few flicks. Here's how it went down:

ElectricLove: This is our first year as a festival - what kind festival experience do you guys have?

NWD: We played Shambhala last year. We're trying to break into the festival circuit.

ElectricLove: What are your best memories of that festival?

NWD: At Shambhala 50-60 of our friends were there, wearing our gear...girls with their tops off and NWD stickers on their nipples. Sweatshop Union was there, onstage partying with us.

ElectricLove: What other shows stand out in your minds?

NWD: The Yelawolf and Rittz show, getting to perform with some of our favorite artists and we had a big crew there. It was a lot of fun, and the crowd really appreciated what we do on stage.

ElectricLove: So what is it that you do on stage?

NWD: I think what we try to do is have a very cohesive performance. When we're doing a song, we know each others' verses and jump back and forth, keeping staccato. Keeping double time. Finishing each others' sentences. To do that requires us to be very on point with our timing, very precise - we practice a lot at that. The rehearsed cohesive trade-off. Making our on-stage chemistry as hype as we can to make the people have a good time. The live shows are very important to us - that's where we get most of our fans.

ElectricLove: What are you guys currently working on?

NWD: We're working on our third album titled Orange and Black. Stroker DeLuca produced the title track for that. [Stroker DeLuca is present and drinking beer. He salutes.]

It's an analogy - the color of our logo is orange and black. People really like the merch, it's basically an analogy for us. And anyone who has helped promo us or come to our shows. It speaks to our life as a whole, and to our experience. It's a very personal, very real album. It's a more universally appealing rap album with sonic influences that can attract all.

Our last album was very party-influenced like, let's get wasted and do drugs and be crazy, this is more an accurate response to who we are as people and artists.

ElectricLove: What are you looking forward to most about Electric Love?

NWD: We're pretty much friends with everyone performing so it's gonna be a bunch of homies partying and rapping, and obviously performing.

Perform and then party, that's our thing. When we do rap we like to celebrate after with a lot of people. Evil's playing and we don't get a chance to hang out too much so it'll be a good weekend to let loose.

Check out NWD's new website: www.northwestdivision.ca

Twitter: @NorthwestDivision

ARTIST PROFILE: NORTHWEST DIVISION