Get to know one of BKR$CLB’s finest.

Brampton’s own BriskInTheHouse is one of Canada’s premiere lyrical talents, known for combining conscious flows with saturated breakbeats and piano trills. Growing up in Vaughan and Oakwood, the rapper/producer started refining his craft at the age of 7, at the behest of a very musical family. Brisk likens his upbringing to a sort of “rap bootcamp,” with two DJs in the house, and cousins who would pummel him if he didn’t showcase a few bars for their friends. Two decades later, BriskInTheHouse has conceived a sound that straddles influences like Stones Throw and Jay Electronica, but remains unwaveringly true to himself.

We linked up with the BKR$CLB affiliate to talk about music, faith, and future plans.

When people talk about your music, the term “conscious hip-hop” gets thrown around. Is that a label you embrace?

When it comes to the label or term “conscious,” I’ll embrace it. I know where people are coming from when they say it. Life is all about balance. On a good day, you can find me hanging out with my boys, getting drunk and cracking jokes. But I also take the time out to study, so I don’t get caught up in the traps this world has to offer. I try to be in the world, but not of it. My main goal in life is nation building, and that’s why I write books, read books, and share information with anyone willing to listen.

Your latest record, Tickets To The Roxy, has a throughline of classic, jazzy boom-bap, sidestepping massive trap beats that dominate mainstream hip-hop. Who do you cite as influences for the sound you’ve created?

The title Tickets To The Roxy was inspired when I was watching the movie Beat Street one night. Back in the day, the Roxy was the place to be, and I wanted to bring back that real hip-hop sound everyone seems to be ignoring these days. The music itself was probably recorded two and a half years prior to me putting it out, because I was recording so much at the time. My main influence when it comes to making music is Jay Electronica. I can relate to him because we’re both followers of the Honourable Elijah Muhammad, and we come from the same school of thought. He is probably the only mainstream rapper I can relate to at the moment. Most of my favourite artist are signed to Stones Throw Records. I stopped being a fan of rap a long time ago, and started getting heavy into jazz, and music from Brazil. I think that’s where the influence for most my records comes from. I try and channel that Brazilian jazz swing in the beat, and in the way I flow.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE

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