Cool piece on SonReal (needs more volume on his answers tho) via Clotted Artery.
“Good News” is out now!
One of Vancouver’s Top MCs, SonReal, sits down with Clotted Artery and defines the meaning of ‘funky.’Producers: Ryan Andrew Mitchell & Lawrence Lam. Assistance by Brett Bennett. Visit sonreal.ca.
Previously: NEW VIDEO: SonReal – Up Up Up (Directed by Jan Schuster)
Nice profile on Blake for 24WiredTV’s “Fresh Fridays” series.
More of the interview after the jump!
Previously: NEW VIDEO: Blake Carrington – Legendary (Directed by LXXXVIII Films)
Previous: NEW MUSIC: BLAKE CARRINGTON “LEGENDARY” (DJ PACK) (PROD. RIC NOTES)
Previously: VIDEO: STYLUS DJ AWARDS – CITYONMYBACK CYPHER (SHI WISDOM, BLAKE CARRINGTON, DEVON TRACY, THE 6TH LETTER)
Previously: NEW VIDEO: BLAKE CARRINGTON “FALLING FORWARD: LEGENDARY” (DIRECTED BY BOBBY FRESH & CAN’T CATCH DASH)
The Airpane Boys sit down with 24WiredTV for their “Fresh Fridays” series of interviews. They talk their movement, style, their perception of ‘the haters’ and more.
More of their interview after the jump!
Previously: NEW VIDEO: The Airplane Boys – Parachutes (Directed by Warren Credo)
Previously: VIDEO: THE AIRPLANE BOYS (CANADA DAY PERFORMANCE @ THE HARBOURFRONT CENTRE)
Previously: NEW VIDEO: THE AIRPLANE BOYS – STILL YOUNG (DIRECTED BY WARREN CREDO)
Producer and deejay Agile sits with MyETV to talk about his early production beginnings and deejay best practices.
Previously: NEW VIDEO: Dj Agile feat. Liya ¨Focused¨ (Directed by Visually Insane)
Previously: NEW MUSIC: DJ Agile feat. Liya “Focused” (Prod. Agile)
Zaki chops it up with OkayAfrica.com about her identity, her early musical influences, Every Opposite and more! Get caught up with Zaki below mang! Her album and video for “The Do” are both available online (below).
There’s something about Canadian-born South African singer/songwriter Zaki Ibrahim that resists rigid classification; a refusal to be inhibited by the world. Her recent acclaimed LP, Every Opposite, is “plural in its reach”, fingering an encyclopaedia of influences from hip-hop to indie to soul. The result is an incredibly captivating record and the timbre of Zaki’s voice is spellbinding. We caught up with her to talk about life, influences and her first full length release.
Okayafrica: Your identity, much like your music, is mesmerizingly elastic. You’ve got roots on both sides of the Atlantic (Canada and South Africa). Tell us a bit about your upbringing and how you see your place in the world.
Zaki Ibrahim: I wouldn’t call my identity elastic, but rather diverse. There is no stretching or bouncing but rather finding ways to fit it all into the rest of the world, in bits and pieces. It is all that I am made of and I am a product of all of it. As I’m growing up, as most people do, I feel like I’m becoming increasingly more comfortable in my skin. I feel less and less alien in the places I live and more a global citizen.
I was born and raised free, thanks to my parents who came from worlds that were less than that. I was encouraged to remain free and promote the concept in every sense of the term. I hope to challenge and celebrate this “gift” in my music wherever I can.
OKA: When did your life in music begin and who were some of your early influences?
Zaki: My early influences were my older cousins and brothers and sisters who were into their stuff like house music, hip hop, kwaito, pop, Prince, Sheila E, Anita Baker and so on. My father pushed hip-hop on me like it was a tool that would later save my life. He also played Pink Floyd, Jimmy Hendricks, Tom Waits and Carol King at full tilt on the regular. I suppose the music that was enjoyed around me, influenced what I would later be drawn to, so basically most music.
The political, Pan-African mentality that was instilled throughout my up-bringing, provided content for the ever justice seeking and freedom fighting themes in my songs and with my mother being a poetic soul and grammar fanatic, I have always tried to steer clear of being too literal or forceful with my views so I often choose love songs to say it all.
Previous: VIDEO: Zaki Ibrahim “Heartbeat” (Live on Expresso)
Previous: NEW ALBUM: Zaki Ibrahim – Every Opposite
Previous: NEW VIDEO: Zaki Ibrahim – The Do (Directed by Christian Denslow)
Ms. Fiona chops it up about Sam Cooke, Jay-Z, judging an American Idol-styled talent show, Rihanna/Chris Brown + explains “Khari-bhana” to some uppity dudes at The New York Post.
Previously: VIDEO: Melanie Fiona Live @ The 2012 BET Awards
Dope interview with Kardi about his latest release, the city, his label situation and more. “Mr. Parker” video coming soon too…
Four decades after Kool Herc brought mic chatter and other elements of Jamaican sound system culture to the funk-loving streets of the Bronx, Kardinal Offishall is the walking embodiment of hip-hop’s loose but still redolent connection with the mother sound of reggae. The Toronto MC’s latest LP, Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself, a collaboration with beatmaker Nottz released free online last month, doesn’t have any rocksteady riddims or guestdancehall deejays but, as he has his whole career, Kardi brings the yard vibes every chance he gets. (Read our original “Heds and Dreds” piece on Kardinal for a rundown of the myriad ways he’s done this over the years).
In our recent sitdown with the man, we had to ask Kardi about the thought behind AMTRIM (as the new LP is known, for short) and his departure from Akon’s Konvict Muzik stable (where he scored his biggest career hit, with ’08?s “Dangerous”). But we spent more time discussing the heavy-duty Caribbean influence that’s always permeated Toronto hip-hop, covering everything from the T-Dot sound systems he grew up following to pioneering “Janadian” rap crew the Dream Warriors and his own history and preferences when it comes to cutting dubplates. Read on for parts one and two of our interview, and stay tuned to LargeUp for more Offishall business later this week.
LargeUp: Tell me why you felt the need to “re-introduce” yourself…
Kardinal Offishall: You know, it is a pivotal time in my career. Because after the last album—we damn near had a two-year run of success off that, which was dope—I did different collaborations internationally with people… but I took a little time off. One, for my family. I had my first son. So many people get caught up and don’t actually get to enjoy or experience life because they are out there chasing checks. From about mid-2010, I was still doing shows but I just slowed down in terms of America. Me and Nottz both, we’ve achieved a lot in our careers. We have worked with each other probably about a decade, so we always vibe. At the same time, we both felt we wanted to let people know again why they fell in love with us both.
LU: What’s the status of the Akon deal? Are you still part of that situation?
KO: We are definitely still family but in terms of putting music out, I’m not dealing with Konvict for this album. Konvict was never the label, Konvict was the family. About a year-and-a-half ago, I had a conversation with Akon and at the same time I had a conversation with David Banner. With Banner, he was just talking about the importance of standing up as a man on your own two feet and not just be dependent on who you are affiliated with—not just music wise, but in life—to actually be able to create your own legacy. With Kon, his label stuff was going through a shift, so instead of being one of those artists who are really dependent on bars that can shift, I said I want to brand myself more. I don’t always want to be Kardinal associated with Akon, I need to be Kardinal on my own. The good thing about Kon is he’s not one of those super-egotistical people. The way that we got into this thing together was through respect. So I just told him I wanted to do what I need on my own.
LU: You’ve always been able to do straight hip-hop, reggae and pop records. This project pretty stays in that straight emceeing, hip-hop lane…
KO: In terms of hip-hop, anybody that has had any longevity has not been a one-dimensional MC. Nobody. All the people that we revere, from a Cee-Lo to a Nas, even GangStarr, Fugees, has been able to show versatility. Look at Kanye—on different albums he felt differently and expressed himself differently. And that’s kind of where I’ve always been. Nobody that’s in the underground is there because they are able to do other types of joints, and because they want to be in the underground. A lot of people that’s all they can do. Some people are great on pop records, but couldn’t touch a hardcore Nottz joint if their life depended on it. In terms of the dancehall rude boy thing, that’s just me, who I am as a person. I have been blessed with the opportunity to live in whatever world that I feel at the time. Everyday is not a Jordans-and-T-shirt day, you know? Sometimes, if I’m in a crazy, remote, international location, you might feel you’re fly like Slick Rick, and throw on your suits, and your gold chain and your Ballys or Clarks, and rock out. For me, music definitely reflects life, and I am blessed to be able to live in a lot of different worlds, and do it well. When I first linked Akon, and we started doing features and stuff, he told me like that’s the reason I am drawn to you—because you can murder anything. It doesn’t matter whether you’re on a Lady Gaga remix, or rocking with Spragga Benz. That’s been a blessing to me.
Previous: NEW MUSIC: JD ERA & KARDINAL OFFSHALL “MERCY” (FREESTYLE)
Previous: VIDEO: KARDINAL OFFISHALL FREESTYLE ON TOCA TUESDAYS (SHADE 45)
Shouts to Era and to Raekwon for being great guests at the Stylus conference on Saturday. The IceH20 push continues with a nice likkle HipHopDX interview. #NoHandouts!
Exclusive: The Toronto emcee discusses his relationship with Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon and his newest mixtape featuring Mac Miller, Lex Luger and 9th Wonder.
Canadian rapper JD Era is quickly becoming a household name here in the U.S. But the Toronto emcee is no freshman to the rap game. With his last release Th1rte3n available on I-Tunes and a well-earned reputation as one of Canada’s best freestylers, the award-winning emcee is the marquee artist to represent Raekwon’s Ice H20 Records, making Era’s American debut a defining moment for Canadian Hip Hop.
Recently JD Era spoke to DXnext about healthy competition with his Wu-Tang mentor and his “No Handouts” approach to releasing six successful mixtapes.
Verbal Intercourse: “I come from a battle background, so lyrics have always been really important to me. I listened to guys like Canibus, Mos Def, [Jay-Z], Nas, and [The Notorious B.I.G.]. They all have bars so growing up I was trying to emulate that. It evolved into my own style and I just try to keep it fresh for my generation. I think that lyricism is missing in some of the new artists. I’m not focused on trying to get a number one hit right now; I’m just focused on making music I enjoy. To have someone like Raekwon who is one of the more lyrical people in Hip Hop supporting me, I have no choice but to represent that lyrical authentic Hip Hop.”
Previous: EVENT: Pioneer Stylus DJ Awards – It Starts With The DJ Conference (Saturday, May 26th)
Shi Wisdom has a voice one instantly remembers; an old soul voice that complements any classic production, what purists complain is missing from today’s music. Not only does she captivate with her voice but she writes music for some of the today’s most popular artists as well. Known for ripping every stage she touches with her live performance there is no reason to question why she is on everyone’s radar. With collaborations with JD Era, Kardinal Offishall, and a co-writing credit with Drake the songstress is poised to be the next big thing out of Toronto, but is that something she even cares about? One might be surprised to hear her answer. Check out our interview to see what she has to say about being considered “next”, her love with the city of Toronto, who in Hip Hop she grew up listening to and what she thinks about being signed to a major label.
Big Ske: Thanks for meeting with The Come Up Show, let’s get right into it. You have a lot of love for your city, how was your experience growing up in Toronto?
Shi-Wisdom: I grew up mostly around Eglinton West. When I was around twelve years old I moved to Maple, but I still went to elementary school in Eglinton. When I went to high school I attended a school in Maple. It wasn’t the best experience, it was a culture shock for me because growing up in Toronto you’re around all types of different people then you go somewhere where there’s one type of person and then you, I made the best of it. Growing up in Toronto is awesome though, I like the fact that it is so multicultural in comparison to other cities.
Big Ske: Funny you mentioned that I noticed you have some indian influence to you and your music.
Shi-Wisdom: I love Indian music, I love the way that they sing, it’s crazy watching them in their element . They don’t even move, It just pours out, I’ve actually been trying to do some training on classical Hindustani music. It’s really cool.
Read the entire interview @ http://thecomeupshow.com/2012/05/08/interview-shi-wisdom-sits-down-with-the-come-up-show-to-talk-about-her-influences-toronto-indie-scene-and-writing-for-rita-ora/
Previously: MIXTAPE: Shi Wisdom “The Shi Wisdom Mixtape”
Previously: NEW MUSIC: Shi Wisdom – Take The L (DJ Pack)
Previously: VIDEO: T-Minus (Interview w/ The Come Up Show)
Post worthy because Era is standing in the background and they all show the mega bure love. Yes I just spelt pure with a ‘b’. You already know what it is, lol.
Shouts to Raekwon though man. He drops some jewels here (as per usual). I really didn’t know what type of dude he was behind the mic but getting to know him indirectly through this JD Era push has been really dope. I think he’s doing a great job so far and it really seems like he’s serious about being a behind the scenes dude. Believe me, many artists have failed miserably at that.
Previous: NEW MIXTAPE: JD ERA “NO HANDOUTS”
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