What am I putting myself thru this crap for? Feels like I’m standing on top of a trap door Lost at sea, tangled up in golden hair Scavenger-hunter, my life is like a folding chair My daily routine is down to a system I give regular people truth and wisdom That’s what I do—It’s my job—the prophet I can see the future and make money off it… —Buck 65, Drunk Without Drinking
Hip hop has permanently changed the language of global popular culture. Now, if only someone could change the language of hip hop.
Can do. With the American rap brand firmly in the fists of the 50 (Cent) families of gangsta, the music is desperate for an evolutionary shift—towards substance over style. And so the call goes out to a rising generation of Canadian hip-hoppers who understand “underground” as “artistic ethos” versus “criminal element.”
In a half-dozen urban Canadian centres, hip hop communities are trading obscurity for maturity. Start with Toronto, ON, one of North America’s leading multicultures, where k-os—aka Kheaven Brereton—delivers an omnivorous but lovely musicality. He’d rather be Marley than Eminem.
The thoughtful K’naan asks, “What’s hardcore?”—and means it rhetorically, having grown up in the world’s most dangerous ‘hood: Mogadishu, Somalia. Kardinal Offishall is renowned as Canada’s rap ‘Ambassador,’ and behind him, Toronto has bred MCs like Reign and Saukrates—aka Big Sox—to carry the flag further.
Liberated from the gangsta pose, Canadian hip hop is characterized by diversity–as much in sound as in style. In Vancouver, BC, interracial group Swollen Members are known for its progressive vibe and devastating live shows, while Social Deviantz takes things down-tempo.
Creative and bilingual Catburglaz in Montréal, QC, sink deep roots into the city’s scene. Ghislain Poirier’s electro-jangle remixes and “glitch hop” have made him a clubland star.
Cadence Weapon may have a menacing moniker, but the Edmontonian spins out grimy electro from Alberta with the storyteller’s eye of a former journalist. Mood Ruff in Winnipeg, MB, can get sweetly funky or ‘80s angular. And Halifax, NS stands tall with Sixtoo’s vanguard indie/sampler/hip hop. Add in the brilliant Buck 65, and your Canadian hip hop dollar is trading well against 50 Cent.
www.buck65.com www.myspace.com/saukrates www.k-osmusic.com/home.asp www.ghislainpoirier.com www.kardinaloffishall.com www.swollenmembers.com/06 www.thedustyfoot.com (K’naan)
