Seen on P&W!

We make it a point to keep our posts local/CanCon around here but sometimes when what’s being said is sooo important, we make the exception, and Jay Smooth from Ill Doctrine has always been a welcomed one.

Peep more of his stuff at his new site Nil Doctrine

This is for all those artists that use the “I’m Not A Rapper…” tag line as an excuse for their musical mediocrity and blatant disregard for the culture; but most importantly this is for the ones that try to do right by hip-hop and need some inspiration to keep doing it.

Okay, things at footnotes* are moving well in 20T0, so I thought I’d throw in a little intermission this week to bring you a little ol skool flavour. We’ve been enjoying an increasing number of new readers daily at blog.farbeyond.ca and we’re very happy for that. Makes me think it’s time for a twist. I know I have mentioned this many times before, but back in the day I used to write a few articles for some different publications under various names between the years of 2003 – 2007 . To this day a couple of those pieces have helped shape the way the urban landscape in Canada is currently viewed. But you know, I never needed the millions of dollars and G4’s that would have come with the recognition , I’m just happy about where we are now . Feel free to count this as my ‘What The Dog Saw’ . This little ditty was written in the Spring of 2006 , right around the time I first felt the itch to get back into the business. I had just sold my share of SafeBridge and spent the next 3 months figuring out what to do. Below is the results of the research that I conducted regarding what I felt was the staleness in the industry . After writing this, I knew the time was not right for me to get back in. Lastly, I made a decision NOT to alter anything in this piece, so my style may not be as, shall we say, strong, as maybe you’ve come to enjoy, so please bare that in mind. Very important to note that the footnotes added are BRAND NEW, so we’re mixing it up a little bit, but I think you’ll have more fun this way. Anywho, nuff yapping… dig in and enjoy.

I know, I know but believe me, the pic makes sense when you read the piece (lol!)…  Actually reading any of these pieces at www.farbeyond.ca is also recommended to get the full pop-up experience.

Hit the jump for the ‘full Shabby’!

Previously: EDITORIAL: Famous – The Building Of A Brand Pt. I (By Chris Shaban)

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You know the deal by now…To fully experience this in all its Footnotes pop-up glory check it out here! Here’s Part III of Chris Shaban’s latest series: Famous – The Building of a Brand!

What’s Shakin’ F3’s?  Thank you for coming back to check out Part III of this Famous piece, it really has been a pleasure to write.  And not just cause it’s easy[i], the analytics are dope too[ii].  I want to take a quick moment in this intro to shout out one of the coolest and long-standing dudes in the game, Mastermind.  When I was growing up here in the GTA my only connection to what was cool in rap music[iii] was DJ Mastermind and ‘The Power Move’ show.  Along with each volume of his mixtape series, I was able to get a grip on not just what was good across the border, but, more importantly, here at home too.  Now, we’re talking like almost 20 years ago, long before anyone really gave Hip-Hop a voice in this country[iv].  He has done some truly incredible things for the culture and I know FOR A FACT that he does not get the credit he deserves[v].  Having been the Music Director at Vibe 98.5 in Calgary[vi] for almost a decade[vii], it’s sad that no one has even come close to replacing him here in Toronto[viii].  If you call yourself a Hip-Hop fan, please do yourself a favour and learn about this legend.  I know he’ll probably be mad that I said that, but it’s too late now, it’s true and it’s deserved.  You can count looking him up online as The Biz for this edition.  Oh ya, and follow him on Twitter @MastermindLive

Okay, on to the next one[ix]…

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Part II of writer Chris Shaban’s piece on brand development is after the jump. If you’re not already, definitely check blog.farbeyond.ca; not only cuz they’re doing good stuff over there, but you get to read his industry editorials with the full ‘pop-up’ experience.

Previously: Editorial – Famous The Building Of A Brand Pt.1 (by Chris Shaban)

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Here’s my official disclaimer: This is WAY more entertaining to read HERE. Not to say that it’s not entertaining to read it here, but THERE the footnotes actually work how they’re supposed to (a la pop-up video style)!

Anyways, here’s Part I of Chris Shaban’s latest edition of his Footnotes series: Famous – The Building Of A Brand. The last one was called In Defence Of Drake which you can also check out on Chris’ blog if you missed it the first time. And without further ado:

What’s Happening my good friends?  Welcome back to footnotes* and, more importantly, Welcome to 20T0[i].  As you can see, we have revamped things around here so that you can feel a little more at home[ii].  I have had a very eventful couple of months since the last time I posted up here, but I’m sure that we all have, and I can sincerely say, it is great to be back.  With all of our 2009 articles counted as ‘research[iii]’, you can say that this here is the OFFICIAL launch of blog.farbeyond.ca.  Please check back each and every Friday for a crisp, new joint.  And to keep that freshness sealed in, we have started a little something new to increase the fun you can have while here[iv].  It’s an FYI on the music game, and it’s called The Biz 101.  Since I don’t intend to stay two feet in long enough to hate it, I thought I’d try and drop some jewels for the new generation that may want to tackle The Biz as a career.  Hope you likes…
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Kid Cudi / Keys N Krates
Kool Haus, Toronto, ON November 28
By Kevin Jones

(Published in Exclaim! Magazine)

While the job of critic is to fairly and honestly pull apart a subject, pointing out both the good and the bad to give readers a complete picture, one must also be prepared to admit that some things are simply above critique. The recent sold-out Kid Cudi show at Toronto’s Kool Haus may have been one such instance.

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This is admittedly a little late, but…better late than never! Shouts to Sean D for reaching out and blessing us with the piece. If you are a supporter of the arts and arts-based initiatives/events like Manifesto be sure to check the Beautifulcity.ca post below also!!!

Manifesto Review
By Sean Deezill

The wonderful city of Toronto recently hosted Manifesto, a 4 day long festival celebrating hip hop and the essence of a culture that is certainly more than just music. Attracting over 12,000 people at the Main Event on Sunday, September 20^th, an event that was headlined by Reflection Eternal (recently reunited), 9^th Wonder, Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew, and Colin Munroe, the Manifesto team developed [for the 3^rd straight year] a tremendous feat of providing the city of Toronto with over a month of hip hop relative activity. Whether it was the Barbershop competitions with discounted hair cuts and fresh designs, the free-for-all graffiti wall, the hip hop workshops instructing turntablism and breakdancing, the Freshest Goods Market (similar to 100 different merch tables), the hundreds of new talent exposed in front of thousands, the film festival, or the massive art exhibition, Manifesto really brought hip hop to a whole new level in the genre’s second birthplace.

One City Series

The One City Series could be seen as the build up and conclusion to the 4-day climax that is the festival. Not to say that these events weren’t top notch, because with acts like K’naan, Classified, J.Period, Jedi Mind Tricks, Slakah the Beatchild, Mayer Hawthorne, Lindo P, and Scratch, it’s clear that talent flooded the city of Toronto during the month of September. One of the most impressive and memorable moments occurred at the Scarborough Fresh Fair, which ended on the note of a beat battle between the soon-to-be-giants Boi-1da, Rich Kidd, MegaMan, Soundsmith, and Northern Profit. It was all love though, especially considering that most of these cats grew up just around the corner from each other. Hard hitting hip hop beats and a great community to share it with? That’s a win-win nearly impossible to come by at the so-called “Screwface Capital” of the world.

The Festival:

The Film Festival
To open up the main events, Manifesto presented Bomb It! from award-winning director Jon Reiss. It takes the complex art of graffiti and explores greater worldwide issues while revisiting the history of the art from the origins of the prehistoric caves to the current global issues surrounding property and crime control. Additionally, the festival featured The Freshest Kids, a film looking at the groundbreaking origins of breakdancing, as well as famous b-boy crews and rappers that supported the risky and funky movement.

Previous: 9th Wonder says “Toronto is the hip hop capital of the world”.

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Part 4 of 4 of Chris Shaban’s In Defense of Drake! Like I said in the last post, to read this article the way it’s truly meant to be read please visit Chris’ blog: www.farbeyond.ca. Basically, he’s written the piece in a new style he’s invented called FOOTNOTES. It’s kinda like pop-up video the way the FootNotes pop-up on the page but we unfortunately can’t get the coding to work on our blog. The FootNotes here are after the jump! Alas…read it here, read it there, just read it.

Part IV

So this is it, the final chapter: In Defense of Drake.  For the people that have stuck around since the beginning, it’s nice to have you back[i].  For anyone that’s new to FootNotes, please feel free to begin here with Part IV; however, just for the full effect, or to learn how to read the actual FootNotes themselves, it would be cool if you started back at Part I[ii].  Here, in this last edition I put the pen down.  Straight up, I have no further questions.  So now it’s up to the Prosecution to bring forth their case against Drake[iii].  To help the cause they have reached out to one of the biggest and most well known haters this side of Michael Moore and Bill O’Reilly[iv], your friend and mine, Ricky Rapper, Esq.[v].  I’ll be sure to hop back in every now and then to supply you with the FootNotes because Ricky doesn’t have that kinda pull around here.

Briefly, I want to speak on the structure of Blog.FarBeyond.ca, or FarBeyond FootNotes, moving forward[vi].  These are long writings, stretched out even further because of the FootNotes.  You see, all of the articles that will be posted here every Friday were originally intended to be just individual one-piece essays[vii].   However, due to the fact that these bad boys are not being published on MacLeans.ca or NewYorker.com, I felt it was best to try and feed it in bite-sized doses[viii] in an effort to hopefully keep your attention[ix].  Anyway, now that the first FootNotes submission is complete, please feel free to read all four parts, in order, as one complete article.  Read it the same way you’d sit down to read a book like ‘Good to Great’, ‘Freakonomics’ or ‘The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding’[x].  What’s Next?  Well, funny you should ask, because on Friday November 6^th, Pete is presenting what might be one of the most important pieces about music that you’re going to read this year.  It’s entitled ‘Sounds Good? – Why you should HATE the way you’re listening to music.’

Blog.FarBeyond.ca

Also, I want to tell you guys about Not For Everyone clothing.  The labels creator Stephen Lee just put me on to this stuff.  Think urban chic, mad Grown & Sexy.  Check out his blog at http://www.n4e1.com/blog/

Enough plugs[xi], Let’s Go…

Previous: OPINION: In Defense Of Drake Pt. III (By Chris Shaban)

Previous: OPINION: “In Defense Of Drake” (Part II) by Chris Shaban

Previous: OPINION: “In Defense of Drake” (HHC Editorial Piece)

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From Littles The General TV via HHC!

The Offense’s Littles The General gets his viral game on with a freestyle (Release Therapy ‘09) and then riffs on the Halifax club scene in a segment called “Generally Speaking”.

To me this is the bar artists need to hit for quick turnaround viral campaigns.

Ok, here’s the deal. Chris Shaban has put together this dope piece on Drake. The thing is, to experience it in its full glory you need to read it HERE (true FootNotes style). Reading it here is cool too but we can’t seem to get the coding right on our page to allow the FootNotes (pop-ups) to work. Alas, here is Pt. III of In Defense Of Drake by Chris Shaban. FootNotes are after the jump and correlate to the roman numerals:

Part III

Out of the gate, I’d like to thank you again for coming back to Cityonmyback to continue reading this blog [i].  As you’ll notice again, I have cut and pasted the FootNotes right after the citation in an effort to encourage people on this site to read the blurbs.  I think that even Ty and Digi would agree though, if you want to take it in nice and smooth and in a way that is VERY EASY to read, click here (it takes you to FarBeyond.ca).  I want to take a brief moment to clear up some potential misconceptions that have arisen since Part I if you don’t mind [ii].  Not really a big deal, just more of a reminder about the nature of this article.  It is more than fair to say that this weblog has been quite one-sided since it began [iii], however, it’s important to remember the point of why this article was written.  Yes, as I have consistently mentioned, I’m speaking to corporate partners and Post-Secondary programmers in an effort to help us all understand this genre a little better.  However, over the past two weeks [iv] it seems that I have adorned another cap that I never really intended to wear.  You see, if you’re not feeling Drake, then this piece is meant to try and provide you with enough solid and potentially new information to sway your opinion.  To help in relating, it would be most safe to compare this writing to how a criminal lawyer would defend the position of his client in front of a judge and jury [v]. I’ve tried to steer clear of many obvious references that folks would think necessary to speak about when writing such a long piece on one topic [vi].  But the fact remains, I have to keep it real [vii], so until Part IV, never was heard a discouraging word.  Back to the lecture at hand…

Whether you’re reading this through HHC.com, Cityonmyback.com, blog.farbeyond.ca or any of the other great sites that are running this, it is truly a treat to be able to communicate with you [viii].  I promised to make Part III strictly about the lyrics because, for better or for worse, that is truly what ‘authentic’ fans of Hip-Hop music appreciate the most [ix].  While to most people that generate income from the music business, a rapper whose overall best quality is being lyrically ferocious, usually provides them nothing more than entertainment; but to real Hip-Hop fans it separates the men from the boys.  Metaphors, similes, double entendres, wit, all tied together and delivered in the cleverest[x] punchlines; now that’s a REAL rapper.  Well, to be completely honest, and I’m truly sorry if this is the first you’re hearing of this, that stuff usually doesn’t mean anything if the beat, melody, momentum, and more, are not on point in the song [xi].  Although the whole cipher may scream and yell, the fact is, if the song is only lyric deep, then it usually doesn’t register where it counts [xii].  However, the jury I am speaking to today holds lyrics in the highest regard, as do I, so that is why it is our next topic.  You see, although I say that lyrics[xiii] aren’t very often the most important part of a song, the best Hip-Hop artists can balance the fine line between writing hit records and speaking strictly to the heads and the dreads [xiv].  Is Drake soon to be one of those types (already changed) of rappers?  I think you know my answer on that, On Wit Da Show[xv]…

Previous: OPINION: “In Defense Of Drake” (Part II) by Chris Shaban

Previous: OPINION: “In Defense of Drake” (HHC Editorial Piece)

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