The Queen chops it up with Harbourfront Centre in preparation for the Honey Jam reunion show which is taking place tonight (Friday, February 3rd).
Michie Mee hosts Honey Jam: Then & Now
Honey Jam: Then & Now is a reunion concert and photo exhibit showcasing iconic images from the past 16 years of Honey Jam, the longest-running talent showcase in Canada. Many notable artists, including Nelly Furtado, Jully Black and Divine Brown, are just some of Honey Jam’s past alumni. We recently had an opportunity to talk with the host of the event, legendary Canadian emcee Michie Mee, about her start in the industry and her thoughts on the importance of Honey Jam.
When you Wikipedia Michie Mee, the first thing that stands out is that you are the first Canadian emcee to sign with an American record label. What was that experience like?
Well it was…very unique. At the time, when you’re 14, you don’t really look at everything and add it all up.
On top of that, you were a woman, which was even more unique in the industry at the time…
There were actually men here that were doing it, emcees that were coming up about the same time as me but they just never got that major deal. So it’s kinda cool to know that I could get the deal and then I could do shows with the locals here and really help build this scene. So that’s all I understood at the time. I was getting an opportunity to face the world and express my culture and then come back here and make the shows feel a bit international.
Previous: EVENT: Honey Jam – Then & Now (Reunion Concert) (Friday, February 3rd)
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Feb. 4th at Harbourfront!
One to Watch: Rochelle Jordan
Find out why media the world over are hailing this UK-born, Toronto-based singer “the future of R&B.”
BY:DENISE BENSONWho: Rochelle Jordan a.k.a. ROJO is far more than just the latest R&B sensation to emerge from Toronto amid a chorus of comparisons to Drake. The U.K.-born singer-songwriter has been heralded as a voice that’s key to the genre’s comeback as she forges strong links between contemporary R&B’s last great period—that is, the 1990s—and its future.
Singing steadily since her teens, Jordan has spent the past five years focused on her songwriting chops. She found her signature sound—buttery-smooth vocals paired with stuttering, spacey beats—after beginning to work with future-minded Los Angeles producer Kelvin “Klash” Montgomery in 2009. Montgomery found Jordan on YouTube, pestered her to check his MySpace and convinced her to collaborate. Their Alien Phase EP, released independently in July of 2010, was the resulting calling card.
A year later, the two turned heads with Jordan’s “remix” of Drake’s “Marvin’s Room,” in which the songstress took on the persona of a seasoned, spurned lover with a thing or two to say. Last August, Jordan impressed with the 15-track digital album dubbed ROJO. Performing as the sweet-voiced, but heavy-hitting ROJO, Jordan brought an electronic edge to a laid-back set of songs that also showcased her ability to rap on occasion. ROJO included an interpretation of Radiohead (“Sleep”), the spartan standout “How to Feel” and radio-friendly smoothies like “Feel the Same Way.” ROJO, the performer, has range.
“I’ve been creating like this for three years, and since then I’ve really been trying to figure out who I am and how I want to be perceived both vocally and musically,” explains Jordan. “The writing is getting better as I mature, and everything you’ve heard so far has been recorded and vocally produced by myself. I’ve gotten time to know my vocals, to push myself and do what I want. Naturally, I’ve grown more confident in what I do so everything started sounding better. I’ve definitely got more space to grow, though.”
Previous: VIDEO: ROCHELLE JORDAN INTERVIEW W/ HARBOURFRONT CENTRE (MEET ROCHELLE JORDAN)
]]>Oui Self Made Presents…
Blake Carrington – The Dare 2 Dream Documentary: Episode 3 + 4 (www.blakecarringtonsworld.com)
Watch as Blake travels the world, performing, recording and leading by example, as he dares 2 dream to go against all odds and live up
to the anticipation & expectations…#DARE2DREAM
*DOWNLOAD The DARE2DREAM Mixtape (Hosted By The LA Leakers) NOW*
Release date: 07.01.2011 (http://goo.gl/Hy2jq)Follow Blake & The Oui Self Made team at:
@carringtonworld
@bobbyfresh
@RicNotes
@CeoTimwww.blakecarringtonsworld.com
facebook.com/BlakeCarringtonDirected & Edited: @ChrisStrikes
Co-Produced by @marceljproducer
Oui Self Made ©2011
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So annoying that you can’t watch the videos here in Canada. Yo, MTV…step your world viral game up.
]]>It’s well-known knowledge that Common and Drake aren’t exactly the best of friends right now. But their camps haven’t been seeing eye to eye for quite some time. Pusha T appears to be taking shots at Drake on his recent “Sweet” and “Don’t F— With Me” freestyles, all over the beats of Common‘s “Sweet” and Drake’s “Dreams Money Can Buy.”
Lil Wayne and Jay-Z have been exchanging competitive subliminal shots for a while now, but those shots delivered last year on The Throne’s “H.A.M” and Wayne’s “It’s Good” were probably the most talked about. Kanye West and Drake even seem to be taking jabs at each other, first on DJ Khaled’s “I’m On One,” (I’m just feelin’ like the Throne is for the takin’/ Watch me take it) and then The Throne’s “Otis” (I adopted these n—as/ Philip Drummond them/ Now, I’m about to make them tuck they whole summer in).
Despite all of this, when MTV News caught up Drake’s producer Noah “40″ Shebib in Toronto early last month, he said that there was no competition with Kanye. In the August/September 2010 issue of Vibe, 40 said that ‘Ye cursed him out for “borrowing” his sound. But even then, the producer maintained that there was no competition and said that West was a huge influence on him.
Chedo talks inspiration, the production process, success, Drake and more with Toronto’s own T-Minus.
Previously: VIDEO: The Airplane Boys (Interview w/ The Come up Show)
]]>The Royalty Radio crew chops it up with Devon Tracy.
“Dream Chase” is out now.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DevonTracy
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
Tumblr: http://thedevontracyproject.
Previously: NEW VIDEO: Devon Tracy “Intro” (Directed by G-Dot)
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Been a fan of this dude from time. Great to see the progression!
]]>Rick Ross unveiled the tracklist to his highly anticipated Rich Forever mixtape, which drops at 3:05pm today. And for the most part, the Bawse enlisted the usual suspects to provide beats: J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, The Inkredibles, Lex Luger, Beat Billionaire, Boi-1da and Mike Will. But Ross also tapped some new talent like Chuck Inglish (one half of The Cool Kids), DVLP, and…Toronto native Arthur McArthur. Yup, you read that right. His name is Arthur McArthur (23). Just don’t forget it, because with a growing resume that includes Drake (“Uptown”), Gucci Mane (“In My Business”), Big Sean (“My House”) and now two tracks on Rick Ross’s Rich Forever mixtape (“MMG Untouchable”, “Mine Games”)…this multi-talented producer/musician is definitely on the rise!
Missinfo.tv’s Mr. North catches up with Arthur McArthur to get his insight on working with Ross, how Lil’ Wayne came up with So Far Gone’s “Uptown” during a Dr. Dre Detox session, his relationship with Boi-1da, and, of course,…what’s up with that name of his?
Following the groundwork laid by fellow Toronto producers Boi-1da, Noah “40″ Shebib, T-Minus, Megaman, ILLANGELO, and Doc McKinney, meet Arthur McArthur, the latest beatsmith from the T-Dot…
After the jump….Mr. North: You caught people’s attention during Toronto’s 2008 ‘Battle of the Beatmakers’ showcase, especially in a controversial battle against Boi-1da, whose name was buzzing here in the States. How did you guys become friends after that and become a team?
McArthur: We definitely met in the battle, but we had enough respect for each other to get in the studio and start creating. The first session we did together we made “Uptown” (off Drake’s gold-selling So Far Gone EP). We’ve been doing records ever since then. 1da’s great people, he put me onto a lot of stuff.Mr. North: You mentioned “Uptown,” but how did you become a part of the Far Gone sessions?
McArthur: 1da hit me up around Christmas 4 years ago. The plan wasn’t even to work on Drake songs, we were in there to do some songs for Dr. Dre’s Detox. While we were in the studio, Lil’ Wayne said he wanted a song sampling “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel. We took the sample and built around it. 1da did the drums and I played the organ and instruments on it. We sent it to Drake and he killed that beat, took it to a next level… it was a wrap from there.
Peter Marrack from Respect-Mag.com chops it up with Burdy Lo about, well….everything. Dope interview, although (after the National Post thing specifically) I’m not sure what’s going on with all the typos these days. Anthony passed in 2010, not 2008 and I’m not sure who ‘James ‘Durty Keyz’ James’ is…???
Anyways, lol. Get that Keyz of Life here.
Burd & Keyz are a Toronto hip-hop production duo composed of Andrew ‘Burd’ Liburd and Anthony ‘Durty Keyz’ James. Although the latter passed away in June of 2008, due to a “rare, yet severe bacterial infection called streptococcus”, Burd has kept Keyz both in his name and in our memories, as he dropped the 14-record tribute to his friend, entitled Keyz of Life, earlier this month. Keyz of Life features production almost exclusively by Burd, with collaborations by T-Minus, McCallaman, Kardinal Offishall, Luu Breeze, Rich Kidd, Divine Brown, Shi Wisdom, among others. The project serves as a vivid reflection of Toronto itself, a multicultural hotbed which breeds such diverse sounds as hip-hop, reggae, soul, pop, dance, and R&B, all working in harmony to produce one cohesive flavor.
Download Keyz of Life here, and read the complete interview after the jump.
What does Keyz of Life mean to you?
It’s something [Keyz and I] promised each other a long time ago. One day we were riding in a car together, coming home from work at Enterprise. We worked at the same place. We were talking about our game and we were like, “We got to put out our own project before we go,” because no one knows how talented you are until you put something out, you know? Keyz agreed, but we were too busy making singles for other people, working on other people’s projects, that we couldn’t really focus on our own shit. Now and then we’d stash away a couple beats for our own shit though. Like, “Yo, that was a special one.”
How many downloads are you at now?
Probably 2000 in a week or two weeks.
Is that more or less than you expected?
It’s pretty good, man. I’m flattered. It dropped on Wednesday and I went out downtown [Toronto] on Friday to see Rich Hil and people are coming up to me shaking my hand. Every time I’ve been downtown people have been shaking my hand, like, “Yo, Burd, Keyz of Life,” and then they just walk by. I’m like, “Cool.” People in the States are acting like I’m some sort of Don or something. [laughs] I’m like, “I’m just Burd.”
Any opportunities popping up as a result?
Definitely, people want to sign the kid. Managers want to manage me. But I got a lot more work to do now that this is out. I got to come up with some new bounces.
Are you working right now?
I’m working while they sleep.
You told me the story of “Burdstrumental (Losing My Bestfriend)”…
Yeah, it was Keyz sampling idea. I took it and then he got mad at me for taking his sample idea. I’m like, “Yo, you’re not doing it.” After he passed I took it again, and that’s when I called up his cousin, McCallaman, who’s actually here with me right now. I told McCallaman the vision I wanted, and then we just ran with it and it came out dope.
You said it’s more positive than you intended.
Yeah, I wanted a slow, dark, depressing song, but then I was like, “Fuck this, man. Let’s switch it up on them.”
Doesn’t that sum up the whole project, turning something negative into something positive?
Yeah, exactly. You could either choose to be all sad about it, make songs that put you in that mood- But everyone’s been giving me really positive feedback about that song because they’ve never heard that sound from me, or they haven’t come across McCallaman and he’s really good at that dark shit as well.
He likes the dance beats.
He loves that shit, so that mixed with me chopping up the sample, it’s a tough mix.
Previous: NEWS: Keyz of Life National Post Article (The Beats Go On)
Previous: NEW ALBUM: Burd & Keyz – Keyz of Life
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Here’s the rest of Rojo‘s choperation with SingersRoom.com:
]]>Toronto native Rochelle Jordan has been making a name for herself, especially with the release of ‘R O J O,’ a project with in-house producer Klash. On the project, Rochelle showcased her raw and unique talent on the 15-track set, which was reminiscent of the 90s sound. Drawing elements from the likes Aaliyah, Kelis, Samantha James, and even Paramore; it was largely Ameriie and her debut album ‘All I Have’ that impacted Rochelle’s sound the most.
First Song Fell in Love… First song I ever fell in love with… I really liked Kelis’ “Caught Out There” when I was young, but the songs that I fell in love with, and the album that I fell in love with, where I literally couldn’t put it down, was definitely Amerie’s ‘All I Have’ album. Pretty much all those songs on that album, I dedicated my life to for a really long time. [Laughs] I’m talking like four years, I was dedicated to listening to her harmonies and melodies and everything that she was doing with Rich Harrison. That’s kind of what I fell in love with.
Defining Audio Style… If you notice within my lyrics and within certain songs, I always mention “the vibe, can you feel it?” and I guess it’s a certain aura that Klash and I possess with our music. We’re obviously definitely R&B, but… It’s hard for me to explain, but it’s a really vibe-y sound where it gives you the feeling that I got back in the day when I used to listen to music when I was 11-12, and that 90s era when music was just powerful and almost like touching your soul. I always wanted to give that back to people, and I always said it was the vibe of the sound. That’s how I kind of describe my music. A certain vibe.
Music Inspiration… I go from anywhere from Samantha James, who is an underground, lounge-y/pop-ish singer who is absolutely crazy and not a lot of people know about her… I take elements from that and also from Aaliyah, Amerie, and even Paramore. I take different elements and kind of mash them together. That kind of helps me develop my sound, but I can say for sure that Amerie was a huge influence in my sound. Kelis was also, and Aaliyah for sure.
Staying True to Toronto… Toronto is an amazing city, but I don’t know. They always say that Toronto has a certain sound, and we’re very emotional… emo. [Laughs] And especially with the last song that I dropped, “Shot,” people were like “Oh yeah, there’s that emo, Toronto sound.” [Laughs] It is what it is. I’ve had amazing support down here and whatnot. Everything influences my sound really. I can’t just sit here and say Toronto influenced my sound. It’s just a mash of a whole bunch of things. I can definitely say being from Toronto, now that Drake kind of broke out in the states, it definitely helped my sound reach further than it would have if he didn’t.
Reaching For Success… The success for me was just the fact people merely just took to my sound. Just being able to get my emotions out and have people understand it and relate to it… That is success in my eyes. I mean, the rest will come later. I obviously want to be a really heavy recording artist and person within the industry… And I’m just praying that comes. But right now, I really feel like the success was just breaking through these different parts of the world and have people listening to my music. That’s where the success lies.
Fighting Sickle Cell… Yeah I do have that. And so does T-Boz. I remember once I asked her on Facebook. I found her Facebook and I was like “Oh my God, T-Boz. I heard that you have sickle cell anemia. How do you deal with that being in the industry?” She actually hit me back up. She was like, “Oh my God. That’s so dope. Okay, well when you’re in the industry, you got to make sure you’re taking care of your health and all that kind of stuff. Balancing your sleep and your food and whatnot.” It’s really dope. That’s one thing that not a lot of people know about me. And that’s one thing I’ve fought with my entire life. I fought all the way to where I am in my life right now. It’s been good. [Laughs] It’s been okay.
Yeah. For the people that don’t really know what sickle cell is, it’s an anemia, like a blood disorder. It’s basically when your immune system starts shutting down, your heart creates cells that are kind of misshaped and then They can sometimes get stuck in your veins. Then it causes you to have like weird pains all over your body and stuff like that. I always think that it could have been worse. There’s a lot of people out in the industry with it that I’m finding out about, which is really, really cool. It’s nothing that you can’t fight.
Proper Introduction… Yes and no, because ‘Alien Phase,’ as dope and amazing as it is up to this day… ‘Alien Phase’ is really just me trying to find my sound, and find out exactly what I wanted to do. After ‘Alien Phase,’ we started creating different songs and the growth just started happening. That’s when I realized that ‘ROJO’ is how I want to be perceived. Hearing ‘ROJO’ is exactly who I am. So I don’t mind even re-releasing a couple songs off of the ‘Alien Phase’ project in the next couple months or something, so that people have an idea of what I was. To start off, I definitely just wanted people to understand me ‘cause that’s one of the most important things about this industry. You want to be understood. You don’t want people to be so confused, like “I don’t understand what she’s trying to do.” Or just to not understand you as an artist. So I just wanted to make sure that was patented out and ready to go.
The Airplane Boys are Toronto’s premiere hip-hop duo.
Coming down from the high they experienced with legendary rapper Snoop Dogg, GlobalGrind caught up with Beck Motley and Bon Voyage to chit-chat about being hometown heroes.
Adding to the list of talent emerging from Toronto’s music scene, The Airplane Boys are the new faces of an ever-evolving hip-hop genre.
Check out our exclusive interview with The Airplanes Boys below!
GlobalGrind: You guys came back from the UK. How was that, you were with Snoop?
Beck Motley: All the time.
How crazy was that?
Amazing because the time zone difference, the different culture, they drive on the right side, different type of money —as a group it’s a whole new experience. The traveling part and learning different cultures and communicating and just hearing different accents, it’s refreshing for us.
How was it touring with Snoop? Did you guys roll up with Snoop?
Bon Voyage: We did, the first tour. That was ill.
Beck Motley: It’s nuts. After every show we would go into the crowd and take pictures with them, drink with them, toast with them. It’s really wild out there, especially in Scotland.
Bon Voyage: Guys trying to kiss you, girls trying to hawk you down. It’s some f*cked up sh*t.
Beck Motley: Trying to grab your face, put it in their chest.
Wow. What’s been like the wildest thing that’s happened, then?
Bon Voyage: This 38-year-old lady grabbed my head and just tumbled me down, and I had no f*cking choice. And she’s like ‘OK, let’s take a picture.’
You guys did some shows with J.Cole, how was that?
That was amazing because we’re driving from place to place, and that gave it that rock and roll feel. In every state I’m going to go in. it was just inspiring to see another—who you would say is leading the new young wave. With Snoop it was an iconic legend, and you learn that way. But with J. Cole it’s someone that’s not too far.
Previous: VIDEO: The Airplane Boys (Interview w/ The Come up Show)
Previous: VIDEO: The Airplane Boys “Open For J. Cole In…” (BTS)
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