Nice photo/video retrospective piece on the Ghanian-Canadian kid we now know as Spek Won.

Benjamin Nii Kpani Addy is the first of his family to have been born in Canada after his father immigrated to Toronto from Ghana in the 1970s. He grew up in the Ghanaian neighbourhood near Martin Grove Road and Eglinton Avenue, where he was surrounded by a supportive, tight-knit community and instilled with the morals and language of his family’s culture. But Benjamin rebelled against these traditional values as he entered his teens, like many who feel their parents cannot understand the challenges they face, having come from a different country and grown up in a different time. He says he absorbed gang mentality deeply, that he “went from a kid who was afraid of his own shadow to being used to extreme violence.” Benjamin moved away from this as he got older, realizing it wasn’t going to lead anywhere worth going, and instead focused on his musical ambitions. Under the moniker “Spek Won”, Benjamin has used hip hop to find a middle ground between his Ghanaian roots and his Toronto upbringing.

Produced By: Rodney Barnes

Photography By: Chris Dale

Vote for “2nd Chances” on The MCC!

Previously: VIDEO: Spek Won – 2nd Chances (Teaser)

Seen on OVO!

Drizzy doin’ his thing for GQ’s March issue.

More after the jump!

Previously: VIDEO: Drake – Sprite Commercial (Extended + More Behind The Scenes)

The tag line for last Saturday’s low-end movement at The Drake Underground could have been “He’s the DJ, I’m the rapper, and this is my band”, as two crews with similar designs for their disparate hip hop expressions teamed up for a tight little showcase in the cozy bowels of the landmark Queen west hotspot.

Up first was local rhymesmith Miles Jones, who took on the formidable task of trying to warm up a Toronto crowd with ample lyrical dexterity and ranging musicality, backed by a stripped-down musician troupe featuring only a drummer and cohort beatmaker DJ Serious on the decks this time out. With the back-beat pushed to the front by the indispensible live rhythm section, static spectators were eventually coaxed into relinquishing their holding pattern at the room’s fifty yard line and making their way to the front of the stage, just in time to catch bumpin’ electro-tinged closer “Runaway”.

The title track from Jones’ sophomore disc Runaway Jones served as a fitting entrée for main course Grand Analog, who wasted no time in setting the wheels of their hi-tuned dub-rap machine in motioned. With newly added drummer Aaron Edgar in tow, GA rattled walls with their animated sound collage of pointed guitars, smooth bass lines, effects laden cuts and warm analog keys, all held together by the presence and charismatic flare of frontman Odario Williams. The by then packed house gave as well as it got, mouthing the words to tunes like “Not Enough Mondays” and responding enthusiastically to quirky turns like the sneaky infusion of Jackson 5 bass licks. Though relatively brief, the night’s expo – GA’s lone Toronto stop on their current cross-Canada tour – proved the perfect start to a busy Saturday night in the T-dot, and no doubt a welcomed bonanza for the double-booked Drake underground.

(Shouts to my man henri and King Britt, who held it down with an expansive blend of both past and future sounds well into the wee hours.)

Previous: Miles Jones – “Never Too Late” (rmx) ft. Classified

Seen on 2DB!

Shots from Drake’s Vibe December Edition Photo Shoot! Hit the jump for the full Drizzy.

Big Tay sent these over to give people a visual peek at the new Luu Breeze single which features Mista Bourne, MDeezy, Illy & Mayhem Morearty.

Vote for Breezy’s current single “Stick Up 4 Love” on The MCC!

More after the jump!

Previously: New Music – “Bang Bang” feat. Mista Bourne, MDeezy, Illy & Mayhem Morearty…

]]> http://www.cityonmyback.com/2009/12/08/visuals-luu-breeze-bang-bang-video-shoot-stills/feed/ 0 http://www.cityonmyback.com/2009/12/03/news-drake-boi-1da-melanie-fiona-grammy-noms-vibe-cover-bts-video/ http://www.cityonmyback.com/2009/12/03/news-drake-boi-1da-melanie-fiona-grammy-noms-vibe-cover-bts-video/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:30:43 +0000 Ty Harper http://www.cityonmyback.com/?p=8965

Wow. WOW. What a way to close the year off. Vibe re-launches with Drake on the cover (props to 1Loveto on the pic) then Drizzy, Boi-1da and Melanie Fiona make us even prouder with Grammy nods in their respective genres.

Drake & Boi-1da get 2 noms: Best Rap Song for “Best I Ever Had” & Best Rap Solo Performance with “Forever”, while Ms. Melanie Fiona lands herself in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category with “It Kills Me”.

Check the full list HERE!

The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards air Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010 on CBS at 8 p.m

Vibe’s relaunch issue hits news stands December 8th.

Congratulations to Drake, Boi-1da & Melanie for putting Toronto and Canada on their back and making some sweet history in the process.

I fuckin’ love my city.

And peep a BTS look at the Drake/Vibe photo shoot after the jump!

Seen on HGrl!

Photographer Sean Brown gives us a look at playwright/actor Darren Anthony during closing night of Secrets Of A Blackboy.

Hit the jump for the full collection.

Previously: Video – OTA TAlk w Trey Anthony, Darren ANthony & Kimalih Powell…