News

Canadian MCs Discuss Drake And Canadian Hip-Hop

9:38 a.m. · July 2, 2010 · by Dan Nishimoto

Canada's National Postgathered emcees Maestro Fresh Wes, Saukrates, Buck 65, Cadence Weapon, D-Sisive, Famous, Muneshine and Shad to discuss Drake and his impact on Canadian hip-hop. The roundtable discussion was a segment in the Post's series "Hip Hop Week" which also featured profiles of D-Sisive and a look back at one of Canada's first female emcees Michie Mee. A chunk of the conversation was transcribed and can be found here.

The article is worth checking out for a couple telling comments from your favorite struggling rappers. Like, Buck 65 saying, "I’m still on a major label and, I’m trying to censor myself from saying anything to harsh..." Or Cadence Weapon on racial diversity in hip-hop: "People say, ‘Where are the female MCs or the Asian MCs?’ but they’re out there. It’s just the gaze from the lighthouse moves slowly. Things happen, it’s just a matter of time."

Of course, there are many unsurprising statements, particularly regarding Drake. Like Saukrates saying, "We’re all excited about what’s going on with young Drizzy, but it’s going to take more than one cat to bust it open again." But there are a few eyebrow-raisers, like Shad observing, "The kind of music Drake makes wouldn’t have been called hip-hop in 1995."

The above video also edits the roundtable down to a stuttering stew of soundbytes, so the conversation sounds either cliched ("The boundaries of hip-hop have changed"), unoriginal ("Drake, he's a talented person, but it's not the sort of music I listen to...") or simply doesn't make sense ("Cycles... waves of anticipation"). There is an extended cipher where each MC spits a verse, which is fun, but overshadows the meat of the conversation.

In other words, READ.