Manifesto Hip Hop Summit

After 15 years in the music business as primarily a hip hop artist, I’m real happy to say that ‘Manifesto Hip Hop Summit’ in Toronto is recognizing me this Sunday Sept. 20, 2011, as one of our country’s pioneers in the field of hip hop. Michee Mee is also being recognized. This means ALOT to me.

I know I’m not a niche artist or someone easy to categorize, but I’ve heard my influence in many of the artists we hear today on radio, and some of these pop artists acknowledge me as a primary inspiration… Which is dope, but it’s not the same as being recognized formally in the context of hip hop and Canada.

Long before all the loop stations were being used by everyone, I was using pedals for loops onstage and driving sound guys NUTS because “nobody uses a guitar pedal for voice, are you SURE that’s what you want to do?”. Sound guys called me ‘a stupid kid’ on tour for experimentation with my ensonic sampler and sampling live and using pedals and rapping in 3 languages. I was assumed to be very young because I am thin, happy and experimental – hallmarks of ‘youth’ even as I was in my late 20′s when I started my career as an untrained, intuitive, late bloomer musician.

I’m blessed with a long underground career inside an industry that generally puts money into ‘something that sounds like what’s already out there’. I’ve been both fortunate and stupid to cut my own trail – a path between hip hop and folk, a path that has created a very loyal, intelligent audience that does not come and go based on trends.

I wanna say thank you to Rose and to Manifesto, to Hannah and to everyone who appreciates the fact I try new things!

Right now I’m finishing a body of work that is kinda upbeat new wave rap … Songs about home and songs about sex from a woman’s perspective. I’m working on a string quartet album and a new book.

I’m also working as a co-writer on more commercial music with my publishers – an incentive to generate revenue and study pop culture from the inside.

Life is beautiful .