This is the fourth edition of my interview with D-Sisive and family…he is really determined to beat Classified since I’ve interviewed him five times. D-Sisive was on the Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye Tour and brought a lot of special guests in this interview; Toolshed, My Son The Hurricane, Muneshine, DJ Tech Twelve, and more. D-Sisive also talks about the first time girls scream for them in his concert, the armpit sweat in our previous interview and an epic ending that you don’t want to miss.
If you have your finger on the Toronto music scene, or also if you happen to be a dub slave, then you’ve probably heard of Zeds Dead. ZD is a duo made up of Hooks and DC (pictured above) that started out both listening to and making hip-hop music, but somewhere along the way they got a bit sidetracked and ended up taking their hybrid sound to places more suitable for places where strobe lights pounce across walls and raging arms. And pouches of cocaine and ex and stuff.
For many reasons, club musics tend to far more international currency, or at least translation, when it comes to picking up a fanbase across international seas. So it perhaps comes as no surprise, that Zeds has over 50,000 followers on their facebook page, and most of the people screaming — or, erm, writing — their names are from far away lands like Denmark where the people write their names with with letters like this: å.
Enjoy!
While Brother Ali was in London for a show, he sat down with Chedo and The Come Up Show to discuss how independent music, or music from the margins, plays an important role in not only developing critical thinking skills in kids, but exercising those of adults. Ali also talks about music as a gateway to understanding others; sometimes, the most gracious gift of music isn’t a path to better understand yourself, it’s getting a chance to be exposed to the situations and perspectives of those whose acts and motivations may otherwise remain misunderstood.
The Come Up Show team packed up our bags and headed to Brampton to visit the ever-chill Moka Only in studio. While Moka may be pretty low key in person, anyone who has followed his 16-year (and growing) career knows he is anything but low-key when it comes to making music. It’s not that his music isn’t chill, it’s that Moka is one of those hyper-productive — and therefore prolific — artists with a knack for churning out new music at a rate likely faster than you can consume it: Since 1995, Moka has notched around sixty solo projects and collaborations on his belt. Does Oscar Meyer even make wieners that fast?
Moka is prolific, yes, but his past work doesn’t compromise his forward-pressing mentality and relentless self-critique. As he told us when we asked him to reflect on his impressive opus, he actually considers himself a slow poke. “I could actually stand to pick it up…” he says, “it’s not that much, really, per year…”
Click play and one of Canada’s legends talk humbly about his craft, his affinity for Jazz, his anxiety of influence, and some the personal philosophies that guide his music making behind the scenes.
by Kara-Lis Coverdale
He’s no spring chicken in the Canadian hip-hop scene, but T.O. based producer Fresh Kils hasn’t really spent much time dancing in the spotlight, and it’s not because he was born with a hideous gnome face or because he’s an ardent agoraphobic or something. No, along with his mountains of production gear, Fresh Kils has simply been dwelling in his studio, grinding hard and banging out beats for artists like D-Sisive and Ghettosocks like he’s the Christmas elf of Northern hip-hop.
But all that is changing. Or, at least the behind-the-scenes part. As a solo act and as 1/2 of the production duo The Extremities, Kils is stepping up his stage game, and he’s doing it by coming hard as one of the most kick ass MPC performers out there right now.
In between Easter egg hunts this past holy Sunday, we sat down to chat with Kils to talk about sampling, the state of “live” hip-hop, and how the MPC has not only brought him from the studio to stage, but has changed the way he makes beats altogether.
Click below to read the entire interview. It’s long, but she’s a goodie.
Where you get that info? I just did the interview yesterday. Method Man
To sit down with Method Man is definitely a privilege in my eyes, and I think most Hip-Hop fans would agree. Our interview went from talking about inspirational quotes, why Meth feels the upcoming album The Crystal Meth is going to be a classic, and why he doesn’t want to have marijuana as a forefront to his personality.
Make sure to check out the photography by Andrew Stephenson for the Method Man concert. Special thanks to Lights Out Ent for an amazing show and Jody from Universal for providing the Method Man videos.
It’s a new country for us, it’s almost like being invited to smoke weed and the first shit you get is from L.A. Naledge from Kidz In The Hall.
It’s safe to say Kidz In The Hall LOVE Canada and why wouldn’t they? They opened up for Classified all across Canada for That Ain’t Classy Tour. In our interview they tell me about our women, new reality show, and a big change in how people perceive them musically. Birthday boy Mic Boyd makes an appearance to brag about their paintball competition win against Classified team.
It’s a beautiful thing when Classified is your hype man and repeating the slogan, “This is The Come Up Show. Where That Feel Good Music Lives. Real Recognize Real.” This must be interview number 35092148932 and this time around Class breaks down why he chose the title Handshakes and Middle Fingers for his album. The struggle to smoke up or not, how his wife introduced him to Mary Jane and why he thought he was a one hit wonder. As always we got some superb live footage of That Ain’t Classy show at the London Music Hall.
P.S. If you haven’t seen the paintball competition video with Classified, Kidz In The Hall, and the whole Half-life team please do so NOW.
Caught up with Ab-Soul during the Road To Paid Dues tour stop in Toronto. This young emcee from Carson, California has made a name for himself from the Long Term Mentality mixtape series and he just released volume 3 on itunes this past week.
In our interview Ab-soul talks about his label Top Dawg Ent which consists of SchoolboyQ, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, he also tells me why he doesn’t aspire to be on XXL’s freshman list, why he started questioning religion once he started reading on Malcom X, and the power of our words. Check out this amazing interview and the photo gallery with the homie Ab-Soul on The Come Up Show.
It’s another hilarious interview with D-Sisive and Muneshine, I must say I have such a great time interviewing these two. I also have to say I really noticed D-sisive’ confidence and hunger talking to him, you can tell just by watching as we discuss Jonestown 2.
He also tells me what happened to the name change from D-Sisive to Derek from Northcliffe and on why he released his album for free.
(Photos: Alex Kamino)
by Harina Mokanan
Performing in Toronto for the second time in less than a year, UK electronic duo Mount Kimbie – made up of Kai Campos and Dominic Maker – recently stopped by popular Queen West haunt Wrongbar to perform a short setlist of tracks from their debut album Crooks and Lovers and 2009′s Maybes EP.
On a weekend when the city was gearing up to celebrate the best in Canadian music for Canadian Music Week, an impressively large crowd packed into the venue and were treated to the sounds of artists ranging in genre and in country of origin. Opening up for the boys on their latest stop were Indie band Meet the Blue. The electronic/rock sound the Limerick band brought onstage was in stark contrast to the music Mount Kimbie unleashed unto the audience. Aside from some sound issues and a late start time, Mount Kimbie kept in line with the musical assortment theme of the night. From the ambient sounds of William to the body moving beats of Carbonated, Kai and Dominic remained deeply focused throughout their set, ensuring the crowd walked away with a favourable experience. Evident by the unanimous cheers from the audience when the first few notes of “Before I Move Off” began, the boys achieved just that.
The Come Up Show had the chance to sit down with Mount Kimbie before the show to hear about their experiences on the road and their musical process from inception to performance.
Click below to read the full interview.
