the shane alexander show: with special guest imran haniff (the holiday crowd)

On this very special edition of the Shane Alexander Show, Shane sits down with leader singer of The Holiday Crowd, Imran Haniff and chat about community radio, song writing, and even breaks some news exclusively on the show regarding the band’s debut single release. Music wise, we take a trip through the 80s and also visit the Brit Pop for some classic records. Be sure to check out The Holiday Crowd performing during the North By North East festival June 16th.

Guess Who’s Back – Jay Z feat Beanie Segal (Inst)
It’s The End of The World – REM
Just Can’t Get Enough – Depeche Mode
Tainted Love – Soft Cell
Do you Really Want to Hurt Me – Culture Club
Don’t You Want Me – Human League
London Calling – The Clash
Addicted to Love – Robert Palmer
Protection – Massive Attack
Common People - Pulp
Loaded – Primal Scream
She Bangs the Drums – Stone Roses
Step On – Happy Mondays
Eye Know – De La Soul
*Never Speak of It Again – The Holiday Crowd

*Denotes Canadian Material


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us and others release debut album in a charitable fashion

Here's the interview I did for Cadence Magazine last week with Greame from Us and Others. Below is the teaser video now posted on Youtube.

When I got word that I was going to do an interview with lead man of Us and Others, Graeme Cornies, I was nervous. I didn’t know what I was in for. Who was this guy? I hadn’t really heard about him or the band. All I had to play with for interview prep was a press release and tracks on the band’s website and Myspace page. However, when I got into the detective mode interviewers get into when researching a subject, I started to be more familiar with Graeme’s work. I just didn’t know it.

“I made my first record when I was about 17, summer job money”, Cornies relayed to me over the phone.

“I went to music school and studied both here (Toronto) and in Trinidad for a little while and then I got my first gig writing when I was 23 and I’ve been writing full time ever since.”

Cornies resume includes writing for TV show and movies including Naked Science, Stoked, A Babysitter’s Vampire, Turbo Dogs and was even part of the soundtrack of the prime time hits, CSI: LA and Entourage; not to mention a Gemini nomination as well.

“That stuff was cool”, Cornies shared about working with the two major TV successes. “Those tracks were all written for other things but I have a publisher that I have been working with for a long time and when I was getting into writing, he was trying to push my earlier bands and he actually submitted the tracks.” Cornies hinted his working relationship with the shows as, “It’s like we need a dance track for this one scene. Give me all the dance tracks you’ve written in the last year So I’ll send them stuff and then they’ll be like, I love that one.” Cornies laughs. “You don’t always win those draws”. But, he adds, “It’s always great to get those types of shows. They look great on a reel.”

As of late, Cornies has been trying to hype his new band Us and Others which is a musical collaboration made up of some of Toronto’s finest studio and performing musicians including Ferg Hyde (Bass/Vocals), Martyn Skrzypczyk (Lead Guitar), James Taylor (Keys), Bartek Kozminski (Drums) and Joel Stouffer (multi-instrumentalist).

“I started inviting friends to come in on different sessions and the idea just grew,” He says about the creation of the band.

“All these players are people I worked on recordings with. From those sessions I drew players and from former bands I played in. Anyone whose musical voice I thought could really add something to that particular track I just called in.” He related. “That’s how the name Us and Others came about, but when we tried to make it live, a whole solid line-up started to form.”

Since then, the newly formed collection has finished and is about to release their debut album, Patchwork.

“Patchwork was that sense of fixing the holes. I think that’s partly what the songs viewed for me, fixing the situation. Patch the holes over the time. It was like being a quilt of a bunch of musicians lending their time and experience to a project. It happened over a three year period, so it was one of those things where it was like, whenever we can all come together we can do this thing. It was a patchwork moment.”

While checking out the bands Myspace, I couldn’t help but notice the paintings that adorned the page –including the album cover for the album. I had to ask. “I love the work of this one artist named Heather Haynes” Cornies reveals, “She just took a year long trip around the world with her family. She sold her house and they moved their kids up to the cottage. They’re a real neat couple. She’s a painter. Her husband is a musician as well.” He includes, “I got a painting a week before she went on this crazy experience, and that’s the album cover.”

While the group has their album release party on Friday January 28th at Toronto’s legendary El Mocambo, the group is donating all monies collected to Serving Charity. “There’s a guy who runs the El Mocambo and he actually bought it a few years ago with the intention of making it a charitable organization. He put a soup kitchen in the basement and he goes out almost nightly to feed the homeless.” Cornies informed me. “It takes a certain type of person to do that. I was just taken by talking to him about booking the show. It got me thinking. The only thing that I actually know for certain that I can do is music.” He chuckles. “And if I can do that to the benefit of a cause I believe in to help someone else, it would be more meaningful than the hundred bucks we would spend on beer between the five us a the end of the night”.

While doing double duty working on Us and Other’s debut album and working on commercials, I had to ask him: “what was the creative difference between doing a track for yourself and the band and doing a track for a TV show or movie?”

“They’re totally different worlds for me.” He exclaimed. “With TV and film, I’m writing to serve a scene. On all the shows I work on that are scripted, there’s a real intention in the script to convey certain motivations and I’m trying to support whatever they’re saying without detracting from it because if you’re too heavy handed musically you can start shifting the viewers attention on to the music which isn’t what you want.” He hints. “You just want to enhance the scene”. However, “When I’m writing for Us and Others it’s strictly me. It’s my own briefing.” Cornies tips. “That’s part of the reason why I really wanted to do Us and Others as a project because it’s me without a briefing. The direction is all me left to my own devices again.”

bowen's love radiates through the speakers

I picked up the package on Friday. It was another CD from Urbnet. As I was walking to the bus, I tore it open to see what type of Hip Hop goodie have they sent me this time. It was a new CD from their latest talent, Len Bowen. I got onto the bus and started to read the bio. It read that the Canadian born emcee is what we "miss about Hip Hop and what you look forward to hearing". I felt the vibe. Sitting down on a packed bus. Bag on sholder overhearing the kids in the back talk about the latest Drake single. It brought me back. As I was on my way out for the evening, I couldn't wait to check out the CD to see if it really manifested Hip Hop culture.

Fast forward a week later.

I'm on my third listen of the CD and every time I hear it, the album never disappointed me. As I expected and like how the bio promised, Bowen's true school rhyme flow was heard on all the tracks of the album. I guess he said it best when he stated, "I'm a throw back to rhymers who made you tune out the beat.". Word. However, tracks like The Come Up featuring Toronto legend Collizhun from Tough Dumpling and Nefarius fame, and Runaway (Love Might Stay) which featured Winnipeg crew Grand Analog, the superior board work on both songs just added to Bowen's microphone techniques. (Collizhun produced The Come Up and Toronto's Aram Scaram did the same for Runaway)

Oh yeah. Did I mention he was from PegCity? Just thought I'd throw that in there.

On a whole. The CD is a wonderful release as a debut drop EP. It gives a good introduction to the listener who Kev Bowen is as an emcee, and a lover of Hip Hop culture. Hopefully Love Story Short, which is now available on Urbnet and iTunes, will showcase a more evolved emcee who is guartenteed to be here for a long time so the kids in the back will talk about his latest single and how it reminds them of that other Canadian microphone fiend.

exclusive: catching up with jesse cook

As part of my gig with Our Kids Magazine, I was lucky enough to interview local artist, Jesse Cook who went to Waldorf years ago. The following is what came about.

Waldorf education has housed many future well known artists. Many celebrities take their children to the school.

Quick fact: Friends star, Jennifer Aniston started her grade school education at the Steiner school in New York before she went off to the “Fame” high school for the performing arts.

At the Toronto Waldorf School, one of its most well known children is guitarist extraordinaire, Jesse Cook. Known for his fast fingers and unique style of rumba flamenco, Cook attended the school in Thornhill, Ontario from grade 4 to grade 10. ” We were the fourth Waldorf class in Canada, the guinea pigs”. Recalled Cook. “I arrived shortly after they had moved into their own building. Construction was far from completed, Every time it rained we put out buckets to catch the dripping water. Parents where volunteering on the weekends to help finish the school. It was a very communal atmosphere.”


“Today, Highway 7 and Bathurst”, where the school has been located since it opened in 1968, “is surrounded by suburbs, but back then the school was hidden deep in the woods in the middle of nowhere.” Jesse remembered. “ I traveled 2 hours each way on a myriad of streetcars, subways and buses to get there. My family lived in The Beach in the east end of the city. Today it seems crazy to me to have traveled so far to go to a school when there were two schools within a half a block of my house. But when I was nine the Waldorf School was my salvation.”


Salvation? Two school around the corner? Why Waldorf though? “I never seemed to fit in at regular schools. If I wasn’t bored, I was failing, or both. Waldorf had me hooked from the second I walked in. It was ceaselessly stimulating. We were forever drawing, singing, building, listening to stories, learning, dancing and playing. It wasn’t until I was older that I learned that those stories were The Iliad, Beowolf, the biography of Leonardo da Vinci, and other subjects I would study again later in university.”

Waldorf always seems to know how to hook the young eager mind into learning what they thought they never wanted to learn.

We all know how Waldorf sparks the creative side of the individual, but how about the other parts of life? “When I was young,” Cook revealed. “Waldorf’s emphasis on keeping children young, surrounding them with sounds, scents and recognizing the importance of play, stood at high contrast to what was going in my local public school. There, we were told to sit still in our seats, read our textbooks and do our homework. Waldorf fostered within me a love and fascination of the world around me, it’s history and physiology that stays with me to this day.

Public schools seem to be changing. Today, my son is in a public school and much of what he is learning more closely resembles curriculum at the Waldorf School than what they were teaching at my local public school in the 1970s.”


With eight albums deep including his latest, Rumba Foundation, I had to ask Cook about his inspirations and what got him to write. Had Waldorf been part of that creative play he would share with millions years later? “We had a wonderful music teacher at the school, but my serious music studies always came from outside the school.” He divulged. “ The Waldorf School’s benefit to my career was by providing me with a well-rounded view of all the arts. Once you specialize, it is easy to become completely absorbed by music and lose perspective on what you are doing and how it fits into our world.” How about his creative journey on how he makes a track? ”An important part of the creative process is leaving time to experiment and play.” Cook continues, ”With the structure of modern recording being what it is today, it is easy to find yourself under the pressure of the clock. The recording studio is an expensive place and you are billed by the hour. Then there is the pressure from your record label to produce a new CD every eighteen months. It is hard to be inspired, vulnerable and emotionally honest when you are under that kind of stress.” He then shared, “Early on in my life, I built a recording studio in my coach house so that I could mitigate that pressure and be creative whenever I pleased. A workplace, like a school, is an important environment and can help or hinder your growth, even as a big person.”

And as a big person now, looking back at the days at Waldorf, what were the positives and negatives of Waldorf? ”Knowing how to dip your own beeswax candles and crotchet your own recorder case, very useful skills in the 21st Century.” Jesse joked about the positive aspects of the learning experience. ”I have met many ex-Waldorfians over the years and one of the common traits seems to be a confidence and comfort with having an outsider’s perspective. That might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But for me, living in a world of 6 billion people, surrounded by ever-growing urban sprawl, big-box stores and multinational corporations, I value people who can make up their own minds about things, regardless of whether they are part of general consensus or the latest trend.”

Very true.

How about the negatives? “I can’t speak to today’s Waldorf schools. But in my day, the emphasis was definitely on the arts. In my case it was great, coming from a family of artists heading in that direction too. But for other kids in my year who wanted to go into more academic fields, the school was not providing them with enough of a well-rounded education. Several friends who went on to become doctors and veterinarians, realized what their education was lacking and left the school after grade 10 so they could attend schools with stronger science programs.”

Today what would you say to parents who want to send their kids to a Rudolf Steiner based education? “I think it really depends on the kid on the school and on whom they get as their Homeroom teacher.” Cook advices. “I have friends whose kids have gone to Waldorf schools with varying results. As you might expect, some were unhappy and decided to pull their kids out after a period, while others were (and are) ecstatic with the results and recommend the school to everyone they meet. If someone is seriously considering the school, they should see it for themselves, perhaps even try their child in the school for a few days to see if it is a good fit before they commit.”

Jesse Cook is currently on a Canadian wide tour hitting such cites as Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, and Vancouver from now till the end of next month. For all Cook news and the full concert schedule you can check out his website here.

exclusive: peter's project: a chat with peter project

When I heard about Peter Project's album that was inside a bar of soup, I thought it was pretty rad. I mean, who else has done that? It was a Fresh type of an idea that got me interested on what Peter had to rap about. I looked more into his project and saw some familiar names. Toronto female emcee queen Masia One, rhyme kicker, More or Less and The Wordburglar were all credited on the release.

I recently threw Peter some questions. Here's how the exclusive interview went down:


Shane Fame: How did you come up with the marketing behind the tape? Bar of soap? That's pretty cool.

Peter: The tape was just a daydream I had while walking to work the summer of '99. Originally. That tape was pretty stupid. I was 19 and learning how to use a 4-track. I just called it The Lolo Project for no good reason other than it sounded funny. It was literally a bunch of songs about burping, garlic and cheese, and other weird stuff. Totally early Ween idiocy that I wanted to release, but didn't want to accept responsibility for. Originally I wanted to bury them throughout Halifax with a little flag sticking up with instructions to dig. But that seemed too hard. So a couple of friends and I drove around Halifax one afternoon and ditched them in Public washrooms. Subway, The Great Taste, The Green Bean, most of those places are long since gone.

The Soap started off as a bit of a joke. I'd played a string of shows where I'd noticed night after night, there would often be that post dance party stink in the air. So Maria, who runs FuzzyLogic and I started joking about the idea of releasing a bar of soap, which lead to the idea. It was a total train of thought joke at the time, and frankly I'd sort of forgotten about it. Maria called me up one day and was like "your soap is almost ready, how the music coming?" And I'd totally forgotten we'd even had the conversation. So then I had to kick it into high gear and write a bunch of music in a really short amount of time. It's the first time I've done anything like that. But definitely not the last. I really think that CDs are a total wast of space, plastic and paper. They're done and over. So why not make something people A-WANT to buy, and B-Can actually use once they buy it?

SFA:What made you choose the people you did to appear on this project?

P:Wordburglar, More or Les, and Masia One both appeared on my first album. That's actually how I met them, and we're pretty good friends now. Wordburglar and I both grew up in Halifax, and played on the same baseball team when we were 12. We sort of knew each other, but weren't friends. I do remember him talking about "Lobo" (a sadistic DC comic character) and me thinking he was pretty cool. I stalked Les for a while. I actually staked out one of his DJ nights to meet him and give him some beats. And Masia One I met through a mutual friend.

Anyway, they're all great MCs, and all have totally different styles. I've become pretty good friends with Wordburglar and Les, so they're always around, and we work together fairly regularly.

For this EP, I didn't want to just make a Hip-hop release. I feel like my first CD did that. I was really into 90s stuff when I did it, so I wanted to push this a bit more to be something else. So I got really into the idea of Laura coming in and contributing something. Same with Maylee. Again, Maylee and I eat sushi like 4 times a week, so we're always throwing ideas around.


SFA:Any shows coming up? Anything else to plug?

P:Nothing now. My "real" job is writing music for TV/Film/Video games. So when I'm doing that I have to black out entire months when I can't play cause I just don't have time. Right now I'm working on a TV pilot, and then Season 3 of Durham County till early Spring. So hopefully then I'll do another tour.



As for plugging. I wrote a bunch of music for a PS3 game called Modnation Racers, coming out this spring. It's probably some of the coolest music I've written. Also, keep your ears peeled for Maylee Todd's solo album, coming out this spring on Do Right (I think!?). I dropped some keys on it. I think it's going to blow peoples mind. Same with the new Meligrove record. My room mate Mike plays bass with the Meligrove Band, and I've been hearing the mixes for the last year. It's phenomenal. Lastly, a Remix I did for Times Nueu Roman is getting release this spring. Check that out.

SFA: How can people get the tape?

P: You can't (thank god!) but you can get the soap in various Toronto based music stores, or online through Fuzzy Logic.

SFA: Any more projects in the works?

P: Yea, I'm about to start production on the Sport's: The Band full length which I'm really excited about. I did their E.P., and it was one of the funnest projects I've worked on. So this will be cool. I'm trying to get some beats together for More or Les' next LP.

SFA: Who are some of your fav emcee's that inspired you? Anyone locally?

P: Honestly, My fav local MCs are on my record! Though, I'd love to work with Timbuktu, and I've been pestering Abdominal for years. Those guys are awesome

exclusive: hip hop can have its normacy back. - a chat with moka only pt. 2

I've always felt lucky to be a Hip Hop head living in Toronto. It's like being a Hip Hop head living in New York. Toronto is Canada's Hip Hop New York to the States. We're the place in Canada where the emcee's go to get heard. We're the ones where people go to check out the scene. It took a while for me to get it but it was years of being told by others - especially other emcees from Canada and American friends. During my exclusive interview with Moka Only, I was reminded once again. Toronto "was always a focal point for cats like me that was living in Vancouver or out west" Moka relates when asked about how he met up with his longtime homeboy and partner in his latest independent project, The Nope. He met Psy, formally of The Oddities, through "my homeboy Planet Pea. That's who introduced us. then gradually I met his whole crew, The Oddities and also linked with Circle Research and a couple of the Monolith cats. The Toronto shit at that time had so many flavors," as he looked back to his earlier days in Toronto. However, his friendship with Psy has spawned many projects together that the group thing kinda just evolved. "It just happened so natural. We share the same quirks pretty much. Dude, I think Psy is one of the greatest lyricists ever." Moka confided. "Plus he be rapping in all kinda different tones and voices. His cadences are wild, too." He continued, "It happened so natural. It was never a focused thing where we had to try and be a group. It's just that we see eye to eye and admire each other's musical capability. We had just been recording songs together since to top of the 2000's and after a while we had amassed enough stuff for a full project and came up with the name for us" And what was born was, The Nope.

Listening to the debut project from the group, it's amazing how the duo have such versatile verses and styles while also being able to be so connected while bringing so much individuality to the project. The two emcee's voices also connect greatly over some experimental tripped out beats that only gifted rappers can spit over. And yes. Moka and Psy are gifted. The debut (I say this in hopes of seeing more from these two together in a group environment) album, Melba proves that. Some tracks of note? Let's Do Lunch, Yeah!, Rain All Day, and Gas.

Sometimes, I under appreciate the talent we have in Canada. Then again, I remember we have people like Moka and Psy on our side of the ocean and I feel proud to be a Canuk Hip Hop fan.


Moka, however doesn't think of himself as a Canadian emcee. There's no hate there - it's just that he's a "nomadic type of guy", he shared. "In some senses so I never put myself in the box of canadian rapper. I'm a North American if anything. I feel proud of my successes, regardless." When asked about if he finds being it harder to succeed as a Northern emcee, he simply stated, "I could be from Mars or Pluto or New York and the challenges would've probably been the same".

The challenges, however have made him stronger which have caused him to work on some projects that are there. In the studio but haven't been heard from the public. Much like the mysterious album he did in 2003 with former Brassmunk member, S-Roc. "It was such a busy time in 2003 and 2004 when we were doing that and I felt I was too scatterbrained at the time so when I listen back to it, now I feel like there's only a few of the tracks I would even want the world to hear". Moka recollects. "But ya never know. Maybe someday we will start a new, proper one and release the old shit as a leak or whatever. It's all love. Peace to S-Rock!" How about that track he did with the legendary MF Doom? "Working with Doom was just business." Moka said "Obviously I've admired his work. I don't really know how he felt about working with me. Maybe it was just business, too. And that's OK because I like how the track came out. I've wanted to do a song with him since 1992." Moka recollected, "Sometimes collabs are more personal. Sometimes not. Me and Bootie Brown of the Pharcyde have a new group together called The Googlenaires and it's not just business. We are having a blast with it!" The emcee states excitingly. "Bootie Brown is a very unique emcee. A real emcee and I feel he deserves lots more credit to come. Him and his group ,The Pharcyde made huge contributions to the culture and none of that can just be swept under the rug, you dig?"

We dig, Moka.


To keep your ear to the beat system of the music of Moka Only you can catch him on the interweb you can check him here or here or here or even on Twitter right here. But one thing don't expect is to see him on Facebook. "I don't do Facebook. It's like a bad high school scene and no privacy. I don't like it. It gives me negative vibes. Cats get all pissy and mad if ya don't add em".

I'm sure fans won't have to worry about not being to get a hold of Moka or hearing any of his future work as one thing I learned from this interview and checking out his latest two albums is this. There's no stopping genius. Therefore, Moka is not going to stop any time soon. He's a Hip Hop treasure that will be throwing down as long as there's a beat machine and some type of object that resonates music. But just Hip Hop? Moka shares, "Tons of new music and art on the way" Moka relays before ending our chat. "And also, I am now a Jazz musician. Hip-hop can have its normacy back now. Peace"

exclusive: auto-tunes, krs and house parties: a chat with moka only. part 1.

Over the years, educating my ears to the Hip Hop sound, I learned why Canadian Hip Hop has taken so long to be accepted by our southern brothers. To make it simple. They weren't ready for it. Maybe over the years, our sound has become more tame and well, manufactured that it has been taken in by the Yankee's, but a few years ago, I think our Hip Hop music was way too evolved for them. Maybe it's a bias criticism from a Canadian BBoy who would stand in the stance to defend his Canadian culture forever. Maybe it is fair. I just think that there isn't many American emcee's who could rap like ours. Who have the stamina and the work-rate like Canuk emcee's.

Like this guy. Enter Moka Only. He brings normacy back to the culture. Yes. Normacy. How the kids on the hills in BC pronounce it.

There's a lot you can say about someone who has been on the microphone for almost two decades and hasn't thought to change his style to fit in. Even if he did do some more commercial tracks with the likes of Len and most recently part of the Western Hip Hop giants, Swollen Members. However, his unique lyrical mannerisms have only improved. And that's also saying a lot with 40 projects under his belt. However, in an exclusive interview, Moka reveals that he doesn't think it isn't "that much." He said. "Maybe only in Hip Hop where cats are lazy and full of themselves" he writes jokingly. "You know, in the 60s a musical artist would often release an album every two or three months." He continues, "I dare anybody to go back and check the stats of how the music game used to be. I think my rate is like this for a few reasons. One is that I'm obsessive and neurotic about music so its only natural to want to be working on it at all times." Moka reveals. "Two is that yes,survival is important and i always want to keep coming with fresh material and lastly I like to have various themes and vibes on projects and I can't cram everything into only a few releases. I want to be like the jazz guys and just always be building with cats. Collabs, all of that."

In his recent project, the follow-up to his long line of Martian Xmas albums, Moka has introduced a couple new performers to the stage, who have heavy music backgrounds. "Sean O'Hagan of the incomparable British avant-pop group The High Llamas' to my audience." he announces on the album's press release. "This group has been instrumental in partially reshaping my scope of music making. I am also pleased to introduce to the world a new talent on the boards, a beatmaker by the name of Jules Chaz of Victoria , BC who comes from a jazz drumming background. I foresee great things for his future."

Speaking of the future, I asked Moka about what has changed in the game since he started. He thought the answer was easy. "The Internet" he said "That's the most obvious thing. The Internet and digital technology. Its made a big, big mess out of the music industry." Moka said frankly. "Not to say that the industry didn't have problems already but c'mon. Look at it. Nothing is sacred anymore. Took me awhile to get used to the new model so to speak and it seems like nobody is really sure of what that is exactly..including myself". He continued. "To make money in this now takes an unbreakable spirit. Its doable though but maybe just as feasible to have another business within or outside of the music industry to augment financial progression. Survivability."

Still speaking of the future and knowing his mad appreciation for music instruments to make original beats, I asked the tall nomad what he thought of the whole auto-tune craze. "Autotune is old news.. We were doing that back in the late
90s. Its just a pitch correct function that people have learned to have a lot of fun with. I think its whatever, really. Not my bag of cookies but if ya go back in my catalog you'll see that I used it in 2002 on the first Lowdown Suite album." he reminded me. "And even THEN I used it in tongue and cheek fashion. Maybe cats need to move on past it. Maybe not. Its just funny because its the same as the vocoder which I heard on records even from the 60s! So cats need to know its not new or revolutionary in any way. Its just fun and I can see how it could be addictive for an artist to do it" So what's his most sampled piece of vinyl? "I cannot reveal that" He says. "Nice try. Well, I'll just say that I probably have sampled from Progressive Rock the most, then Jazz. Yup. That's safe." However, he does love using his own beats. "I do own a lot of instruments and I use whatever I'm feeling in the heat of the moment. Obviously sampling is a big part of what i do too but I'm proud that I do know how to compose without using the machine if I so choose. I need to get a baby grand piano. Can't stand using pretend piano sounds"

Editors note: Just in case anyone has a baby grand piano. Send it Moka's way. Thanks.

I had to take it back for a bit. I asked Moka what album do you think is the most important in Hip Hop? "The most pivotal rap recording to me ever was P.E.'s Fight the Power. Yup. That's it. Can't let that message die either. One love to Chuck D". And how about emcee? "KRS-One is one of the most important voices from over the course of Hip Hop. Rakim was very interesting and advanced, too. As well as PM Dawn."

I knew someone else would feel the same about Dawn as I do.

Before ever getting signed, Moka used to do shows wherever he could with with another Vancouver based emcee named Prev, who he would later team up with to help comprise Swollen Members. Moka recollected on a few crazy stories during those days.
"Me and Prev used to throw basement parties back in the early 90s when Hip Hop was in its so called golden era. We would either throw them or go to other homie's parties. Man this one time we were at my homie RKV's basement party. He was DJing and me and Prev had a couple funny dance routines hooked up. We got into one in the middle of the party and everyone sort of moved outta the way and somehow a move wasn't co-ordinated correctly and we both ended up almost knocking each other out! epic headbutt!!" Moka laughed. "I had a HUGE deep,purply black eye after that and I'm light skinned so you know that it showed! Everybody thought I had been brawling or something." Moka continued with the stories. "At other parties we had it would start out with having a gang of girls and homies over maybe watching Martin on Sunday nights in '93 and then all the peeps would end up crashing out for the night. In one room." Picture it. Moka continues, "So you can imagine that me and my dudes would be trying to put moves on our female friends that was in the room.. In total darkness, fumbling and groping and hoping to not cross swords." He remembered "We were living in an one room crib at the time so it was just pretzels,yo. We called it the Winter Olympics or some shit like that - back in that winter. Then we'd share in our medals the next day. Ya know? telling the tales."

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In part two of this exclusive interview, We talk to Moka about his latest projects, his future projects, how it felt natural teaming up with his Nope partner, Psy from The Oddities, why he doesn't think of himself as a Canadian rapper and just more Hip Hop silliness with the Only one. Stay tuned.

exclusive: don't let d-sisive die

Good friend of the blog, D-Sisive is happy today. No, it's not his birthday but maybe even something better. His debut full length album, Let The Children Die hits stores today. We wanted to join D-Sisive in this spectacular moment in time so we virtually sat down with him yesterday and shot the shit. This is what he had to say.



Shane Fame Alexander: What's the story behind the title of Let The Children Die?

D-Sisive: This may be frustrating to some, but I'm not giving that away. It's up to you to figure it out. Sometimes you have to force your listeners to put on their thinking caps. Leave it open for interpretation. I'm deep like that, holmes!

SFA: What's the story behind the whole album?

D:The story is I wanted to make a classic album. An album with substance. An album with emotions. An album Canada can be proud of. An album I can be proud of. I hope I've accomplished that. We shall see.

Do you think I have?

SFA: From The Book to your Let Your Children Die, your rhymes have become more of a serious nature taking about your life and the passing of your parents. Was this a plan to have these records like this or was it more that you just decided these are the topics wanted to write about?

D: You're not a writer if you don't have anything to write about. It's such a literal statement, but it's true. Too many rappers wasting time. I did it myself. It gets to a point where it's not a challenge anymore. I've been writing punchlines and battle verses since I was 15. Sometimes I'll get the urge to just spit, but for the most part I want to write stories. Tell my story. It's more challenging to me. I want to paint pictures for listeners. Something they can take something from that's not just a laugh. I just want to tell my story. And hopefully have people listen when I tell them.

SFA: Asher Roth is coming to town. Would you want to play your freestyle track for him and see what he says? would you want to work with him?

D: I couldn't care less if he hears it or not. Nothing against dude. I'm just not a huge fan of his work. He can rhyme, his content isn't for me. The beat is brilliant, though. I'd definitely work with the producer.

SFA: You work with some dope artists on the album - espcially Guilty Simpson and Classified. How did you hook that up and what made you want to choose them specifically?

D: My moves are never calculated. I go with what feels right. I don't work with artists for the sake of working with them. The collaborations on the album all started with me writing to the beats first. Then thinking 'You know who would sound amazing on this?' Then I pursue and make it happen.

Guilty was a different story. A story that's as simple as 'I'm a huge fan and I NEED to work with him before I die.' Thankfully he was down and we ended up making one of, if not my best song. That's probably one of my only songs that I can listen to over and over again. Guilty Simpson in a genius. Listening to him reminds me of when I first heard Biggie. Mindblowing shit. He's going to be a legend.

Like This - D-Sisive feat Guilty Simpson


SFA: You're making some of the best punchlines in your whole career. Do you have a set person who want to talk about in a track or does the line just come up while writing the track?

D: Everything just flows. It depends on what I've been reading or watching. I wrote Veronica Vaughn the morning after I watched Mad Max. Hence the last verse. If you haven't seen Mad Max, you'll have no idea what I'm talking about. I'm also obsessed with Eastbound And Down. So I had to throw the Kenny Powers reference. I sometimes have a few lines in the vault, but I usually start fresh and whatever comes comes. My brain is an encyclopedia of useless information.


VeronicaVaughn: One Piece Of Ash - D-Sisive (freestyle)




SFA: What were the steps - as a Canadian Indie artist on making the album - from the idea to pitching it to Urbnet to production to the writing of it to the marketing of the album? I know you do a lot of the work yourself. Has it become easier since you first started out?

D: It's all a blur to me now. That was yesterday.

SFA: You have one of the better work ethics in the business..Any plans yet for a follow up album?

D: I'm already two songs into Vaudeville. I never stop writing and recording. Why take a break? Pointless.

SFA: What Canadian Hip Hop track you wish you appeared on?

D: Hmmmm. EZ On The Motion? Father Time? Check The O.R.? The Bartman? The list goes on...

EZ on the Motion - Ghetto Concept


SFA: Any upcoming shows? Anything to plug?

D: Release Party. May 7th at the El Mocambo. DL Incognito, Abdominal & The Obliques, Fundament, DJ Law, DJ Grouch, Dirtyman and myself. It's going to be insanity. Don'cha dare miss it! Billy Red Lyons Styles!