Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Farley Flex Kicks Out the Jams: Toronto Mike'd #697

Episode Date: July 30, 2020

Mike catches up with Farley Flex, talking Toronto Shines, Flow 93.5 and G98.7, before he kicks out the jams.

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I'm Mike from torontomike.com and joining me to kick out the jams is Farley Flex. Welcome back, Farley. Good to be back, my friend. Now, hold on. I gotta just clarify a few things. So up until about, I don't know, 20 minutes ago, I thought you were going to be waltzing into my new backyard studio.

But instead, there's a camera on an empty chair. Where are you, Farley? I'm actually at my domicile, as they say. I woke up feeling a little bit nauseous this morning. I'm not sure if I ate something bad yesterday. But I usually have a cast iron stomach, but I don't know, man. Maybe I was nervous about coming back a second time after that first experience. Well, listen, that's what I think this is about.

Farley, I think you realized the real talk that happens in this backyard. It can be a bit intimidating. realized the real talk that happens in this backyard, it can be a bit intimidating. I think you woke up with that, oh, do I want to like be on that hot seat again? And I got to say, I hope you're feeling okay. I know, I don't think you're faking me out here to be quite honest with you. But I wanted to look into your beautiful eyes right here as we play your jams, but we're on Zoom. And I guess Zoom with Farley is better than not having Farley kicking out the jams at all. Oh, I would, I would hope so.

I hope that some of Farley is better than none of Farley, as they say, right? Right, right. So how are you holding up? Like, give us an update on on like how have you been doing during this like not only have we been hit with this global pandemic but uh you know there's protests black lives matter i want to know how farley flex is doing well for me um because of the work i do both in entertainment and in the community these are the times where i have to thrive i can't just focus on my own survival because I work with a lot of people,

a lot of people who depend on the programs I create and so forth. So my business partner, Roger Barrett, and I on the community side of my life, we're thriving right now, helping a lot of young people cope and manage and try to do their best to stay within the guidelines, safety guidelines, things like that. That's on the community side. On the entertainment side, take a similar approach. And that's why Toronto Shines was born along with my business partners, Warren Campbell, Jeffrey Latimer, and Gordon Whiskey. So we've got this amazing project to help artists.

Well, we're going to talk about Toronto Shines. You know, this is Toronto Mic'd. So we talk about Toronto Shines. I feel like there's some Mic'd, so we talk about Toronto Shines. I feel like there's some synergy there. I saw your bio, like it says, manager of potential change agent. What does that mean to you? It means that, you know, and this is actually quite relatable to what we're talking about. Everyone has potential irrespective of race, gender, heritage, et cetera, et cetera. And given the way society is structured, a lot of people's potential gets suffocated or limited by systemic things like systemic racism, gender bias,

and so on and so forth. So my sort of personal superhero move is to help people fulfill their potential, irrespective of the barriers that are placed in front of them. And then when it comes to being a change agent, obviously that comes with serious measures of change at every level. I work at the federal, the provincial, the municipal, the corporate, the community organization, and the youth and community level. So firstly, props to you for like leveraging your fame and your, like your name and your brand for good causes. I mean, you broke good. Like I think this is something you should be committed for. I appreciate that. You know, these are things that quite frankly,

I was doing before you knew my name my friend uh you probably thought i was farley mowat when you first heard my name but it's that's not that's not me um you know but i was i was raised by a family that always gave back always supported neighbors and friends and and and so on and so forth. So I inherited that from my upbringing, but then obviously juxtaposition with a little bit of fame and influence, you magnify that to the best of your ability. Farley, do you remember the great Canadian comic strip

from Lynn Johnston, For Better or Worse? Do you remember this comic strip? You know what? It sounds vaguely familiar. Like the Toronto star ran it forever and uh the dog okay so just a little aside here the dog's name the original dog because these characters in this strip would age in real time that was the big thing so like like michael who

was a character in this strip was always my age so i was always fascinated by this comic strip. And their dog's name was Farley. So yeah, Farley Mowat, for sure, but also Farley the dog on For Better or Worse. And I guess I can spoil this, because this is something that happened in the comic strip, but Farley drowned saving a little girl, and it's the saddest I've ever been reading a comic strip. In fact, I'm going to cry with you right now farley but when farley died that was quite a moment for me so

interesting um well i'll one up you on that in the american version of sesame street and most people didn't know there were two versions i guess in terms of editing uh but there was a dog named farley as well oh Actually, no, I'm not sure if it was a dog, but I remember Big Bird once saying, my little friend Farley. I'm not sure what the character was. I think it was a puppy. But yeah, there's a Farley character

on the American version of Sesame Street. Since you mentioned I was raised on Sesame Street, so now you're talking my language. As a teaser, because we are going to talk about... You said we was raised on Sesame Street, so now you're talking my language as a teaser because we are going to talk about... Well, you're a house number on Sesame Street. You said we were raised on that? Oh, yeah.

I get it. Come on. If you're well enough to be funny, you're well enough to be sitting in my backyard right now, Farley. Just remember that. I'm not well enough to drive straight. That's the problem. You're right.

I could have sent an Uber for you. Once our budget increases, we'll do that. But what was I going to say real quick? Oh, yeah. So we're going to kick out jams. And as a teaser for one of your jams, I just want to say one of the only non-Canadian gourds was Gordon on Sesame Street. So shout out to Gordon on Sesame Street because most of the gourds you know are Canadian. Right.

If you start thinking about them in your head you're like yeah they're all canadian but uh not gourd on uh on sesame street so uh yeah so that that one's a little bit different there but uh do you want me to just uh before we proceed let's tell people about your first episode if they want to go back and hear the uh the. So Farley Flex. It was episode 466. And I'm going to read the description. Mike chats with Farley Flex about managing Maestro Fresh Wes, who's also a good FOTM, getting Flow 93.5 on the air in Toronto

and becoming a judge on Canadian Idol and, of course, giving back to his community. So people really should go back to 466. How do you feel about the fact they syndicate an American morning show on Flow? Do you have any opinion on that before we get to Toronto Shines? Well, I think that's a testament to the lack of real infrastructure and support that urban music in Canada or black music in Canada

actually deserves. And the change in description there was intentional because with the awareness, the new awareness about the value that Black people represent in North America, reprise records or reprise, some people say, Americans say reprise, it's supposed to be reprise. They announced that they're changing their entire repertoire and excluding the word urban and replacing it with the word black. And a lot of Canadians may not know this, but urban is a urban, it was a euphemism for black so that the music would appear or seem to be more palatable by non-black people.

When we launched Flow, I was adamant that we refer to the music as black music, but there was no category in the reporting system under the word black, so we had to acquiesce and call it urban. But Flow was in its original iteration black-owned, black-operated, black music. Now, syndicating American content really is a reflection, as I said, of the lack of real infrastructure that exists and should exist for black music in this country. Black artists don't get to play as many shows. Black artists don't get certainly as much airplay because there's not enough media there to support it. Yeah, so those are all issues that I'd be happy to talk about at infinitum, my friend. So are you, is it fair to say you're disappointed with where flow 93.5 is all these years later? No, I'm disappointed with where the industry is. Flow is a derivative of the industry, right? They, for flow to go out on a limb by itself and say,

we're going to do this just as when we were there operating it, you know, going out on a limb when you have the oligarchical sort of infrastructure here in Canada where, you know, different major companies own 55, 60 stations each. It becomes a very tough competitive place for an independent. I mean, they're not as independent anymore, but in order to reach the market and not having, I don't know what, who the expertise is behind the strategy right now and what urban experience they perceive themselves to have. And certainly what black experience they perceive themselves to have. But, you know, there are people in this marketplace who understand black culture black music black people and the appeal of the culture to everyone which is the most important thing i'm sure you have numerous contacts contacts uh contacts who would be more than capable of uh

hosting a a great morning show on that station live and local absolutely but you know again it's one one little piece of the whole pie it's got to come from the top down to understand what black culture is supposed to represent if you're going to play the music the culture should be closely attached quite frankly in all time slots um i'm not saying there should only be black people on air but i'm saying there needs to be a measure of authenticity and credibility in order for the mainstream to actually believe it. And that's the part that people miss. I'll guarantee you if people are hearing black voices talk about black music, it's a better sell than hearing a voice talk about black music.

Maybe this is a good moment just to ask you about G98.7 because Fitzroy Gordon passed away. Passed away, yes. And now there's, well, it's for sale, right? What are your thoughts on what, because there's a station that has a mandate to play black music. Absolutely. And I think it's important to distinguish between being for sale and being in receivership. Again, these are manifestations of a number of things. It could be, obviously, there's some, the operational side of the station has some culture and black music as a standalone, it's an uphill battle. As I said, you're competing against conglomerates that have

massive weight in terms of advertising dollars. It's like, if I'm going to sell you something that only I have, basically, and you have 55 outlets for that in terms of advertising space you know the economies of scale and things like that the cross-pollination of things you know buy toronto and we'll give you edmonton for half price or whatever you know i'm just simplifying it of course yeah yeah it it becomes a very difficult uh propositions but at the same time, the salespeople who go out on G98's behalf and try to sell to various brands and so forth, they're the ones experiencing that difficulty. So what's your hope for the future of G98.7? What's the ideal outcome here?

Well, I'm hoping some savvy business people, some savvy, you know, whether it be from the black community otherwise, but ideally from the black community, quite frankly, are able to come in and bring some fiduciary sensibility to the way it's operated. And then obviously, you know, quite frankly, people like myself, I would love to be part of that sort of... Well, this is where I'm going, Faralee. This is where i'm going for ali this is where i'm going like it sounds like you have the uh the connections the business connections the uh the network to put something together to to to be a part of that yeah yeah i i believe that um myself and some of the peers that i discussed my business peers that i discussed these things with do um it's it's a it's a significant undertaking, as you can imagine.

But broadcast is very valuable. It does a lot for the self-esteem of a community as well. And when we look at some of the social issues that the black community faces due to marginalization and challenge with economic stability and so forth, when you have a properly run broadcast platform, you can bolster the self-esteem of young people, not-so-young people, and community people to have something to look forward to every day. I heard a great quote on Newstalk 1010 once.

They said simply, people who have something to look forward to actually live longer, which is an incredibly important observation. And I think what happens with anti-Black racism and systemic and institutionalized racism is that it suffocates your belief in self, right? You don't see enough examples of your people who look like you, talk like you, eat like you, dress like you in positions of success. So you don't believe that you can be there either. It's as simple as that.

So when we talk about diversity and inclusion, it's a lateral and a vertical integration model where everybody has an equal chance based on their abilities. No favors, right? Just straight up. I scored, you know, 1460 on the SAT. You scored 1459. I get to go, right? You know, that's the way it should work.

My skin and my name should have nothing to do with the chance of becoming CEO. Well said, well said. Now I'm eager to hear about this new venture. You give me the details. Tell me everything you can about toronto shines wow okay so toronto shines was born out of um my business partner warren campbell true gravity and i are pretty uh curious guys and we we often look for opportunities and we were talking speaking

with ontario place about uh an esports initiative that we will be doing there once things get a little closer back to what we call the new normal, if you will. Right. And when COVID hit, Warren, who is incredible, he's got a mind like a steel trap, first of all, and he scours news information and retains it and disseminates it to the people in his life, in which I happen to be fortunately one of those people. And so we approached Ontario Place with the idea of doing a drive-in scenario, but we wanted to do more. Warren's background is in comedy and music. My background, as you know, is in music and people. And we approached,

successfully approached Ontario Place with this idea. we didn't have a name for it at the time but we definitely knew we wanted to do comedy live music and movies and that would be the differentiating sort of description from other quote-unquote upstart drive-in scenarios so you're not just a movie this is a a night out very very important to recognize that this is a night out. Very, very important to recognize that this is a night out. And, you know, anyone who is has been, you know, limited in terms of their social interactions by COVID-19 can appreciate the opportunity to get out, laugh a little bit, bop your head or shake your booty to some music of all genres, you name it, and then enjoy a movie, whether it be a classic or a contemporary film. All that in one experience is definitely worth the price of the ticket. And yeah, so we, but there were other people vying for opportunities at Ontario Place and

we took the high road and Jeffrey Latimer also took the high road. And we talked about working as a collective. And for those who don't know jeffrey latimer he manages the tenors sean jones and a couple of other acts and does a lot does he runs the walk of canada's walk of fame things like that so we converged all of our intelligences into one beautiful thing called toronto shines and it's awesome it's um it's an ad ontario place which uh the minister l McLeod, accidentally came up with a great acronym for it. We were at a press conference and she said Ontario Place is historic.

It's, what was the second? What was the I? I forget what the I was. Interesting. Oh, iconic. It's historic, iconic and picturesque and i went up on the mic after her for my turn to speak i said lisa you just described ontario place as hip and i said yeah so it's a very hip venue it's right on the water it's beautiful we've got a massive screen 35 by 62 i believe it is. We've got a massive stage separate from the screen where all the live music, the comedy, and

the DJ and all that take place. And it's an amazing evening. So how many, like, give me like, what night would this be? And then how many hours would this be? I'm just curious. And that's a great, it is a great location. I love bike in Ontario place. It's a good spot. It's a great spot.

And, you know, it's basically, you know basically three to four hours, depending on the night. No different than anything else you do in the city. You go out for dinner. Then you might go to a movie after. And then you go for ice cream after that. It's a complete night. We do things differently because of COVID. We've got an amazing feature of, you know, Canadian inline or Canadian skate,

the Canadian skating team who deliver the food from the food trucks of which there are great, there's great variety as well. They deliver the food from the food truck safely to the vehicle at high speed. And I mean, high speed, these girls can skate, right? And, and yeah, so that the night right and um and uh yeah so that the night opens at seven o'clock our gates open we do everything we can during daylight time and then when dusk hits we transition into showing whatever is happening on stage on the massive screen and then finally the movie and like give me an idea like uh like what kind of just so stand-up comedy did you say say musicians as well, like a musical performance? Absolutely, live musicians. At Ontario Place, okay, cool.

Yeah, we're getting approach from all the agencies who have acts whose names you definitely recognize that are on the table for performing. We also are integrating all the other folks who were displaced by COVID. We've got, we're speaking with Honey Jam, for instance. Manifesto is on the table as a discussion to bring it over to, so Toronto shines on Manifesto. Toronto shines on Honey Jam. Toronto shines on cultural festivals that were all displaced by COVID.

Maybe TMLX events. I'm with you, I'm with you. Yeah, we're doing a big call out, letting folks know that if you are displaced, as I said, by COVID, we have a place. And we're there till October 31st, by the way, every weekend, Thursday through Saturday and long weekend Sundays. And we have access to other off days as well. So we want folks to hit us up at torontoshines.ca or on Instagram at toronto.shines so they can say, hey, we've been doing this event for 15 years

and we have nowhere to go this summer. Call us and we'll have that conversation and make something happen. Awesome. Okay, torontoshines.ca if you want to reach out to the group here. And it sounds really cool, a great spot. So it sounds like literally an app where you can order the food and then these these people just rollerblade them to your car door is that how it is that's absolutely right on your cell phone you just go to the website you order your food that the specific food truck offerings are on

your phone you decide what you want from any of the or all of the trucks depending on your appetite and your food gets delivered in a contained container. Basically you just grab your stuff and munch away. Great stuff. No, very cool initiative. And you know, like I said, I love Ontario plays, so I'm just, and you mentioned this in passing really quickly, but I just need to follow up on it. What's the e-sports when, when, when, when the things return to a new normal

or whatnot? What is this esports initiative? Well, True Gravity, the company Warren and I and Blake Kowalski run, we have a number of things that we do in terms of film and television production, but we also saw the emerging nature of

esports by virtue of being parents as well. And it's one of the fastest growing pastimes. I'm sure it's even increased with the sort of, I guess, I don't like to use the word quarantining, but, you know, the fact that people are confined to their homes to some extent. You know, the natural thing is for young people is to game and game even more. I don't know if you know, but they're offering college scholarships and so forth through esports now.

What we want to do is reproduce events. We've got some really creative community approaches to it, working with police services. Everybody games at some level. It's ubiquitous now. It's quite incredible.

So we are part and parcel of that whole growth, and we curate that industry in our own little piece of the pie kind of thing. Cool. I was pretty good at Tetris on the Game Boy. As was I, my friend. As was I. Did you have the dreams?

Did you have the Tetris dreams? No, no. I didn't get that deep into it. I would be like, yeah, I'd be sleeping and everything was falling into place, like Tetris shapes. It was rather intense. All right, my friend. Now, you're not in my backyard right now,

so I don't get to give you a veggie lasagna from Palma Pasta. I'm not picking it up. As soon as the nausea goes away, my friend, I will be at your front door looking for you. Oh, I love it. Because I want to take that photo with you. I'm really sad we don't get to take the traditional photo. I know I have one, but I wanted another one.

You know what we can do, right? Because you and I are actually on Zoom as well. We could do a screenshot. Yeah, we could do that. Maybe at the end we'll do a quick screenshot. Will that be the first screenshot photo you've ever taken and placed on your wall is the question uh i like being first as you know first rapper first black radio station first first black man on television twice a week for six years in a row you know i like first i know you do i know but i'd have to

lie to you because i know we did some pandemic fr Friday screen caps. So I don't know if you're first, but you're one of the first. All right. And there's beer, too. I have, in fact, I know you're looking at Zoom. We're live on Periscope, which I kept the camera because I was all set up. I actually got up early. I set up the backyard studio. I was very excited.

Farley is going to drop by. So there's literally a camera on your empty chair. And there's your case your case of great lakes beer i had an eight pack for you uh i have the palma pasta i have a so thank you great lakes for the beer i owe it to you farley and of course the lasagna you got a lasagna last time right i was just gonna ask you did you tell palma pasta how incredible i said the pasta was i'm sure i did but i now you have the opportunity right now. I know you just said it, but you could even repeat that.

So it was great, right? You're not just blowing smoke up my butt here. This was really a fantastic lasagna. Palma pasta, I want to say something to you. I had an experience just about, I don't know, I think it was episode 420 something was it 420 i gotta check my notes here man uh it was 466 episode 466 my gastronomic life changed i consumed your pasta and nothing else has been the same no honestly it honestly, it was fantastic. It was like only one word for it. It was fantastic.

Okay, but you got to come back to get one. How do you like that? Pastastic. Pastastic. You get a trademark, man. Okay, so palmapasta.com where you can order some yourself or go to their four locations

in Mississauga and Oakville. I have a StickerU sticker for you here that was courtesy of sticker. You.com. If Farley, if you need some Toronto shines stickers or decals or all this great stuff, temporary tattoos, sticker, you.com.

They're in Liberty village. Great people. They'll hook you up. And if you're looking to buy and or sell in the next six months, if anybody listening is wants to ask some GTA real estate questions of an honorable, uh, wise man, that's Austin Keitner from the Keitner group. Just text Toronto Mike to five, nine, five, five, nine. After you buy your Toronto shines, uh, tickets for the movies and the comedy and the food

and the music music, you might want to get your tickets for Pumpkins After Dark. You know, I know it's July still, but Halloween is coming and they have a great drive-through event themselves. And you can save money if you use the promo code Toronto Mike. So pumpkinsafterdark.com, promo code Toronto Mike. CDN Technologies, Farley, as you build your enterprise, I'm trying to build an enterprise here, but I've got a lot of work to do to catch up to you, Farley. But if you have any computer or network issues

or you want to do the smart thing and outsource your IT department, contact CDN Technologies, cdntechnologies.com or call Barb today at 905-542-9759. And last but not least, Farley, if you want to stop guessing what to put to the curb for Garbage Day,

like is it recycling today? Is it yard waste pickup? All that guesswork, eliminate it with the fun and free notifications from GarbageDay.com slash Toronto Mike. The slash Toronto Mike is very important. Go to Garbage day.com slash Toronto. Mike, the slash Toronto. Mike is very important. Go to garbage day.com slash Toronto.

Mike and sign up today and be a good FOTM. How about that? All right, Farley, we're going to kick out some jams. All right. Again, I'm excited to do this.

Almost as excited as I'd be if you were right there, but that's okay. Cause here we are connecting on zoom. What an age we live in. And basically I'll play some of the song and then I want to hear your voice I can't wait to kick out this one you ready Farley to kick out the jams

I am ready this is a throwdown a showdown hell no I can't slow down it's gonna go first offense This is a throwdown, a showdown. Hell no, I can't slow down. It's going to go. First offense. All the mix. Go on and break.

Okay, party people in the house. May I have your attention, please? In a moment, the beat will be played in many parts. Go on and break. Many, many parts. Many. Life-changing song for me. Nice Joe Fresh West. 1989 1989 going into the 90s i think he changed the game for hip the hip-hop industry in canada uh he's a wonderful human being brilliant young

man and still laser focused on what his goals and sense of purpose are so yeah you mean you So, yeah, you can never go wrong with Let Your Backbone Slide. Now, I'm a big fan. As you know, man, I still remember when I first heard this song. Oscar La Fluente put his Sony Walkman earbud in my ear in gym class and said, listen to this. And this is, yeah, back in 89. And I heard Let Your Backbone Slide. listen to this and this is uh yeah back in 89 and i heard that your backbone slide and i don't want to steal the phrase from maestro but uh my first thought was uh something like this nah this kid can't be from canada nice nice nice but uh this is i guess yeah this is this is the song and i still remember like picking up uh like the Juno Award people put out this box set called Oh Canada or Oh What a Feeling. It was called Oh What a Feeling.

Okay. And this was like the only rap song on the whole box set. Yeah. Well, that's, yeah. Not surprised. That might have changed. So let me ask you this. And this is impossible to answer.

So I'm going to really put you on the spot here. But is there a Drake if there's no let let your backbone slide i i think because of where we're positioned on the globe there would still be um some semblance of a drake but if we were in ireland or some other you know some place that was not connected to the United States. What we have to remember as Canadians, we're inundated with American media more than any other country in the world, right? So things permeate and the borders right there

and so on and so forth. So all of us, including Maestro, we're hearing about, we're listening to hip hop from the US even back in the 80s, right? And late 70s, quite frankly. So we were aware of hip hop. We have relatives who emigrated from the Caribbean to parts of New York and so on,

and Detroit and Boston and so forth. So yeah, there would have been some semblance of a Drake, but I think some of Drake's inspiration, just in terms of intergenerational, from a music standpoint, he would have inherited a sense of self-esteem and confidence that someone here did it. So I can do it too. You know, they put that documentary together called the Carter effect.

And they started talking about the, especially in the GTA, all these, you know, phenomenal ballers who basically were inspired, as you said, by Vince Carter playing for playing for the toronto raptors and uh there should be a documentary called the maestro effect i think i would agree 100 and um you know we talk about dna transfer but i think dna can be transferred socially as well and um you know people who have broken barriers in history on the social level, their successors inherit that. There's no question about it.

So I totally agree with you. Now you need to hold on to some Maestro stories, actually, because we might hear a little more Maestro in the jam kicking here. But I just want to shout out Maestro because, well, he came in and did his deep dive, as you did, and then he returned for episode, I can never forget the number because he came back to kick out the jams episode 416.

Nice. And as I recall, he also one of his 10 jams was Let Your Backbone Slide. There you go. Maybe because I don't like to truncate these songs and I got a little time here uh since you know i moved shows to zoom during the covid era although this ends a streak of 10

episodes in a row done live in the backyard but that's that's not your fault you woke up not feeling well i i hope you feel better but uh i did an episode with kish okay from california and uh we had some good conversations about those uh those days you know dj ron nelson and uh you know mishi me and uh it was just uh great to talk about those early toronto hip-hop uh days i mean kish you know, super talented young man. You know, he's, as you say, now resides in the U.S. But yeah, we had a lot of fun. Obviously, when I took him on tour and things like that, it was, you know, an amazing time for Canadian hip hop in many, many respects. All right, let this one brew a bit, Farley, because I chose my favorite version of this cut.

Canadian classic. Canadian classic. American woman gonna mess your mind American woman she gonna mess your mind American woman gonna mess your mind American woman gonna mess your mind Say A, say M, say E, say R, say I, say C, say A, say N. American woman, gonna mess your mind. American woman, gonna mess your mind. American woman, gonna mess your mind American woman gonna mess your mind Love it. love it the guess who talk to me farley american woman so you know a lot of people talk about soul right and you so soul, although it is definitely what I say, it's been demonstrated, it's been performed, it's been exhibited, it's been curated to a great extent.

personified by people of African descent, Black people. But I also believe that soul is another thing that's socially transferable. And if somebody said to me, Burton Cummings has no soul, I would say, actually, I can't say what I would say. One of the most soulful vocalists of all time. I mean, he exudes and personifies soul as much as anybody else could and should and would.

I'm a huge, huge fan. If you've ever seen the American Bandstand DVD set, when he performs that in the white suit and he kills it. Like I'm talking, one of the most memorable performances I've probably in televised music history. So yeah, monstrous fan of that song.

Monstrous fan of him. And the guests in general, of course, Randy as well. What did this song do for, you know, we talked about what Maestro did for Canada's hip-hop scene, but what did this song do for Canada's music scene? You know, you know, Maestro,

we did this song, right? I don't know if you know that. Ah, well, I know he did these eyes. Oh, you know,

I know you know that, but did you know that he did a version of American woman? And I don't think I knew that. Now that you put me on the spot. Toronto Mike, Farley one, Toronto Mike zero. Love it. I knew you, don't think i knew that uh now that you put me on the mic farley one toronto mic zero love it i knew you i know you're an aficionado of many things my friend i'm gonna invite you

onto my podcast just for the simple simple fact that i stumped you do you have a podcast no i will though you were supposed to help me set it up and yeah i didn't well that's what i do farley i produce other people's podcasts, too. Absolutely. As you know, I produce Humble and Fred, and you were a great guest on that just earlier this week. Yeah, we'll talk about that. But yeah, absolutely. You know, this song, the historical context, I don't have much on that for you. But I know from a personal standpoint i'm a music lover i've

always been a music lover and and um when i first heard this song and all i mean all their songs so many of their songs you know i have a general appreciation people again by virtue of my race assume that that i'm just a hip-hop r&b guy right but no i'm a music guy and um and i love soul i love lyrics and um yeah that that represents big time great jam and i think uh i think this is a u.s billboard number one hit if i remember and uh yeah honestly i'm listening in the headphones here i might just turn it up for the end here and then we'll just go right into your next jam. Fresh. The Symphony. Fresh. The symphony.

The symphony. Is it full of fat? Let it slip, let the rhythm rip While my lyrics leave my lips Ladies and gentlemen, kids of all ages Watch your brother, roaming on stages Name rings, a bell from stage to stage Prop in, stop propping, till you can't escape Here's Radius, I'm marching, cruising, barging Blowing away, blockade, still charging Up the crowd while they introduce us Says the name, they get looser, looser Maestro, Maestro with magnitude That's longer than the lines of latitude Going tropic to tropic, topic to topic Yo, are you ready for the drop?

Yeah, drop it, drop it Drop the needle What was the sample, Mike? It's Beethoven's Fifth Symphony That's blatantly obvious What's the drop the needle sample, Mike? You didn't tell me there'd be a quiz. Tell me, because I... Scorekeeper, I just wanted you to know it's 2-0.

I think it's more than 2-0. I think you're up by at least a couple of touchdowns. In this segment. This is a segment. Well, you got the amen break in there, right? But is that what you're referring to? We're referring to drop the needle! Oh, okay. Yeah, no. What is that sample from? I think I knew're referring to Drop the Needle. Oh, okay.

Yeah, no. What is that sample from? I think I knew it and then I forgot it. Remind me. It's from a band called Haywire. I know, I do know where, you know, Let Your Backbone Slide comes from. I know what song that came from,

Let Your Backbone Slide, but Drop the Needle from Haywire. Okay, okay, cool, cool. Hey, can we give a shout-out real quick, though, to FOTM Joel Goldberg? Of course. Great friend of the show, not only one of the co-creators of Electric Circus,

but he did a bunch of Maestro videos, including this one. He directed several videos. Super duper talented cat, man. That guy is like... And cool beyond belief. I mean, there are a lot of people that came out of Cleveland,

but you know what? I give it to Joel Goldberg. Joel Goldberg represents big time. Is he as cool as the other side of the pillow? Is that fair to say? Yeah, I guess you could call him as cool as the other side of the pillow? Is that fair to say? Yeah, I guess you could call him as cool as the other side of the pillow. No, Joe is a great, great human being. Gracious, hardworking, super creative.

Can't say enough about that young man. Now, what can you can you share any more about Drop the Needle? Because as a follow up hit goes, I mean, much music played this as much as they maybe even more than let your backbone slide you know the the follow-up hip is a hit is always a kind of a key a key single yeah the the a lot of key factors about drop the needle if you think of the way the song starts right beyond the beethoven component i'm talking about let your backbone slide wes had this incredible brand of intelligence that uh uh allowed him to recognize branding really it's like he dropped the needle was branded with let your backbone slide you know what i mean like so when you think

about it that's pretty cool right um so that without question, that's what happened there. The other cool thing about Drop the Needle is that, you know, the heart, I could say the bedrock of the Toronto hip-hop community or Canadian hip-hop community, when Let Your Backbone Sight blew up and went to the point of um being coming in like a pop hit uh what happens is the underground is has some nuances to it in terms of how appreciation is showed shown and so forth so when folks saw west as ascending beyond they wanted something that again addressed the street a little more that that underground hip-hop sound from their standpoint.

And Drop the Needle accomplished that. A lot of people liked it for beyond just being a good song, but the fact that it had that hard-hitting vibe to it that what people perceive to be true to hip-hop. I don't necessarily agree. I think that your backbone site is a consummate hip-hop song, both lyrically and musically. But I understand, which is what I try to do,

is understand the perspective. But yeah, probably one of his best videos too. You know, Frankie, one of our dancers, rest his soul, has now passed on. But those two young men, Derek and Frankie, who are our dancers, act one and act two. And I mean, all that was just phenomenal. I didn't know he passed away.

I'm sorry to hear that. Wow. That's a little bit brain aneurysmic. Oh, I know. I'm sorry to hear that. Well, since we shouted out Joel Goldberg, can we shout out Dwight Drummond? Of course. You know, here's the thing about good people.

of course you know here's the thing about good people um as grateful as you know like i'm grateful to having had the opportunity to work with wes no question about it he's a visionary he had he had a vision for himself when stick to your vision is not a fluke title guys stick to your vision is that defines wes's career right um Me being able to help facilitate his ascension to becoming an iconic Canadian hip-hop star is great. But then when you run into guys like Joel and Dwight and some of the producers, Peter Nathie, people who are just grateful for having worked with Wes and hopefully with me and so forth.

And Dwight will invariably, when he's in the same space and he's at the podium, he'll say, he'll also always reference that his first time on TV was his cameo or debut, really. It wasn't even a cameo because cameos are for basically famous people showing up in something. He was not yet well-known. But again, for him, he played a reporter

in the Let Your Backbone Slide slide video and now the rest is history yeah no i love the i love that story and but i believe he's got a i don't yeah right i don't know if you can call it a cameo but he has an appearance in the drop the needle video too right like i think he pops up in there i think i don't i think so i gotta get dwight back i wasn't surprised you know that one because he was like uh you know, he was kind of like, I think, like working security for Electric Circus. So he was tied with Joel. So I think Joel would just kind of gather his buds from the city TV,

from the 299 Queen or whatever, and say, hey, let's do this. So shout out to. And I always, whenever you say Peter and Anthony, all I can hear is the lyric, Anthony and Pete to lay down the beat. And now, so awesome. And you mentioned,

sorry, go ahead, Farley. Sorry. Just say incredible talents. Well, you said stick to your vision is more than just a, like there's a method to that madness,

if you will. So let's kick out another jam. in this game son been in this game a long long long time still striving though T.O. 99 Mr. Vazee Mr. Vazee yo I'm filled with Israelites, Rastafarians

God bodies, F.O.I. Sunni Muslims T.O. to Brooklyn, many nights in Bed-Shot Blazing trees out in Cali, we're brothers from a frat, sippingin' Henny, man-friendly Got Toronto's rap title, DeMaricitals, McQuincy Jones in 89 That's my idol, chicks from every nationality, showin' hospitality Grabbin' me, showin' mad love in the club Listen, check my rendition, perform for royalty and politicians

Even done shows with the greatest MCs of all time I was the one who used to say I seen a lot of valleys, I seen a lot of valleys. I've seen a lot of peaks. I've seen the bitter with the sweet victory and defeat. Sometimes I felt it, but a voice kept saying, son, stick to your vision. Keep the composition.

Seen a lot of shame in the game. Seen a lot of pain with the fame. Stick to your vision. Yes, sir. Stick to your vision Yes sir Tell me why you chose this jam Well, this one is a little vicarious I know it's super, super important to Wes as a song It gave him an opportunity to express aspects of his career and his journey

that other songs may not have had the chance to encapsulate, I guess you could say. And, you know, I want to thank, obviously, the guests for their gracious allowance of using the sample and so forth. But yeah, this song is important. It's Canadian important. You know what I mean? They played it at halftime at the Great Cup.

It's transcended a lot of barriers in terms of the hip-hop music and what one can express to the densely populated lyrical structure of hip-hop. He said a lot of things in the song a lot of things and you just said something uh i find interesting did the guests who have to approve the use of this or or is it just that was just uh like a nicety they didn't have to approve this right i know it was uh yeah well we the way we conducted business yes they had to approve it for

us to get their blessing, not only as fellow Canadians and so forth, but out of respect. You know, there's a protocol that's there and there's a legal and a social protocol that us wanted to adhere to. Smart. Similar to Weird Ale

Yankovic, who legally didn't need permission from the artist to parody the song, but always sought it and would not do it if he could not get such permission. So there you go. Smart. You're right. And I like how you differentiate, you know, there's a legal requirement and then there's

what I call a decent human being requirement. And always, I always try to do my business in the decent human being camp and not only in the legal camp there. Exactly. Did you ever do anything with Ben Rayner from the Toronto Star? Good question. Not directly, no. Okay. Okay. Good question. Uh, not directly. No. Okay.

Okay. Well, okay. So today was kind of exciting and this is just to make you feel bad, you know, cause I gotta, you know, just jab you a little bit here,

but, uh, today was going to be a double header. So, um, Farley flex kicking out the jams in the backyard. And then we would have, uh,

Ben Rainer this evening at 7..m he's gonna drop by and kick out the jams this evening so uh i just i thought it was interesting that if you had any because you know he covered music for so long you'd think he would have done some interview with you or something at some point well it might more likely been maestro than me potentially so right so uh if anybody's watching on periscope or an early listener of this episode and you should be of course join me at 7 p.m tonight this is july 30th join me on periscope at 7 p.m tonight ben rayner is going to be back here uh returning to the backyard studio to kick out the jams, and that should be a lot of fun. All right, here's something a little different.

Let's kick out another Farley jam. piano plays softly You ask me if I love you And I choke on my reply I'd rather hurt you honestly Than mislead you with a lie And who am I to judge you On what you say or do

I'm only just beginning to see the real you and sometimes when we touch the honesty's too much

and I have to close my eyes and hide I want to hold you till I die Till we both break down and cry I want to hold you till the fear in me subsides. Farley, talk to me about... Wipe that tear, Mikey. Wipe that tear. I can see it, bro.

And you know why? I'm remembering pre-COVID when we could touch. Yeah, exactly. Now, you know, you wanted a reason why I chose the songs that I chose. You know, this song, first of all, shout out to Bernie Finkelstein,

one of my mentors. Great Canadian music, music business mind and person and soul. And an FOTM, Farley, like yourself. I believe it. I believe it.

And also, great shout out, big shout out, obviously, to Dan Hill and his brother, Lawrence Hill. Aha! Talk to me, Mike. Talk to me. Tell me everything about, like, I actually have never had the pleasure of meeting Dan or Lawrence.

But I want to hear your relationship with these two gentlemen and why you're shouting them out. Well, you know what? I don't have a tangible relationship with either of the two siblings. But Lawrence Hill wrote the Book of Negroes, as i'm sure you wrote you're aware of yeah i was on i actually was on uh i was watching on television like remember television like like the other day like maybe two days ago on cbc but yes of course Yeah, so I think to have siblings come from the same family and have a lyricist, if you will, on the music side and an incredible author on the literary side in the same household. Like you can imagine Christmas morning at their house. You know, I think it's just fantastic to have two Canadians of that echelon of greatness, really. And the song, I remember when I was...

What year was that song? I don't even know. My memory says like 85, but I have to Google it. I can Google it while you talk. Yeah. So for me, I'm a big fan of lyrics and obviously vocals. So for me, I love, I'm a big fan of lyrics and obviously vocals. And this is outside of hip hop from, in terms of the analysis of it.

You know, I like soulful, I love the ability to express love in unique and... Oh, 1977. So I couldn't have been more... I didn't want to correct you out loud I guess I discovered it in 85 that's the difference so that would have made me about 15 years old when it came out just so you know so yeah but yeah I'm a big fan of

this great presented music and this one was cool for me you know I had i had not yet found love mike but uh i could say this song may have contributed to my successful search thereof wow that's that's the farley flex real talk i've been waiting for wow i can just 1977 farley's got that on the hi-fi yes i, I know the rest of the story. You mentioned these siblings.

There's a lot of them. Of course, Canada's full of families with talented siblings doing different things. But I'm thinking now of Molly Johnson, for example. Extremely talented songwriter, now jazz vocalist now. But her brother is Clark Johnson, who directed the pilot episode of The Wire and then a few others and acted in season five of The Wire. And of course, he's had a great career.

You know, he's like directing Homicide and different television series and stuff. But there's an example like where one went into songwriting and one went into, you know, television direction at an elite level. And Tabora, aka Tabby Johnson, let's not sleep on her. I know. Yes, please. What a talented family. Absolutely. Putting us all to shame. Shout out to

FOTM Molly Johnson. Wow, here we go. Here's a jam. Let's kick out this Canadian classic. Here we go. Baby, I've been here before I know this room I walk this room. I walk this floor. I used to live alone before I knew you. It's strange to hear the original, actually. It seems like this is a song that you hear the covers more than you ever hear Leonard Cohen singing it.

But hallelujah. It's like an anthem of sorts. Can I get a little more of that? Thank you. Are you okay for time? What's that? Are you okay for time? Can you get a little bit more of that?

Oh my God, yeah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Yeah There was a time you let me Do you have a preferred version of this song? Actually, believe it or not, there's a version that a young artist I manage named Ryan Douglas did and won the CNE Rising Star competition with.

And he was 12 years old at the time. Wow. That's on YouTube. I don't know if you have the information to pull that up. I mean, yeah, like, let me do that right now, man. Ryan with an H. R-H-Y-A-N. And I want to say that uh when west met leonard colin for the first time by the way this is a good story that you probably like one second because we're in the same channel let me i see here we have like i didn't hear that

hold on just one second here okay ryan douglas Okay, Ryan Douglas. Well, it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, and the major lift, the baffled care composing. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Well I did my best, it wasn't much I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch. I told the truth, I didn't come before you. And even though it all went wrong, I stepped before the Lord is sung With nothing on my tongue But hallelujah Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Wow. Talk to me, Mikey. How old was he? How old was he? You thought my career was over.

I can see it in your eyes, my friend. Every time I do this show, you talk to me like I'm an archaic, you know, and I got stuff coming for you, bro. I got stuff coming. You're right. I focus on 1989. I forget.

That's a little while ago now. But OK, how old is Ryan Douglas when he sings this song here? You said it, but is it 12? He's 12, I think, in that version that you just played. There was another one where there was a live one where he actually sang it at the CNE Rising Star. Oh, I see that one there now. Yeah. That was the one.

I wouldn't say I was hoping you'd play that one, but that's one that I was expecting you to play. Look, you're the boss. You want me to play it right now? If you've got the time, I've got the space, bro. All right. Here we go again. The reason here, just a little tech here,

is that you're coming in on the same channel as the stuff I'm playing. So that's why it's a little because normally you're different pods. If you were here, you'd have your mic would be a different pod here. So that's why I'm but also I didn't know there was this bumper that time. But here, let's hear live quickly a little bit of the live from the C&E Rising Star. The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift The baffled king composing hallelujah Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Okay, and again, you said it, but let me just tell the world if they want to find this. Ryan is with an H, so R-H-Y-A-N Douglas. So you're working with Ryan.

You're working with Ryan now. Correct. Bring it're working with Ryan. You're working with Ryan now. Correct. Bring it down a bit here. Okay, awesome, buddy. That's great. Yeah, I'm glad. You know, if you had just right off the top, if you said this was the version you wanted,

this is the version you would have got. So I sort of gave you a little bit of a lead when I said he won the CNE Rising Star competition. And then you went in and with your own mind, you chose a song that didn't. We're all out of sync here. We're all out of sync. But I'm glad we got this in here.

So Ryan Douglas. And what's he up to these days? Like you want to give a Ryan Douglas update? We're actually just starting with a new producer. What's been difficult for Ryan is to find a producer who understands the depth of his soul and ability. And we think we have that opportunity starting next week, as a matter of fact. So I managed Ryan and another young lady named Whitney Otis,

who's got a great name. If you separate those two names, what comes to mind there? Yeah, Otis Redding and Whitney Houston. Sure. Amazing. Now, is that a real name or is that like Farley Flex? She's from Matice, Ontario, a town of 650 people. Francophone, white Canadian female who is a convergent, enhanced version. And I'm going to say this with all confidence, Mike, because, you know, I'm not shy.

Right. Listen to these two comparisons. Okay. Joni Mitchell meets Alanis Morissette, my brother. I don't know. I can't even speak to that. That's unbelievable. If that's even 10% true, this is going to be amazing.

Give me 11%. No, it's beyond 10% true, to be quite honest. Well, I'm just watching Ryan Douglas kick an ass here. So he won this 2017 C&E Rising Star. I see he's the youth sem... Oh, okay. Yeah, good for him, man. Oh, sorry about that.

Again, YouTube is tough when I go to YouTube, but that's awesome. No, I can't wait to hear... So do you want to shout out the name of the producer that Ryan Douglas is working with, or is that on the down low? Well, for folks who know him, they'll know him as Aggie.

You know, I'm'm gonna meet with him when ryan and ryan's family um next week and uh we're looking forward to a nice it there's a development component to it it's not just put record a song and throw it out there i'm i'm that's where my old school mentality comes in i believe that um great songs you know with great hard work behind them will rise at some point so you know having Ryan 16 so you know he's page his patience and so forth are a factor he's got you know but really brilliant young man straight-a student wonderful kid to work with he's from Brampton Jamaican parentage shout Shout out to his mother, Roxie, otherwise known as Roxiana. And yeah, but I want to jump back a little bit to the Leonard Cohen thing.

When our audio was crossed, whatever. So we're at the Junos and we're backstage and Maestro runs into Leonard Cohen or introduces himself to Leonard Cohen. And Leonard Cohen says, proper protocol and everything, he says, I have to let you know that I am the first rapper. I kid you not. I kid you not. One of the greatest

moments. He's got a point there, actually. He's a poet and he would do his poetry to music. That makes him a rapper, right? Yeah, you know, so yeah. Just thought I'd share that with you, Mike, because I know you like to document these things. No, that is great, because that's a fun fact

I'll be dropping for the next 700 episodes. So thank you for that. And Leonard Cohen, one of the great Canadian singer-songwriters. Oh, yeah, obviously, like massive. Massive. Well, speaking of of massive we did tease this by talking about sesame street but let's kick out another jam from farley flex here if you could read my mind love what a tale my thoughts could tell.

Just like an old-time movie about a ghost from a wishing well. In a castle dark or a fortress strong, with chains upon my feet, You know that ghost is me And I will never be set free As long as I'm a ghost You can't see Well, if you could read my mind right now, Farley, you'd know I'd be thinking that this is a great jam right here.

Oh, man. I mean, again, you know, pride in being Canadian. That's why when, you know, when you look at the beauty this country has to offer, and you juxtaposition that with the issues on the social side that we're facing it it's it's it's a real shame you know what i mean like our indigenous people um you know gordon gordon's a big fan of canadian idol we came down several times and um such a gracious soul um you know and if i could read his mind i'm sure he's thinking that it's a shame that we have to have things like anti-black and anti-this and anti-that to deal with as a society like the beauty in that song is like undeniable absolutely and uh when you know when the massey hall

renovations are complete and by the time that's done we'll all have vaccines and we'll all be able to hopefully go back to live music like it was but he's going to open Massey Hall and that'll be quite the moment reopen I should say yeah so yeah these songs are picked

with particular messages in mind my friend there's some kind of like low flying These songs are picked with particular messages in mind, my friend. There's some kind of like low-flying airplane doing some kind of... Anyway, there's almost like a... There's no air show in town, right? But okay. No, there shouldn't be. The joy of me being outside here, which is fantastic.

Yeah, there shouldn't be, right? So that's why you get alarmed when you hear that. Oh, yeah. So Canadian Idol, you mentioned, of course. Canadian Idol was very successful. And we all remember you on Canadian Idol. But I just want you to know that since we last spoke, when you were on Toronto Mic the first time,

since then, Sass Jordan has made her debut in the basement studio. And honestly, one of my favorite episodes of all time. She was just a delight. So I don't know. Are you still in touch with Sass? Not as often as I'd like to be, but Sass is, again, personification of soul again. But what a fun, amazingly intelligent, deep woman, man.

Like she is, yeah, it was a lot of fun to learn from her and to share with her and to experience her great laugh right her quest for joy is a beautiful thing man well i think she's in this wonderful stage in her life and i'm gonna say this again explicit uh warning if anybody doesn't want to hear swears but i'm gonna say that she's out of fucks to give is how i'd say it where she's really free. Like she just seems like, like just so comfortable in her own skin and it's so awesome. And just to tie it back to the fact we've heard a guess who song and we heard

a song that samples the guess who that Sass Jordan is married to the current lead singer of the guess who. That's correct. Good old Derek. Yeah. What a small world. Good old Derek. Yeah. What a small world we live in here. Okay. I was,

sorry. Oh, what's that phrase? Oh, what a something web we weave. Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Tangled web we weave.

When those, come on, Mike. Who practice to deceive. There you go, brother. See, Mike,

a scorekeeper, give Mike two points for that, please. Thank you. You see, once you're a judge on Canadian Idol, you're forever hosting some kind of game show or something. By the way, okay, so here, three more jams to go. You're doing great. I'm almost over the fact you're not in my backyard.

I'm over it now. But I played this jam last night, and my wife, she actually told me it's one of her favorite songs of all time. And we had this pretty good time last night as I played this particular jam. So thank you, Farley. Here it is. How memories keep bringing you back to me Just when I started to get myself together again Thoughts of you come creeping in We met at a party in June

Wasn't really trying to notice you You looked at me with your sweet brown eyes You walked up and said hi Would've known that a lover fell like eyes would grow, then slip away Still miss that old school love, not quite that do-right love Love, your love was fine, but never on time. You're steady on my mind. Still miss that old school love. Not quite the right one, love.

I don't want you back, but I'll never ever love the same way again now here i am starting over with the oh yeah so canada right um we have this big brother called the united states but i'm gonna tell you something yes Yes. Anybody, and I mean anybody from the United States to sing toe-to-toe with that young lady. And that song is gives you, I kid you not, old school love is probably 30% of her abilities exhibited in that song, right? She's a world-class singer, world-class. And I've heard of my share of singers, my friend, both professional and aspiring world class singer tones, breath, phrasing, like all the things that drive me to stay in this business. This young lady possesses. And just by, you know, not, you know, a lot of people say shameless self-promotion.

But guess where Divine's going to be on Monday, Mike? Toronto Shines. You know it. Wow. Mike's now ahead of me. It's three to two. Mike, good job, buddy. And she'll be sharing the stage with Sean Jones and the Righteous Echo.

And it's going to be an amazing evening. So obviously I'm inviting all two Antonias to come out to the Torontoeous Echo. And it's going to be an amazing evening. So obviously I'm inviting all two Antonias to come out to the Toronto Shines. One of the greatest entertainment experiences you're going to have in this city. Not because it's COVID, but because it's entertainment. And if we haven't said the full name,

although Divine's enough, I think. Does she just go by Divine now? But Divine Brown, right? Divine Brown. I've known her back in the days of Boo Boo Brown. How's that, Mike? Mike, does that resonate with you at all? No.

I remember Dee Brown was a pretty good ball player. No, yeah, incredible talent. And, you know, this is what I mean by when I talked earlier about the infrastructure for black music in this country. And I talked earlier about the infrastructure for black music in this country. You know, in as much as folks will say, well, the demographics, it has nothing to do, people love music. If you give it a chance, you just said your wife, who I've never met, you've never invited me for dinner, so I would have no idea. I would have no idea what she looks like or anything of that nature.

But we could have shared a divine moment, pun intended, at the dinner table. Right. You know what I'm saying? It could have been a divine experience. Well, now that my, when I tell my wife, Divine Brown is at Toronto Shines, that's what we'll probably end up being. This is a big deal.

And she was born and raised in Edmonton. So you don't have to just be a Toronto, you know, music consumer to, music consumer to love Divine Brown. You're right. This is a global talent. So it reminds me, I'm thinking of other local, gone good, like Deborah Cox and some of the great singers that we've produced here. But she's still based in Toronto, Divine Brown? I believe she is, yes.

Because you know where you can send her. I know a backyard in southwest Toronto that would love to do it. I believe she is, yes. Because you know where you can send her. I know a backyard in southwest Toronto that would love to do a... I'll let her know that, actually. I will let her know that. Yeah, I'll deep dive, especially because my wife is working from home, so she can sit on the deck here and watch the show.

So yeah, let Divine Brown know. I'd love to have her on, for sure. You know what's great about singers like Divine is that that type of voice. And if you look back and measure it, I know she's very health conscious and so forth. Her voice will stay like that, exactly like that for another 40 years, just so you know. Like, so it's never too late. And, you know, you look at Anita Baker and some of the artists that got a bit of a later

start, if you will. Divine is right in that echelon. And I just encourage, you know, the social media curators out there, because it's no longer A&R departments in the way it used to be, but the A&R is now a publicly run division of the music industry. And, you know, I encourage people to follow her on Instagram and, you know i i encourage people to to follow her on on instagram and and you know and support her abilities she's incredible um you know people like her julie black simone daddy um so there's as you said deborah cox etc like it's unbelievable that they haven't

been able to amass the careers that are reflective of their abilities. Are you friendly with Julie Black? Does she take your calls? Absolutely. Okay. I've been trying, I've been trying to get Julie Black. I produce a, well, my show, but also Ralph Ben-Murgy's podcast. And Ralph is very eager to chat, chatter up. And I've been trying to go through the channels. I haven't talked to her directly. That's part of the problem here, I think.

But I've been having trouble. I might need you to grease the wheels. Maybe we'll talk about that later. You know, there's a term in the industry called co-producer. And, you know, I can get a lot of these acts for you. I can, you know, if you're having difficulty reaching certain people, you know, just look up if you've got a dictionary nearby behind the, I see the beer in the background there. Look up co-producer. Look up the average salary

of a co-producer. We can definitely do some great things together. Maybe we'll barter veggie lasagna from Palma Pasta in exchange for favors. Deal. Here's a classic. Let's kick out this jam. We'll be right back. Outro Music on this world exploration teamed with the best in the nation yes so who that be custom designed fine rhymes

into salary all the way from T-Dot to the fan city all stars food boys freak you like a fantasy word up yes

from the northwest to T-Dot oh desire wow there's a jam for you northern touch rascals

great cypher song great cypher song that's uh 98 can you believe it that's from 1998 still sounds Touch, Rascals. Great cypher song. That's 98. Can you believe it? That's from 1998. Still sounds fresh, actually. So talk to me about why you chose

Northern Touch. I think, you know, obviously I could list another 20 maestro songs if I had chosen to make the list of 10. 20 for 10. But this song is seminal in, I think, Canadian hip-hop.

It showed the geographic breadth of its appeal from the artistic side. If I'm not mistaken, it won the Juno as well. Yes. It really represented where hip-hop had grown to. And if we list all the seminal songs of domestic hip-hop leading up to even right now, that's on the list for sure. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about that. And Cardi's still doing his thing, of course. But yeah, it was chosen for that, for those reasons.

Big tune, man. Here's an interesting fact is that, so they won, Rascals won the Juno for, the 98 Juno for Cash Crop Best Rap Recording. But they actually refused the award because they presented the best rap recording award in the non-televised portion of the Junos. So they actually took the stand and refused it because what disrespect is that? And then the very next year, they added the best rap recording to the televised main ceremony in 99, and the Rascals actually won it again for this song.

And then they did accept it. In fact fact they performed the song at that ceremony so sometimes i think that's kind of reminds you that sometimes you need to kind of take a stand and uh that's the only way to you know create progress like to move forward yeah two quick thoughts there so the rapid the rap category was inspired obviously by, not obviously, but it was inspired by Wes's success with let your backbone slide, which was in the dance category originally, if you can,

you know, you understand that. And then app category was introduced when you won the first rap Juno. Right. And then later on, um, based on market, um,

awareness and understanding the, the omniscient Juno Committee for some time didn't include the rap category in televised broadcast. But, you know, the other important factoid there is that synonymous in terms of time was the effort to launch Flow 93.5 that I was gratefully involved with. And when we went to the third attempt to get the license, I opened the presentation to the CRTC and said that, and actually thanked them for having turned this down on two previous occasions. And everybody thought I was being facetious, but what I was emphasizing was that the genre of music that we were proposing to play had transcended everything, race, geography, airways, et cetera, et cetera, to some extent. And what we were going to do was to provide that in one encapsulated sort of medium called,. Well, we didn't even have a name yet, called Milestone Radio. And that was the opening statement of the presentation.

And I think it boosted the confidence of our presentation. It definitely positioned the CRTC in a place of wow-ness. Like, how can we turn down the number one genre of music on the planet, not even in the country, on the planet? Hip hop, you're talking Biggie Smalls and Tupac and like, just like a monstrous genre of music. And the only thing, again, to hold it back was systemic and institutionalized bias. Like, you know, we had a meeting at an unnamed large beer company, and in the middle of the meeting, I advised the folks to go home and ask their children

who their top 10 heroes are. And they came back with a number, and approximately 80% of the names on the list were people of African descent. Right. So you can't deny what's the undeniable. Let's put it that way. Now you have to turn off that

12 noon alarm that says wrap up with Toronto Mike here because we have one more jam to go. Let's kick out the final jam. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, I love the shout out to Kennedy Station. All right, bro. You know, again, creative, clever. Joel, you know, like, Joel sings a lot of rhythmic elements there.

And I think that that song also introduced another dimension of Wes's creativity and ability to, to bring it, you know? So yeah, I was very excited about that, that experience as well. The costume direction,

everything was this time, I should say all that. What's wrong, Mike? You okay? No. Yeah, I'm okay. in this time, I should say. All that. What's wrong, Mike? You okay? No, yeah, I'm okay. I referenced earlier the airplanes, okay? So I'm trying to spot where this is, but it sounds like this is Labor Day,

and we've got the snowbirds overhead. So maybe later I'll find out what the heck kind of exercise that is or whatever, but that's not usual for this neck of the woods so just making sure we're not under attack here Farley you know they want to stop the music here my apologies and I will be curious

to play back and see if that got picked up by the mic these unidirectional mics because it was very loud so my apologies but yeah again sorry about that fly over there because it was very loud, so my apologies. But yeah, again, sorry about that flyover there. Maybe it was for you. They thought you were in the backyard,

and they were going to do a special flyover, perhaps. Conducting Thanks, again, this was a key single, because when you have your big breakthrough album, your lead single from that next album is really important, right? Like this is the one, and this was, this one hit it out of the park. Yeah, definitely. And, you know, what I loved about it was the appeal that it had across demographics, right? Right. across demographics, right?

Right. Yeah. The appeal across demographics, it's a party song. You know what I mean? People got on all dance floors for this song and, you know, West was still his same lyrical prowess, you know, verse to verse, line for line. That's what I liked about him.

You can't pick out a weak line in his music. He's a really, really... This is what draws us to Maestro, right? His ability to turn a phrase and to do it in that sort of that, I call it the Big Daddy Kane style of like, it's effortless. Like it looks effortless.

I would agree. That's a good comparison. Quite a very good comparison. Yeah, he's a smooth operator. Yeah. Love the guy. And love you, Farley. This was amazing. Again, for round three,

you got to get your butt back to the, you know, my home base here so that you can collect your, make sure you get your lasagna and beer and your stickers and everything. It'd just be good to see you again, man. I got a lot of respect for you and I love what you're doing for the community. Appreciate it very much. So

just a gentle reminder to folks, you know, please come and check us out at Toronto Shines. We're there every weekend until October 31st. It's a drive-in scenario. We'll move with the guidelines and all measures of safety. It's a great experience. It's comedy, great comedians, great live musicians, and the drive-in movie experience. So it's an entertainment experience encapsulated in, you know, all in. And, yeah, we just hope to see people down there. It'll be a lot of fun. You had me at Divine Brown. If you're serious about coming down, let me know, bro.

I got you. Okay, yeah, for sure. We'll be in touch. All I got to do is line up the old babysitting here. I got you okay yeah well yeah for sure we'll be in touch all I got to do is line up the old babysitting here because I got the four year old

anyways that's my only challenge on all of those things but thanks again for this torontoshines.ca to learn more about Toronto Shines

and buy tickets and it's very safe and contactless and it's a great night out I mean we're all starving for these nights out and it sounds like you can get great food

great entertainment a a movie. Sounds fantastic. Good for you, Farley. And, you know what, Mike? Feel free to – I'm going to give you a two-car giveaway. How's that? Really? So I can do some kind of like a –

We're going to run a little contest, two-car giveaway for one night this weekend, whether it be Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Okay. Okay. I'll make sure to run that today, and then I'll just email you the winner's... I just email you the winner's email address

or something like that? Yeah, exactly. Just have them email... They can email info at torontoshines.ca with their name and all that information. Info at torontoshines.ca. Is that the contest, or are you going to make them answer some kind of a trivia question or something?

No, no, you, you, you do whatever you got to do. It's your fans. I want somebody, I want an F O T M. Right. Do you know what that stands for? Do you know what that stands for? I just assume it's for friends opposed to Toronto. Okay. We're good. I'm going to run the contest. A couple of free cars at Ontario Place, Ontario Shine. Sounds amazing. Farley, you're an FOTM for life.

Thank you, bud. And that brings us to the end of our 697th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Farley is at Flex Original. Flex Original. And what is it? Do you have an Instagram you want to shout Mike. Farley is at Flex Original. Flex Original. And what is your, do you have an Instagram

you want to shout out? Yeah, it's Flex Original. Flex Original. That's the, that's how you find Farley. Flex. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer.

Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Sticker U is at Sticker U. The Keitner Group are at The Keitner Group. CDN Technologies are at CDN Technologies. Pumpkins After Dark, they're at Pumpkins Dark. And Garbage Day are at

GarbageDay.com slash Toronto Mike. Join me at 7pm tonight. Ben Rayner in the Backyard Studio kicking out the jams. It's going to be a great time. See you all there. Because I know that's true. Yes, I do. I know it's true, yeah. This podcast has been produced by TMDS and accelerated by Rome Phone. Rome Phone brings you the most reliable virtual phone service to run your business and protect your home number from unwanted calls.

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