Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Maestro Fresh-Wes: Toronto Mike'd #194

Episode Date: September 22, 2016

Mike chats with the Godfather of Canadian hip hop, Maestro Fresh-Wes, about his career in music from Let Your Backbone Slide to I Know Your Mom.

This is a throwdown, a showdown, hell no I can't slow down, it's gonna go! What up Miami? Toronto VK on the beat I'm in Toronto where you wanna get the city love I'm from Toronto where you wanna get the city love I'm a Toronto Mike, wanna get the city love My city love me back, for my city love Welcome to episode 194 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything.

Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a local independent brewery producing fresh craft beer. I'm Mike from TorontoMic.com and joining me this week is rapper, producer and actor Maestro Fresh Wes Peace Should I call you the Maestro or is Wes okay? Wes is cool man Hey thanks for doing this this has been a big dream of mine to get you down here

I'm right here thanks for having me after a while I know you're trying to get me for a minute man just been busy transitioning from filming to other things I was doing, but I try to be a man in my words, so we definitely make it. No, you're...

It's awesome you're here. Hey, that jam you're hearing right there, is that any good? That's a local rapper producer, Ill Vibe, who put that together just for this show.

Yeah, Ill Vibe's my man. I've worked with him before. Matter of fact, he's done a couple videos for me, so shout out to Ill Vibe, definitely. And that's good stuff, right? How come I'm not hearing that? The radio's not playing that one.

Oh, well, I don't know. You don't have time for that one? It's a whole different ballgame for that in terms of what radio plays, what they don't play. But in terms of what's dope, what I like, you know what I'm saying? Cool. Hey, let me just set the table here by telling you. In 1989, I was a grade 9 student at michael power and i remember i still remember this day it was really early like i i'm new school i didn't know what's going

on and i was sitting in the gym bleachers at michael power which they destroyed it like they put up condos it's gone okay i'm next to a guy named i still remember his name oscar la fluente la fluente all right i think he became a chef or something anyway i'm uh think we were talking about Eric B. and Rakim or Big Daddy Kane or something, and then he took the butt of his Walkman, like a Sony Walkman, and he put it in my ear. And he played me a track. He played this. This is a throwdown, a showdown. Hell no, I can't slow down.

It's going to go. First offense. And I'm like, nah, this kid can't be from Canada. I'm like, come on. Because a lot of time back then, there was no reference point of cats coming out of Canada doing hip-hop. You know what I'm saying? Besides myself, you know, Missy, me, Dream Warriors.

So it was a shock to the community in a lot of different ways because, you know, our point of reference for hip-hop was obviously the names mentioned and and the pioneers who came before them like grandmaster flash curtis blow you know what i'm saying so you talk like 1988 89 times like that yeah you're thinking of eric b and rock kim you're thinking big daddy kane of course um public enemy you know krOne, BDP. But now I come out of Toronto sounding like this. You were the first rapper from Toronto I think I ever heard. Oh, man. I say that you are more than worthy of the nickname,

The Sixth Godfather. Oh, bless up, bless up, bless up. I'm going to call you that from now on. Is that going to be awkward? It's cool, it's cool. That might be awkward, but it's cool. You know, I want to, like, I want to, I got a lot of questions for you,

but can we start by telling me how this track, so this is the track that breaks you. It's the first track most of us heard by Maestro Fresh West. How does this come together? I'm a big fan of Public Enemy. You know what I'm saying? That's where you hear that noise in the background. That was inspired by Public Enemy records,

especially after it takes a nation of Millions to Hold Us Back album. Let Your Backbone Slide. I got that idea from a song called The Stroke by Billy Squire. I got that. Let me play that. So this is the part you're talking about right here. Yeah. So there you go. Make your backbone slide.

That's what inspired me to write a song called Let Your Backbone Slide. You know what I'm saying? I'm from Scarborough. Old school Scarborough cats. We rockers. Listen to a lot of rock. And Billy Squire was big. I mean, he had big beat. Big beat was a big break beat that a lot of hip-hop artists used throughout the early 80s,

what have you, like that, which is probably more popular than The Stroke. Yeah. The song right there. But when he said make a backbone slide, it sounded like some James Brown influential type saying or something like that. So I said, you know what? I want to make a song called that. And that's what I did.

So, you know, that's how the influence came from there. And then, you know, we just kept it moving. And then next thing, the rest is history. Man, we're going to get to that history. But first, I got some gifts for you. You got a six-pack in front of you of Great Lakes beer. Okay. You're taking that home with you, man.

That's right. That's right. That's a good local craft brewery. You'll enjoy it. I shall. I promise. I promise. Now, the beginning.

So you mentioned, like, there was no guys in hip-hop, no people in hip-hop. You mentioned Mishimi and Dream Warriors. But in 88, 89, there's nobody from Toronto. Like, how do you break through? Like, how do you cut through and become, like, the pioneer? First of all, big up to Slinky D, who was actually the first cat to come out with a hip-hop full-length album. It was just an underground album that not too many people knew about, but he came out before me.

And also, cats who I still work with today, East Park Posse. East Park Posse is my man Chris Scott Rocks, a.k.a. Chris Jackson, who was doing a lot of things on his own. But they had an EP that came out I believe in 1988 before me as well but those were like underground records which a lot of people don't know about just the fact that those cats did that and Mishy you know being signed to first priority with MC Light and Audio 2 and them that really reinforced to me is like yo you got to hit hard man and you

got to get harder than anybody else so those are like influences i didn't know slinky d before but i definitely knew uh of uh east park posse and and mishy me of course and then i know the dream warriors they were like right behind me too so it's like i had to come hard bro i had to come hard you know what i'm saying so but where do you consume hip-hop back then like is uh like where would you go to consume new hip-hop oh my man ron nelson who i who's like he's really like the godfather of underground canadian hip-hop underground hip-hop coming out of toronto if you look at the back of the the first boogie down production album uh they have a shout out to ron nelson and the toronto posse i'm like yes toronto's on the map you You know what I'm saying?

South Bronx co-signed us. Yes, we're here. Toronto, we're there. You know what I'm saying? So, but Ron Nelson was a guy who was very instrumental to bring in a lot of groups from the States to Canada for the first time. And he was also the first guy to put me on radio

when I was 15 years old, man. That's CKLN 88.1. Yeah, like the Fantastic Voyage, right? Exactly. That was my jump off right there. So big shout out to the Fantastic Voyage. Yeah, CKLN radio. I remember that was like one of the few places you could go and actually hear like a new hip hop track.

1982. I was like 15 and yeah. Wow. So Maestro Fresh West is how you kind of, you launched as Maestro Fresh West. So where does that name come from? It used to be Melody MC. So all those years on CKLN,

it was just Melody MC and then AKA Fresh West. I think because of Boogie Down Production, they had a member there called Miss Melody. So I was like, you know what? Let's just start rocking the Fresh West. You know what I'm saying? And then from that, like one of my homies said, you know, your rhymes are too dope for just Fresh West. You need like a title.

So I came up with the idea of Maestro, you know? I saw a tuxedo, a tuxedo royale. I'm like, hmm, okay. I'm going to call myself the Maestro Fresh West. That's just cool to me. You know what I mean? And I remember telling one of my peoples, that's going to be my new rap name. And I remember she just dropped the phone

And started laughing Telling her sister Yo this clown is calling himself Maestro Fresh West I'll never forget that day She dropped the phone Little did she know though man Next time she turns on much music Yeah yeah yeah

Maestro you can't avoid the guy. Like, the laugh was so, like, it was a belly laugh. It really evoked humor. Like, you know what I'm saying? She just died laughing. Okay, so, like, people can't see this, but I'm staring at the 12-inch single of Let Your Back Be Alive. Yes, yes, yes. So, like, how many tuxedos do you own right now?

Maybe, like, two, man. Just two? Yeah. That's reasonable. That was a rental back then on that cover. And that's from Tuxedo Royale? Is that the red one? Yeah, I think that's where I got it from back in the days.

Thanks for asking. I rented mine from Moors. Moors, okay. I got a good deal for my wedding. It's the only time I've worn a tuxedo. Okay, okay, okay. My second wedding, though, not the first one. You see?

Okay, okay. You smartened up. That sounds about right. Hey, I had a call the other day with Joel Goldberg. Yes, sir, my man. And he was one of the founders of Electric Circus. He was back in the day when Electric Circus started on. That's where I got my record deal.

I performed at Electric Circus. I was at the right place at the right time. And it was a blessing. And Joel Goldberg ended up shooting the video for Drop the Needle, Let Your Backbone Slide. I think he produced Conducting Things. Me and Joel did like my eight videos together. Yeah, you guys went up to like the 416905 stuff. 416905.

Yeah, definitely, man. We've done a lot of work together. Great dude. Great dude. So when he tells me the story of like you're performing at Electric Circus and of all people, Stevie B. Stevie B. If it wasn't for Stevie B, none of this would have happened this way.

So, you know, I'm very grateful, you know, for him being there. He came up to me and just said, like, man, you're dope, man. It's like maybe we could work together. So he put me on to his peoples from LMR, and that was it. You know, the rest is history. But if it wasn't for that Stevie B connection right there. And you know what? I got to give a shout out to Farley Flex too,

my former manager, because that was my second time in the electric circus. The first time I did my thing, I was nice. They asked me to come back on one more time. I didn't really want to go back on again for the simple fact it's like, dude, I already did this, man. It's like, what's good?

But he was saying for the fact that they're calling you, let's just try to do this again. And lo and behold, look who we met. Yeah, timing's good. But he was saying, for the fact that they're calling you, let's just try to do this again. And lo and behold, look who we met. Your timing's everything. Timing's everything, man. So what's meant for you, no one can take away from you. It's meant for you. So maybe when you're leaving the studio today,

you might bump into somebody that could. I was going to butt my head on the way out. Oh, yeah. I was going to say, you're yet another victim of the low ceilings in the John O'Mickey studio. But I'm getting back. Yeah, you never know, man. That's why, you never know, man.

That's why, you know. People don't know. I mean, I remember Stevie B from the Postman song, which I won't sing it, so you guys don't worry about it. But yeah, that's just too funny that you're kind of signed in the USA before you're signed in Canada, right? Yeah, that's not funny. That's just life. That's just how it goes, man.

You know what I mean? But, you know, it's a part of life. It's a part of business. Back in the days, we got so emotional about, like, what, they don't want to sign me it goes, man. You know what I mean? But, you know, it's a part of life. It's a part of business. Back in the days, we got so emotional about, like, what? They don't want to sign me? Oh, man. They were like, you know what?

So what? If they don't want to sign you, they don't want to sign you. If you don't think they can make money, labels feel that you're viable, that your product is viable, why are you getting angry? Find something else to do or go to a place where that's viable, that's accessible, you know? And I've just been blessed for the fact that that place, New York City, came to me. Yeah. Thank you, Farley Flex, that you did Electric Circus a second time.

Yeah. Another buddy of mine who's been on the show many times is Ed Conroy. I call him Retro Ontario. Okay. But he says, okay, he wanted me, when I'm talking about Electric Circus with you, if I could ask you about the dancer dressed as a cowboy. Yeah, he was giving me nightmares. So tell me.

He says your description is amazing. Yeah, man. The dude looked like, I don't know. I don't know if I was watching Soul Train or Dukes of Hazzard. He was just breaking my heart. He had like Daisy Dukes on. Is that right? This dude got like cowboy boots and a cowboy hat.

Dancing to hip hop. It was just like, I was confuffled. I had, from Byway, I had Dukes of Hazzard sheets on my bed. This guy should have been,

I don't know, he should have had Dukes of Hazzard something else. I don't know. But anyway, that was one of the reasons why I didn't want to go on Electric Circus again.

Is that right? That's a good reason, man. Hey, so you mentioned, so Joel Goldberg directs the video for Let Your Backbone Slide. Yeah. So in that video, it's a pretty common known fact, but I bet you some people are going to learn it now for the first time. But Dwight Drummond, CBC anchor, CBC Toronto anchor, Dwight Drummond, appears in the video at the beginning. Dwight Drummond's in Backbone and Drop the Needle. Is that right?

Yeah, man. That's my dude right there. And that's because what? You needed bodies, right? And he was like a production assistant at City. Yeah, he's just a good dude. He was just up and coming, just trying to make a contribution. And he definitely did.

It's just so funny. Me and him just spoke about this yesterday, too. Is that right? Because I've been talking to him. As soon as he has some time, he's coming over to do this podcast. Yeah, man. Yeah, so he's as good as advertised? Yeah, he's cool, man.

He's cool people, man. All right, so Let Your Backbone Slide. Some fun facts. This has, of course, dropped the needle, but Let Your Backbone Slide was the first Canadian hip-hop single to chart in the top 40. I see here it reached number 10 on the Canadian singles chart in March 1990. It was, I don't know what all this means, but it's certified gold.

I guess that means it sold 50,000 copies. And it was the best-selling Canadian hip-hop single for more than 20 years. That's pretty incredible, man. 20 years. That's amazing. I'm proud of that, man. I'm proud of that. There's a lot of work that was put into that, you know.

Shout out to Attic, LMR, you know. I'm proud of that, man. I'm proud of that. There's a lot of work that was put into that, you know? Shout out to Attic, LMR, you know? Those were some cool times, man. Hey, I remember watching these videos on MuchMusic and like, you had your two dancers, right? Yeah.

I remember distinctly they were called Act One and Act Two. Yeah. But then, did the names change to Easy Does It Easy? Yeah, yeah.

Tell me what happened there. The brothers kept, shout out to DRK, my man Frankie, who's act one, rest in peace. You know, those were good times, man. Those guys were just dope, man. They're foundational Toronto hip hop dancers. And they were influenced by, you know, Scoop and Scrap by Big Daddy King. Yeah.

But they were dope, man. And they definitely made a major contribution into the visuals, as well as my shows. Like, we did some tours with those cats. It was really dope, man. So, those were the good old days, man. And what about the,

you mentioned Mishimi, big influence, and you talked about Farley Flex. What about LTD? LTD's my dude, man. LTD, I love that guy, man. You know?

Yeah, man, we came up. LTD, I met from his brother, Paul. Paul Swade, we went to high school with him. And LTD was just that dude, man. He just wanted to be down. He just wanted to be down. He just wanted to hold us down.

LTD's now the proud father of seven kids. Wow. He took Let Your Backbone Slide seriously. That's a big number, man. And he's not going to start an ostrich farm. I remember Terminator X, right? Terminator X. He's got an ostrich farm or something?

Yeah, man. Terminator X just turned 50. Is that right? Terminator X. He's got an ostrich farm or something? Yeah, man. Terminator X just turned 50. Is that right? Yeah, man. I'm going to get to this later because I was at the show at the Sound Academy a few years ago and it's DJ Lord now. Yeah, DJ Lord's dope. He's dope too, but the original P. His name was DJ Melody too as well.

He changed it to Terminator X. Hey, man. I had Valley of the Jeep Beats, okay? Do you remember this? To me, that was amazing. The Terminator X and the Valley of the Jeep Beats, okay? Do you remember this? To me, that was amazing. Terminator X and the Valley of the Jeep Beats. Wow, just the names.

The names these guys used to come up with. That's the ish right there. Black Steel and the Hour of Chaos. Terminator X at the Edge of Panic. They had those ill titles. You know what I'm saying? It's so dope. Yeah, so I was a huge Public Enemy fan,

and then I got into Maestro Fresh West and a bunch of other stuff. See, I point here now because I got the Public Enemy here. I noticed. That was my band. That's my favorite hip-hop group ever. Is that right? Yeah, man. Mine too.

You're a close second, man. But I got Public Enemy. Well, here, I'm a hip-hop act. They're a hip-hop group. So if I'm close by them anyway, it's good. Yeah, no, they're incredible. We're going to get to that later because, of course, there was a moment at that concert at the Sound Academy,

which I want to talk about later. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So Symphony in Effect, pretty successful. Now, at the time, I was a big fan, and I used to collect 12-inch singles. I don't have anything to play them on anymore, but I only kept a few, by the way. By the way, before I let you out of my basement, I'm going to make you sign this. No doubt, no doubt.

But we have, there was a song, I bought a 12-inch single. Young MC produced this for the Coupe de Ville soundtrack, okay? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So let me play a bit of this because I always said to myself, like for years now, I said if I ever get Maestro Fresh West in my basement, I got to ask him about this because I Googled the crap out of it. There's nothing out there. It's like it's all in my memory bank. And I don't know how fuzzy that is. But here. Let's see how this goes.

And you know, it's crackling because this is like literally ripped from the 12-inch. So this was like, I'm going to let it get to your lyrics. So you could take a sip of water and break there. But then I'm going to ask you about how this came together. Because I freaking loved it, man, I loved it. And I memorized, I still got these rhymes memorized. I could do it all for you right now. It would be embarrassing, but I could do it.

Actually, you know, maybe you don't, I'm realizing now there's a long time before you come in. But this was like for Coop DeVille, Louis Louis played a prominent role. Like who approached you? Like Young MC produced this. This is you rapping on this. I can't even remember how that came into fruition, man. See, that's why there's nothing on Google.

None of you guys remember this. It's a long time ago, man. But shout out to Young MC. He's a professor, right? Might be, man. That's my dude. He's cool. Marvin's cool. We did a show together a few Might be, man. That's my dude. He's cool. Marvin's cool. We did a show together a few years ago, man. Did you? Yeah. So you actually, you don't

remember anything about this 12-inch iBot? No, no, no. I just can't remember. Bring him back some memories? I don't even like that no more, man. No? No, you want me to turn it down? Turn it off? Maybe that's what you've done. You've scrubbed all evidence of this from the internet. Probably, probably. It's only in my memory. No, no, no, not me, not me.

That's funny. That's cool, man. That's cool, man. You know, shout out to Young MC. Definitely good dude. You know, because of him, I toured Canada, man. Is that right? Yeah.

So, what did you do? You opened for him? That's right, man. We went across Canada. First time I ever was in Edmonton toured Canada, man. Is that right? Yeah. So you opened for him? That's right, man. We went across Canada. First time ever was in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria. All that was because of young MC, man. Touring with him, man. Cool.

We had a good time, too. So Symphony in Effect is a big hit. And then the follow-up is Black Tie Affair. I'm playing Conducting Things because that's the first. I remember Much Music started playing the mess out of this video when it was released. Yeah, sorry, it's a bit toasty down here. You got a jacket on. The, um, an ignore all that.

You know what? I got so many kids. I got Gates. The two-year-old is now too old, but the six-month-old doesn't crawl yet, so it's like I'm in between Gates right here. I'll fix all that later. So was there some disappointment at all that Black Tie Affair didn't measure up to the success of Symphony Effect? I thought it was a solid album.

Yeah, it was a dope album. I was definitely disappointed. But you know what, though? It is what it is. I guess it's for the fact that things change, styles change. Conducting Things is a big song. Backbone Slide was a big song too. At that time too it was more groundbreaking of a record because at that time hip hop was

more of its embryonic stage from a mainstream perspective. When, you know, two years later, the year and a half later that album came out, you know, things changed, styles changed. Beats were slowing down and what have you. And it is what it is. But I'm proud of that album though, definitely. though definitely definitely would have been great my whole vibe was if Symphony in effect did platinum black tie fair should have done double platinum that's why I was thinking that's why I put so many cats on the album you know a lot of up-and-coming artists like K force that was his first time ever on record he's the guy who's uh he's the first cat I

ever heard we ever heard, or we ever heard, that came up with T.O. Dot. TAYLOR BOETTICHER- Is that right? Yeah, he was the one. He was on VIP's Only to Be side of Conducting Things. Carlos Morgan was on the album as well. Simone Denny, who's in Love, Inc. She's actually singing on

Conducting Things. That's her voice right there, one of the three voices. If there was a fourth voice, it would have been Debbie Cox, now known as Deborah Cox. Right. Because they were all a group, just the four ladies.

She did all right. She did all right, right? Shout out to Deborah Cox, you know? But yeah, Toronto got the history, man, and I'm glad that we've done that. But yes, getting back to what you said, I was disappointed that that album didn't evolve further than the first album did.

Yes. But you were saying this album was different, that you had sort of some social commentary on this album. Yes. For example, here. This is the obvious choice here. Which, by the way, this is a great single. Thanks. But you're saying stuff.

And it's funny. I'm wearing my Tragically Hip t-shirt today. At that last show in Kingston, he made a point to you know do some social commentary on how we've treated uh our aboriginal peoples and you're actually touching on a lot of these uh points here i'm working on a new joint right now regarding that subject matter well yeah to me it's like i gotta say man don't make records make history anybody can make a record making history is when you do something or say something that people check for people remember you um remember what you're saying and you know like bob dylan bob marley they didn't make records they made history like you know and blowing in

the wind is is still still here you know what i'm saying one love is still here you know what i'm saying so that's what i always try to do with my music you could play nothing at all right now and even if it's the first time you ever heard that song this stuff that's relevant I always try to do with my music. You can play nothing at all right now. And even if it's the first time you ever heard that song, there's stuff that's relevant in that song right there. You know, so that's kind of my vibe. I think that's part of what drew me to Public Enemy, for example, is they weren't just rhyming about whatever girls and this and that. They were saying something. There was substance there.

How cool is that that I wrote a book called Stick to Your Vision, and the cat who wrote the foreword was Chuck D from Public Enemy. You kidding me, man? Right. That's like one of my hip-hop highlights, man. He's the best. You know what I'm saying? So, yeah, I mean, I was disappointed.

It didn't do as well as the first one. But that's a part of it. So that's how that goes. Was Kish on this album? Nah, Kish is one of my best friends now, man. He's a voiceover actor now, like a big time voiceover. That's my dude. Me and Kish speak maybe like once a week,

once every other week. Sometimes football season, we speak twice a week. You know, my quick Kish story is as a teenager, I met him at HMV at 333 Yonge Street. And he was just in the in the basement there where you get all your good stuff yeah and uh it was to me it was like I had met like uh to me it's a big deal I had uh was it organized no no uh organized rhyme no but organized rhyme was they were doing something with Dream Warriors I remember but I'm thinking

of organized chaos from order order from chaos that. Oh, okay, okay. Order from Chaos. Great album, man. Yeah, man. Great album. I'm on that. Yeah, that's where I'm screwing up. You're on his. He's not on.

I got you. I got you. That's my dude. And before we go over the Dream Warriors thing, because they were great, too. And I hear they were really big in Britain. Britain really appreciated Dream Warriors. I think they were platinum,

the first Canadian hip-hop group to go platinum in the uk straight out of toronto and you still know these guys you still keep in touch i mean i haven't seen lou in a while man um king lou i haven't seen him in a minute but you know we're always cool man that's like that's like we foundation man foundation it's funny we just accidentally said organized rhyme and i remember like tom green and the who are guys jane and finch like Tom Green and the OR guys at Jane and Finch at like a food I used to work at a food city at Dufferin and DuPont

yeah yeah yeah and when that video came out that's the food city at Jane and Finch dope dope dope and King Lou and Capital Q have like a cameo in there yeah man

that was the good old days right that's funny no doubt hey man not to get too weird here but I gotta say that you're in good shape, man.

Oh, thanks, man. Thanks. You're just making me look bad here. It's all good, B. So is that exercise and diet? Just genetics, man. Is that genetics? Shout out to my pops, my moms, man.

That's it, man. I got to get back in the gym train a bit, but respect. Thank you. All right. Listen, if you want to eat healthy, I'm going to give you a little tip here, okay? What is that? If you want to eat healthy and you don going to give you a little tip here, okay? What is that? If you want to eat healthy and you don't want to worry about meal planning because you're a busy guy. And I know we're going to get to this.

You're the busiest guy in the city, I think. You're the busiest guy in the city. But there's a company called Chef's Plate. And they deliver meal kits. So they'll actually, like, deliver a meal kit and then you put it together. And it's, like, pre-portioned, locally sour locally sourced fresh fresh ingredients and easy to follow recipes chef's kit it's called chef's plate chef's plate so two things i need you to know one is if you go to chefsplate.com and you put in the promo code toronto mike you get your

first two plates free that's like 22 and savings but here's more important for you maestro fresh west yeah after i'm going to send you a link where you can look at some of the the plates they have you pick your two favorites. Chef's plate will completely free of charge. Send them to your house. All right? Not too bad. So not only am I giving you beer for your travel.

Yeah, you're giving me free food. You're getting free food. I like it. I like it. So there's a list. I'll give you a list. It's like you picked your favorite of these six things, and like New England shrimp rolls and Malaysian mango noodles

and a whole bunch of good stuff. Okay, it's going to be dope. They're going to take care of you. Wicked. Cool. So much music. So where I would see a lot of Maestro Fresh West was on much music. But my question is about radio.

So back then, would radio support you? I mean, when Backbone Slide came out, radio supported. Conducting Things, I didn't get that much radio support. But I definitely got a lot of much music video support as well. Much music for sure. Yeah, definitely. So at this point though, so we got your Symphony in Effect, we got your Black Tie Affair, and then

as legend has it, like you go, you move, you move from Toronto to New York. I didn't really move, man. Is that right? What happened there? I just went over there. You know what I'm saying? I had a spot over there. I'm back and forth all the time. Back and forth all the time. You didn't see me as much.

But I was in New York, and I was in Toronto as well. But so it goes. That's how it goes. Special shout out to my man, Showbiz, who I just spoke to last week. See, you keep in touch these days. Who produced four songs of mine off the third album and what have you. And this is Nah, This Kid Can't Be From Canada. Yeah.

Which I like saying, by the way. Yeah, no doubt. And it's so funny. And the song mic mechanism, that's one that Nah, This Kid Can't Be From Canada is heard. Special shout out to my good friend, video director Jesse Torero, who's gone on to shoot many different videos for 50 Cent. Tons of videos, man. He's one of the top, besides Director X, who shot Stick to Your Vision, Jesse Torero is one of the top video directors in America. And yeah, he was a part of that album too as well, you know?

Was it important to you to have success in the United States? Yeah, you want to be able to. That's the birthplace, man. That's where this whole thing originated. That's why what I said earlier is when you see the Boogie Down production album, the back of that, and they say Ron Nelson, the Toronto Posse, it was like, wow, he co-signed by New York, by the Bronx, where hip-hop originated.

So to me, it was like hooking up with Showbiz. He's a Bronx man. You know what I mean? He was like, yo, let's go in. Let's go in. And then to get that acceptance was great, and to want to work with me and bring me in as a part of the fam, what have you, was very accommodating.

But yes, you want to be a part of that, because that's where hip-hop originated. And unfortunately for me, yeah, I didn't have that support. Label-wise. But guess what things change styles change so maybe what i was doing wasn't really conducive to what um was was uh the demand for you know i like more up-tempo beats but at that time things slowed down a bit right right so you know a lot of it is me a lot of things the easiest thing to do is blame everybody else and there there's all point things. You know what? Maybe it's me. Maybe at that point, people didn't think my ish was that dope.

And it's cool. You know, I mean, I do. You know, looking back, you can hear it. Yeah, that was dope and it still is dope. But it doesn't matter, you know. The easiest thing for humans to do is blame everybody but yourself. But you know what? If people don't check for your ish, they don't check for it.

There's nothing else you could do. Now, obviously, budget, you know, there's budgetary things that could happen and what have you like that. But maybe a part of it, too, is maybe I could have done things differently internally. As I've grown, Mike, I've matured, and one of the things you look at is look at yourself

first and look at what you can change and what you can do to do better and be better as opposed to the easiest thing to do is point fingers at everybody else. Now, LMR spent a lot of money on my music and production and, you know, did they get their money back on certain things

based on sales in America? Not necessarily, you know. Did they do their best job possibly? Probably not either. But at the end of the day, this was a great opportunity for me and I'm grateful for the fact that, you know what, I made some historical joints, man.

It's just so funny, man. I just texted Showbiz a couple days ago because Eric Mercury, I don't know if you ever heard of Eric Mercury. Eric Mercury is a dude who produced Roberta Flack. He's a dude who produced like Donny Hathaway, you know, Toronto Cat who moved to New York. So he's a triple OG.

You know what I'm saying? These guys have got to be like 70 years old or whatever. And I'm hearing him speak at his function. And I just had a text show biz. I'm like, yo, Eric Burr, can we speak? Because we dig in the crates. We listen to old music, old records, and we appreciate that, man.

So that's kind of where I'm at, man. With music, you develop relationships. Some come, some go. Some come back again. What have you, but that's part of life, man. Definitely. Look, to this day if I see a reference to certs or I just see certs or whatever, I think of you.

Or if you see like, anytime you hear the word backbone, you think of me. Anytime you hear like a maestro card, MasterCard got the maestro card, you're thinking of me, man. I think of me. In 2007, a sports doctor thought I might have fractured my sacroiliac, man. All I could think about was you.

Yeah, and just so you know, that record there, I'll let you back most slide, the sacroiliac, the first song I ever heard, and the only song besides Jay Ruda, Damager, and myself, was The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Classic. And that's when I heard the word sacroiliac, and I, like a nerd, went into my dictionary.

He broke his back. That's ill. So when I heard the word sacroiliac. And I, like a nerd, went into my dictionary. He broke his back. That's ill. So when I do backbone slide, I got to bring back the sacroiliac. You know what I'm saying? This sounds fresh. You know what I'm saying? For sure, for sure, for sure. Hey, but you did a couple of things different with Nah, This Kid Can't Be From Canada,

which is you lost your tuxedo. So no more tuxes, right? It's hoodies only. No, no, the tux was there. You didn't see it. It was tux? Of course. I saw the hoodie, man. I thought the tux had been tossed away. Oh, yeah. Nah, nah. T no more tuxes, right? It's hoodies only. No, no, the tux was there. You didn't see it. It was tux? Of course. I saw the hoodie, man.

I thought the tux had been tossed away. Oh, yeah. No, no. Tux isn't a class, man. Come on. And your name, right? Because Maestro Fresh West, Maestro Fresh West, and then just Maestro. Well, that was just brand transitioning.

It's important for us. It's like Snoop, Snoop Lion, Snoop whatever. Like, you know, certain times in your career. Or P. Diddy. Exactly. It's just a transitional thing. Because you got to remember, I'm from the Curtis Blow era. I wrote my first rhyme in 1979.

So for the fact that you're talking 1999 now, you know, you want to show that it's like Coke, Coke 2. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, that's all that is, you know. But at the end of the day, it wasn't like I officially changed nothing. All right, good. So it's always Maestro Fresh West to the death, man.

So today, though, just for the record, today it's Maestro Fresh West. All day, every day, all day. Awesome, awesome. Yes, sir. So then Built to Last is sort of a comeback of sorts. So like I said, I was talking to Joel Goldberg, and he was telling me he did Stick to Your Vision and 416905, the T.O. Party Anthem.

And let me play a little Stick to Your Vision as I... Stick to Your Vision, the video was directed by Director X. Oh, shit. Sorry. All right. Well, he did the 416905. Yeah, yeah. Gotcha, gotcha. So this, like, so what led you to sort of sample this Guess Who track? Because I was given a CDK collection of the 70 greatest Junior Award winning songs.

So, you know, Backbone Slide was on that. So I was happy to be on that. But you got like Brian Adams. You got like, I think Joni Mitchell was on that. Alanis Morissette. The band? The band was on that. Leonard Cohen was on that.

There were so many different tracks. Anne Murray. Anne Murray, of course, was on that. I think Katie Lang, of course, was up on that spot. Murray McLaughlin. I had this many different tracks. Anne Murray. Anne Murray, of course, was on that. I think Katie Lang, of course, was up on that spot. Murray McLachlan. I had this box set, by the way. Four CDs, right? Yeah, four CDs, man. My CD, my song was on the same disc, I believe, of a song called

These Eyes by the Guess Who. And I just remember growing up listening to that song, man. And I'm like, wow. Maybe one day I could sample that record. It worked, man. We did it, man. I I'm like, wow. Maybe one day I can sample that record. It worked, man. Yeah, we did it, man. I don't mean to disrespect the previous album, but the reason I called it a comeback

is because it just seemed like Maestro was back on his game again. Not that you left your game. I don't want to make it sound like... That's all good. Hip-hop is a new genre of music. So, you know, a guy like Leonard Cohen or Neil Young could take five years off albums,

ten years off albums. If a hip-hop artist does that, it's a comeback. That's right, yeah. You know what I'm saying? LL, right? Yeah, you know,

I mean, he said that the best. Like, don't call it a comeback. But he was coming from, yeah, he was coming from like a boxing perspective. But the mistake that we make is think that,

you know, this is art. If you gotta take ten years off, twenty years off, do art. That's all it is, man. I learned that from Leonard Cohen. You know, Neil Young. Neil Young ain't young. No, Neil Young ain't young. And Leonard Cohen's birthday was yesterday. And he's 90. You know what I'm saying? And he's still bodying cats, lyrically. You know what I'm saying? So that's what's up. I don't think he's 90, but he's like 82, I think.

When I won my first two Juno Awards, I felt like an all-star, man. But then Leonard Cohen won a Lifetime Achievement Award, and that was the size of a grand piano. So here I am with my two little water bottles, right? And I see Leonard Cohen pull off his – he won a Lifetime Achievement Award. That's how big his award was. It was monumental. And it just reinforced to me, you know what?

You get to certain levels, you got to keep it moving, man. Yeah, the man wrote Hallelujah. You see what I'm saying? Amen. Amen. It was great. Hey, but that 905, that 416905 T.O. Party anthem, it predates all of this sick stuff like this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So, you know, shout out to my man Drake,

because I've seen him in a couple interviews, and he's laughing. He keeps laughing. Every time he mentions 416905, he laughs. A smile comes to his face. And then he says, yo, this might be everybody's top five maestro Fresh West moments, but to me, this is my joint, because he was the first to really mention a song about Toronto. Like, how cool is that?

And to him, he said that's one of the reasons that inspired him to always rep his city. And now when he says The Six, you got to think about it. That's international. Everybody knows Toronto as The Six. You know what I mean? I talked to a guy in Germany for work periodically, and I asked him, he likes rap, and I'm like, who's your favorite rapper?

And he's like, Drake. And he's going on about drake and i said you know that he's from toronto it's like drake is huge in germany it's like he he is not a toronto guy drake has become like yeah international abri graham is the voice of his generation okay that's what it is he's the voice of his generation man definitely so in your opinion he given, I know you said he has here, but he's given appropriate thanks to the Six Godfather for paving the way. Because let's face it, there's no Drake if it's not for Maestro Freshwater. Drake doesn't have to do anything on that note like that. Speaking of awkward, awkward is when I get credit for stuff that I don't personally feel I deserve getting credit for.

So I feel awkward about that. Meaning, people say comments like that, man, if it wasn't for you, hip-hop wouldn't be so big. Ray, Ray, Ray, let me tell you something. I came out 30 years ago. The kids who grew up listening to Drake never heard of me. That's just real talk right there.

So I feel awkward when I hear, if it wasn't for you, there'd be no that. If it wasn't for Mishy, there'd probably be no me Because that was in a six-month proximity You know what I'm saying? But with all due respect, you know I came out in 89

I think Drake came out in 2005 Dude, a lot has happened since then He's in his own lane And he did that. You know what I mean? And those kids, Tory Lane, all of them, that's them doing that. You feel what I'm saying? I get it.

I know, and I wasn't even trying to trash-free. No, no, no, no, no, no. It wasn't trash. You were giving me props, which I appreciate. And a lot of people give me props on that. Chuck D gives me props on that. I respect that, the fact that people feel that I've done great things. And I feel like I've done great things.

But to me, I'm not bigger than hip-hop. And to say that if it wasn't for me, there'd be no Drake or whoever like that, that's like saying I'm bigger than hip-hop. I came out in the 80s. I did something monumental for my city, for my country, and for the genre of music, expanding it. But if it wasn't for me, somebody else would have come out.

Would they have been as dope as me? Probably not. I'm playing. But they would have come out too. Do you see what I'm saying? I hear you. I hear you. So somebody has to be the first or one of the first to do something. And it's great to be acknowledged, but it's good to be honest with yourself. Remember what I told you about a few minutes ago? The older we get, the more you got to be honest with yourself. You see what I'm saying? And one of the things, me being honest with myself, is the fact that, yes, I know what I did back in the days.

I've inspired my country. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for me, there wouldn't have been a Juneau Award within the next 10 years for my rap category. That I will say. You know what I'm saying? But if you're talking the turn of the century, there's a whole different ballgame.

There's Old Testament and New Testament. Right now we're in the New Testament, and we're reading the turn of the century, there's a whole different ballgame. There's Old Testament and New Testament. Right now we're in the New Testament and we're reading the book of Aubrey. I respect the humility. And it's really refreshing to hear, actually. But I'm going to break down something. This is so cryptic. You're going to hear this as an exclusive.

But the Drake, the popular diss track, Back to Back. Let me see if I have the drop here. So everyone knows how it starts. I don't know if he's a consultant or what. Yeah, that's his dude. William Wesley is dude's LeBron James' agent or something like that. Yeah, yeah. Okay, okay.

I learned a game from William Wesley. You can never check me. Back to back for the niggas that didn't get the message. Without a doubt. That's a cryptic. Come on. William Wesley, the guy he's shouting out there. Come on. It's cryptic.

We know that's Wesley Williams. I don't know. You got to ask him on that. But I thought it was me at first, too. Then I go, oh, okay. Yeah, I Googled him. I thought it was you at first, too. I Googled him.

Oh, there is a William Wesley. But I still think it's a... I've decided that's a... Okay, that's cool. Let's go with that, man. That's a Toronto Mike exclusive. a shadow. Okay, that's cool. We're going with that, man. That's a Toronto Mike exclusive. Okay, cool, cool, cool. Two, come on. William Wesley, Wesley Williams.

That's cool, that's cool. It's all love, man. It's all good. I mentioned I saw Public Enemy at the Sound Academy. I'm trying to remember. It was like 2011. I can't remember now. Maybe it was more recent than that. 2013, maybe. Anyway, it was a few years ago. I love Public Enemy. Amazing show. That band band they're 50 something years old and they they're just tremendous greatest hip-hop group

man and i'm there ever and like i'm i'm a big maestro fresh west fan too and i mean i'm i'm there and i'm already into this it's amazing and chuck d and flav of flav bring out a couple of people they bring out uh mishy Me and Maestro Fresh West. And I'm like, this is too good to be true. And there's a YouTube clip of it. I urge people to go find this. Yeah, let's go. But you start, your flow, you start rhyming.

I guess they tell you, you got to bless the mic. I think that's what they were telling you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I said, I had this joint. The rap prime minister, Black Trudeau, the rap prime minister. I said, yo, Chuck, man, if I'm with Rahman, I really want to do this acapella, because I want the crowd to hear these bars, man.

You know what I'm saying? So I spit. I spit. And it's like, that might be one of my biggest hip hop highlights of my career. Because I'm spitting, and the crowd's going nuts. Yeah. And I see Chuck D fall.

My bars just made him laugh. And I'm like, I want to help the guy up, but nah, fuck that. Let me finish these bars first. Let me finish these bars. And he got up, and he punched me in my shoulder. So let me ask you this. So when they're coming to town,

because he has, and I was actually on the East Coast when it happened, but he came back with his new group, but not Public Enemy. Yeah. So I've actually,

you know, I got a little alert, like if Public Enemy is coming to Toronto, I need to know because I'm buying tickets, okay? Yeah, yeah.

He hasn't been, Public Enemy hasn't been back since that show. So when they're coming to town, do you get a text like, hey, we're leaving you tickets? But I got the text the day of, man.

And I'm like, I didn't know about it. And I guess my name was at the will call. I'm not happy like that. But he gave me a big shout out, man. On that note, because you and Mishi were brought on stage. And how is Mishi doing these days? Mishi's the greatest, man. I love Mishi.

I mean, we speak electronically. I don't know how she's doing personally. Electronically, she's doing great. In a weird way, I named my daughter after her because my first daughter's name is Michelle, and I always liked Michelle because I liked the name Mishy Mee. Her nickname, and if she was here, you'd tell her, I've been calling her Mishy Mee since she was born.

Yeah, that's my girl, man. We have a history. We have a beautiful relationship where I was like 15 at the concert hall, and I'm watching this young lady perform on stage at a Sunshine Jam. And I'm like, yo, she's dope. I remember exactly what she was wearing. I remember exactly how she looked. I remember her bars.

I remember everything. And I'm like, wow. So she's been like a her bars. I remember everything. And I'm like, wow. So she's been like a major, major influence for me. I got the utmost respect for her as what she's accomplished and what she's done. So definitely respect to Miss She-Me. Here's a track I've been playing a lot lately here. Let's check this out.

Y'all might do the whole dish thing. Can't believe these cats, B. I know your mom told me. Listen. Pissed off, mad vex, can't believe this shit. Who this young boy really think he dealing with? Long neck, big nose with a suede jacket. Talking to me like we in the same age bracket.

I'm looking for some solitude. He following me like you really want to rob a dude. I'm getting way too over this. He got me looking around to see who else he rolling with. It's crazy. I start approaching son. I took a pause. Where do I know him from? My mind starts recollecting Took another pause Wait a second He's coming at me now He wanna start wildin' I'm feeling comfortable now I start smiling

His mind's kinda cloudy I'ma make it crystal clear Pulled it wide close Then I whispered in his ear I know your mom's Her name's Tracy Don't make me say things Cause she's a nice lady

Look at my face, good You can't remember me? I used to run through your gates Way back in Chester Lee I know your mom's Fucking great. Can I say that? You don't mind? It's okay. It's fucking great. It sounds great, but it's funny. Like, it's dope, but it's funny.

It's great. And I love it. I've been, like, on Twitter and stuff. I've been just throwing it like this. I know your mom. And it's like, the video's great. So, is that your latest drop? That's one of my favorite joints I've ever just throwing it like this I know your mom and it's like the video's great so that's your is that your latest

your latest drop that's one of my favorite joints I ever made in my life man who would've thought about that like at my age

like my bars listen to the bars and that I ain't never heard any MC I never heard any artist on any genre of music write a song

about that yeah you could mention something about yeah I know your moms, F your moms, whatever. But to make a whole song showing you breaking down

the family tree to a young dude, dude, I know your moms, and you're trying your best not to disrespect your moms. Yeah, and that shuts them up quick. You're trying, you're trying. So that's like,

I know your moms could have been a country record. Yeah. Right? Johnny Cash could have done that on some like, you know what I mean? It's great. Like I'm like a 42-year-old guy and I was just like, that's perfect. Like, you know, that's perfect.

So that's great. I know your mom. So if you ever see me tweeting, I know your mom. That's what I'm referencing there. So we've talked a lot. Like we've talked a lot about your rap career because you are a rapper producer. But, you know, there's a whole other side of you that we got to talk about now, which is the acting.

Because I've had Jonathan Torrens on this show. Great guy. Great guy. Street Sense, that was great back in the day. I had a lot of questions about Street Sense. But he's on Mr. D now. Mr. D, you tell me what season it's in, but it's been going a long time. Like, it's a very big success for CBC. And you are on Mr. D now. Mr. D, you tell me what season it's in, but it's been going a long time. It's a very big success for CBC.

And you are on Mr. D. Tell me about acting and your work on Mr. D. First of all, shout out to Jonathan Torres. And a special shout out to Jerry D for Mr. D. It's great, man. I mean, I studied this since 1999. I'm an actor. I've done different shows.

I've been on Instant Star for four seasons. Actually, yeah, four seasons. I've done, I've done tons of stuff. If you check my IMDB.com. Soul Food.

You were on, yeah. I was on an episode of Soul Food, you know, episode of Transporter. It's a couple movies, Four Brothers.

Yes. The very first movie I was ever seen in was a movie called Paid in Full. And the same cameraman for Paid in Full. And the same cameraman for Paid in Full, the same DOP, director of photography, is Paul Sarasi.

Paul Sarasi was the same director of photography for Let Your Backbone Slide. So you see how it's cool to be cool with people. Just be cool with them. Because you never know. Try not to burn bridges. DON DODGEYIU? Don't be a dick. You know what I'm saying? So that was the case with that. But on the acting tip, I just feel blessed to be able to make a transition.

And the thing is, it's something called transferable skills. I learned from being a hip-hop artist the importance of repetition and preparation. So I bring that to the table when I'm acting. So it might not necessarily be my lyrics. It's someone else's lyrics. But you've got to make that come to life. And that's what I try to do. It's not about me.

It's about the character. I try to make the character come, be as authentic as possible. And comedy is a new genre for me, because I do more dramatic stuff. But I don't got to be that funny dude. I'm around like, I'm around. DANNY HERMESOHN- You've got writers anyway.

DANNY HERMESOHN- Yeah, I'm around Jerry D. I'm around Justin. I'm sorry, I'm around like, I'm around. You got writers anyway. Yeah, I'm around Jerry D. I'm around, you know, Justin. I'm sorry, I'm around Jonathan Torrance. I'm around like all kinds. I got Darren Rose, Suresh, Lauren Hemsley, Naomi. Like the whole squad. Bette McDonald. The list goes on and on.

What a beautiful body of work that we've done for six years. But the cast, look at the brilliance of the cast right there I can just be in my own lane let them do what they do right yeah

and you know you mentioned six seasons like how many Canadian shows like that are given an opportunity I don't know I've never been on a show no I'll tell you

not since Beachcombers okay Bruno Gerussi and the Logs fucking the Relic man yeah man but like nah shout out oh Danger Bay like, nah, shout out to him.

Oh, Danger Bay. We got to give a shout out to Danger Bay, too. That went forever, too. Crazy. But, you know, we shoot in Halifax in the summertime, and we have fun over there, man. I was just there for the first time in August in Halifax. It's great. It's dope, man.

Real dope. You ever get out to, like, Lunenburg? I haven't gone to Lunenburg. No, but I've been to other spots. Peggy's Cove? I've been to Peggy's Cove. I've been to Maxwell Plum. That's a fish and chips joint. I know that spot. You get those, what is it, the big donairs? You ever get a donair? No, man, I'm a fish and chips dude. Fish and chips. I'm a connoisseur. You're like my son. My teenager, we were out there, fish and chips, fish and chips. That's my thing. Loves it. There's a good place at Lakeshore and Sixth.

I got to show you, man. Great fishing chips. Dope, dope, dope. It's really good. Yeah, so you film in Halifax and six seasons. And how long will this go until he's done? Mike, every season, you shoot it, you hug your cast and crew. It's a piece.

Great working with you. You never know until you hear the renewal. Until you get a renewal. When you get the renewal, until you get a renewal. When you get the renewal, you start doing backflips, like, yes. You start thinking about the fish and chips again. You start thinking about all that cool stuff that you got to do, you know?

But the cast, we were real close, man. Did you have to audition for it, or were they like, I want maestro? No audition for it, man, but he was surprised when he saw me there. But when I got the script, I read the script, and it was about being a teacher,

and I looked at it it and I'm like, wait a minute, I went to school with a guy named John Machoke who just reminds me of him. So all I got to do is pretend that I'm John Machoke who's a school teacher.

So when I did the audition, Jerry D was like, yo, that's dope. By the way, I got a friend by the name of John Machoke who I wrote the script about. Wow.

Exactly. That's a ridiculous coincidence. That's a ridiculous story, man. That's ridiculous. You know, I can tell people that you look like you didn't even make that up. That's a real freaking real talk. That's crazy. Isn't that crazy?

That's crazy. That's like there's 7 billion people on this earth. There's 7 billion people on this earth. In my mind, I said, you know what? Let me just pretend I'm John Machoke because he's a cool teacher. That's insanity, actually. And after I, you know, I went into the audition. I got a call back. I do the call back now. When he asked me what high, I went into the audition. I got a call back.

I do the call back now. When he asked me what high school I went to, I said I went to O'Connor. He goes, wow, that's cool. I said, wow. What do you mean, wow? He goes, yeah, I got a friend named John Machoke who I wrote the script based on, Mr. D. And that's the same person who I based my audition on. Honestly.

I've never heard. That's mind-blowing. That's mind-blowing, son. That's crazy. I don't even know if I can proceed. Yeah, I know. I need a moment. I need a moment, too. That's mind-blowing. That's mind-blowing, son. That's crazy. I don't even know if I can proceed. Yeah, I know. I need a moment. I need a moment, too.

That's crazy. Sometimes you hear a story like that, and you're like, that can't be true. And it's just one of those. Because let's pretend you got the gig because he knew you from high school, and it was the same high school. Then it's like, okay, well, you just reduced the pot or whatever. Like, okay, but because you got it through other means. John Machoke, who's still a teacher at Senator O'Connor. I went to high school with him at O'Connor.

He graduated, went to college, came back, and became a teacher at O'Connor. So when I would go to visit, do lectures and stuff like that, or presentations, the way he is with his students was the same way we were with him. He was just a cool dude. And I'm like, yo, he seems like the coolest teacher. Hmm, that's my reference point right there. So let me just pretend that I'm John Mach he seems like the coolest teacher hmm that's my reference point right there so let me just pretend

that I'm John Machoke and I that's crazy I would have known that's who Jerry D wrote the script about and that guy's getting no royalties or anything

you gotta buy him some fish and chips I'll buy some fish and chips now the what is it it's a if you

you auditioned for movies still you still want to get into movies and stuff yeah yeah cool cool cool yeah definitely I still do things. Yeah, man. Cool, cool, cool, cool. Yeah, definitely. I mean, the acting's been great for me just because it's a transition. It's expanding the brand.

And me being an author as well with my book, Stick to Your Vision, again, that's just expanding my brand and doing what I'm doing. That's what I want to ask you about. I had something in my head and it disappeared. Just so you know, my book, Stick to Your Vision,

is a part of the curriculum at NSCC, one of the colleges in Halifax. Wow. Yeah, man. Right now on Twitter, your moniker says Coach Fresh. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, Coach, what is that referring to, Coach Fresh? I got a song called Coach Fresh.

It's pretty dope. Oh, yeah. Thanks for asking. And I actually am a parent coach of my son's football team. And this is in the East End, right, Scarborough? Yeah, that's more like Vaughn. There's no tight team in Toronto. So we went up to Vaughn to play with these cats.

Shout out to the Vaughn. How's your team doing? Yeah, we're good, man. We're doing okay. Three and one. That's not bad. Yeah, we're doing good. The kids are great.

The parents are great. The coaches are dope. And I'm glad they brought me on board to be a part of this, man. We're growing, evolving. And my son great. The parents are great. The coaches are dope. Like, you know, and I'm glad they brought me on board with them to be a part of this, man. We're growing, evolving. And my son is having a blast, man. That's what matters. We have practice tonight.

That's what matters. Does your son play hockey? Nope. But he plays football and he's a blue belt in Taekwondo. I can't get him in everything, man. There's just too much time, man. Tell me about it. I hear you, man.

I got four kids. It's like I got no time. I got no time for this recording. I'm still stuck on who you're basing Mr. D on. Machioke? Machoke. Machoke. Machoke.

That's cool. Hey, you were nominated for a Polaris Heritage Prize. Do you know that? Yeah, they told me that, man. Shout out to Rush. I'm sure Rush won. I think there's a hip-hop too, though, the tragic hip. I don't know, but how cool is that that I'm up with iconic Canadian groups, man?

Super, super iconic. Definitely, definitely. All right, I'm going to close by asking you because I've been dealing with you. I think we worked

on getting this thing set up. I'm going to say we spent... A long time, man. Over a year, I think. Yeah, but I wanted to let you know that I appreciate you

keeping in touch with me and making that happen because I definitely... I'm the type of cat But I wanted to let you know that I appreciate you keeping in touch with me and making that happen. Because I definitely am the type of cat, if I say I'm going to do something, I strive my best to make that happen, and I'm glad we definitely did. You asked some cool questions. I could tell that you actually took time, and you're a fan of the music and a student of the genre of music as well, man.

And you're a supporter of my journey, which I greatly, greatly appreciate, man. I gave a presentation at Ryerson, which I greatly, greatly appreciate, man. You know what I'm saying? I gave a presentation at Ryerson. What is it? Podfest or whatever? They had something there. Anyways, I was speaking, and I had a slide at the end, and I said, you know, my daughter's 12,

and I'm like, my daughter wants me to get Drake on, and she's been trying to get me, hey, Dad, to get Drake on your show. And the final slide as I closed my presentation is, I don't want Drake. I want this guy, and it's a picture of Maestro Fred. I'm actually here, man. And the final slide as I close my presentation is, I don't want Drake. I want this guy. And it's a picture of Maestro Fred. I'm actually here, man. And you're here. You probably know John

Machoke. Yeah. John Machoke, man. That's my dude. That's my dad. Yeah, man. That'd be crazy. So I was going to ask you. So you're super busy. You're doing so many things. I got Patti Sullivan coming on next week. And she sends me a picture of you and her at Kids CBC. Yeah, that was fun. That was hot.

That day was hot. Hot summer. Yeah. But I was thinking, so can I ask you, do you represent yourself? Like, do you do your own schedule? Depends what it is.

Like, filming TV, my agent does that. Shout out to Gary Godden, associates, Pam Winters. Pam Winters is my agent. But, you know, like, when it comes

to, like, presentations and stuff like that, you know, I get help from, you know, different it comes to like presentations and stuff like that you know I get help from you know different places non-exclusive but a lot of it

I do on my own as well I can see that like I can see you do it a lot on your own so is that just have you been burnt before is it just because it helps you control

your own destiny it's just a bit of both but mostly like timing like I'm everywhere like you know I'm saying and it's like I've yet to meet

anyone in Canada who is reputable to represent someone like me when I say that I'm a hip-hop artist but I'm not like a current hip-hop artist yes I am current I got current music out there but I got a legacy of stuff from the 80s you see I'm saying yeah on top of that I'm on a sitcom which is a hit sitcom on the sixth season right yeah on top of that I do presentations nationally I'm on a sitcom, which is a hit sitcom on the sixth season, right? Yeah. On top of that, I do presentations nationally. I'm doing stuff on my own with corporate companies. You know, I just spoke to the CIBC employees of CIBC.

Cool. You know what I'm saying? That's a good gig. I'm getting songs, like placements in, you know, video games. You know, shout out to EA Sports for the NHL 17 for my song, Underestimated, my new joint. And shout out to CBC

and Tim Thompson who did the placement for me for that, for my son, The Distance when Andre DeGrasse got his bronze medal running against him.

I'm glad you mentioned that. A, that was amazing and that guy who we call Boundless on Twitter, but he does the best montages, that guy.

Do you see what I'm saying? Shout out to that. That's me expanding, me keeping relationships open, and to have one person represent me for all these things that I'm doing. I know they do that here in Canada. It's not fair for

talent agencies or booking agencies or for any one person to have me and be responsible for every single thing I do within the seven different titles of things I do yeah so I find like with my agent uh with film and tv that's something you can't mess with in terms of scheduling it has to be groundbreaking like like has to be um 100 official other things I could I could move around and um try to customize it towards what I have to do. For example,

tomorrow I got a presentation and the next week more presentations come from high schools and colleges as well. You got a ridiculous workload. Yeah, man. That's why if you notice I'm interested in what you're saying, but you notice how I'm resting my eyes.

I was going to say. No, I but you notice how I'm resting my eyes. I was going to say. No, I'm good, B. I'm just resting my eyes, B. As long as your mouth keeps moving. No, I'm good, man. I'm good. This has been great. Hey, from the bottom of my heart, honestly, because you didn't have to do this. You're a busy guy.

If I say I'm going to do something, I did this because I want to do it, man. But I appreciate it. And people will hear this. There's an actual subscriber base. This wasn't just for my own personal collection. It's going to be shared with the world. I hope they listen to the new stuff and rediscover the old stuff.

You're wearing a Blue Jay cap, so my last question for you is how are my Jays going to do this season? I don't know, man. It's definitely not like last season, but hopefully they bounce back. That wild card, it'll probably be at the Dome, it looks like, but that wild card game is going to be one of those games I don't know how I'm going to watch.

Win or go home, give me a break. Yeah, but I'm proud of my city. I don't wear my hat just because of baseball. I wear this hat because I represent Toronto to the fullest, man. I'm proud of my city. I'm proud of my genre of music. I'm proud of these artists, how they evolved and taking it to the next level, man. I'm glad to be a part of it, too. Toronto's proud of fullest, man. I'm proud of my city. I'm proud of my genre of music. I'm proud of these artists, how they evolved and taking it to the next level, man.

I'm glad to be a part of it, too. Toronto's proud of you, man. Thanks, man. Thanks again for doing this. All right. And that brings us to the end of our 194th show. Honored to be a part of it, bro.

You made it all complete. I can shut it down now. And you can follow me. I'm on Twitter as at Toronto Mike. And Maestro is at Maestro Fresh West. Follow him on Twitter. And our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer and Chef's Plate. Chef's Plate.

Remember, I'm going to send you the link. You just tell me the two you like and I'll get it shipped to you. Chef's Plate CA. See you all next time.