Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Maestro Kicks Out the Jams: Toronto Mike'd #416

Episode Date: December 29, 2018

Mike catches up with rapper/producer/actor Maestro Fresh-Wes before he kicks out the jams for episode 4-1-6.

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 in Toronto where you wanna get the city love My city love me back for my city love Welcome to episode 416 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything.

Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Propertyinthe6.com, Paytm Canada, Palma Pasta, Paytm Canada, Palma Pasta, Fast Time Watch and Jewelry Repair, and Census Design and Build. I'm Mike from TorontoMike.com and joining me is the godfather of Canadian hip-hop, Maestro Fresh West. What's happening? What's happening? Welcome back. What episode is this? 4-1-6. Just checking.

Just double checking. There's nobody else I could think of when they said, Mike, who's going to be your guest for 4-1-6? Maestro Fresh West. Thanks for having me, man. Thanks for doing this. I'm going to let people know you've been here before. And if people want to hear the deep dive, like where we explore how you were discovered on Electric Circus and all the cool stuff in your career. Episode 194. And I'll just read the description I wrote for it back then.

Mike chats with the godfather of Canadian hip-hop, Maestro Fresh West. I'm getting all choked up just remembering this great day. About his career in music, from Let Your Backbone Slide to I Know Your Mom. I loved I Know Your Mom. One of my favorite songs I ever wrote in my life, man. Amazing, amazing. That episode was an hour

and you're back. We're going to kick out the jams today. Did you recognize the voice you heard? That's my ill vibe, man. Okay, good. Ill vibe's been doing some work, man.

It's part of the squad in terms of like helping me out with videos, little videos, what have you. So shout out to ill vibe, good. Ilvibe's been doing some work, man. He's part of the squad in terms of helping me out with videos, little videos, what have you. So shout out to Ilvibe, definitely. We got a new one in the bank, too. Amazing. Yeah, I think the world of that guy.

And I call, okay, so Ilvibe referred to you as Uncle Wes. Ha, ha, ha. And I see on Twitter you refer to yourself as Coach Fresh. Man, I just used to coach my son's football team. So some of the kids call me Coach Fresh. So it kind of stuck with me. And I call my last album that, you know. But I've been calling you twice now.

I've called you the godfather of Canadian hip-hop. But DJ Ron Nelson came over. And I introduced him as the godfather of Toronto hip-hop. Are you okay if I give him that title? That's my man, Ron Nelson. Give him whatever, man. I mean, Ron Nelson was the one who put me on when I was 15 years old, man.

The Fantastic Voyage. Yeah, man. So, I mean, all praise is due, you know? And that's when you were in... Very instrumental in my career, man. Vision? Is that what you... Yeah, you know, so I came out in 1982

as a Melody MC, 82, 83, thanks to Ron Nelson and then I think Vision we formed like in 84 and then we opened up for a lot of groups, whatever.

I didn't turn into the maestro for us until like 88, you know, but, you know, the city already knew about me, got acclimated with me

from the inception, you know, so... Melody MC. Yeah. Okay, so, and that's about when you were on Electric Circus. In 88, 89. In Stevie B. In 89, yeah. the inception you know melody mc yeah and okay so and that's about when you were on electric circus

in 88 89 yeah so shout out to stevie b because if it wasn't for him and if it was for lmr records electric circus and much music you know my career would have been in a different way when it went in a different direction in terms of mass appeal and magnitude and and all these accolades and all that but stevie stevie b was very important in the you know helping me with the cultural impact that i made here so lmr that came up with uh james b was over here yesterday you know james b yeah and we were talking so lmr that was like your american label and then attic i guess is uh like distributed you in canada is that how that works through a and m too yeah. That's why guys like Alan Reed,

they know me from time, from when I had the high top, they had the mullet. Those days, you know what I'm saying? We came up together. There was an eclectic group of people. Lee Aaron was in on... Man, I was just listening to some Lee Aaron last night, man. I just did that

tribute to Gary Lowe, the bass player of Big Sugar. Yeah, the former bass player of Big Sugar. Rest in peace, Gary, man. I just did that as a tribute to Gary Lowe, the bass player of Big Sugar. Of Big Sugar, yeah, the former bass player of Big Sugar. Rest in peace, Gary, man. And, you know, you go down memory lane

and then, you know, out of nowhere, a Lee Aaron song just popped up and it was just... Was it hands-on? Which one was it? It was body work.

Oh, whatcha doodin'? My body... Dude! I used to like her back in the days, too, man. She looked dope. You know what I mean? Lee Aaron, metal queen! Yeah, man. You and me both, man. dude in my body dude i used to like her back in the days too man she looked dope you know i mean lee erin metal queen yeah man you and me both man i had i had many uh you know lee erin fantasy

back me too man shout out to lee erin man what you do to my body i had a few ideas but we won't get down that road but uh let your backbone slide homie so let your backbone slide so you're at the danforth music hall yesterday for this tribute this benefit for gary lowe yeah a lot of big names were there do you want to name drop some guys yeah first of all shout out to my man danko jones um it was great to work with him but um even before that what i should say is gordy johnson because that's the reason why i was there who got a hold of me to be a part of that and then um i did conducting things uh with a live band and uh you know part of that gary was a part of that and um i'm sorry gordy was a part of that and um it was it was it was just love for gary lowe man you know

i'm saying dream warriors bodied the show platinum blonde bedwin sound clash um friggin um i saw tom wilson was there tom wilson bare naked lady yeah yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow. Tons of heads. It was Leroy Sibbles, man. The list went on and on. So it was an honor for me to be there. But the thing is, yeah, a lot of people are Big Sugar fans.

A lot of fans were there for Big Sugar. Sure. But it was good for those fans to see what other artists think of Big Sugar as well. Did Molly Johnson appear? Molly Johnson.

I didn't get to see her. I was downstairs while she was performing, but I heard she ate food too, man. So shout out to Molly Johnson. If you saw Molly, I wanted you to say hi for me. Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. You know what my goal is in 2019?

To get Molly back here. We're going to do it right. We're going to do it right. Shout out to Molly Johnson. That's my girl, man. Yeah, yeah. James B. too, because of that Kumbaya Festival at Ontario Place.

James B. said it changed his whole career, like being there. So yeah, a lot of shout outs to Molly Johnson for sure. So, oh, let me play a quick jam from you because this is 416. Yeah.

Yeah. My show. Woo. Go flex. Yeah. Who be the brother with the harder rap sipping cardiac and catch your heart attack. Is it tough to listen to yourself Or do you enjoy it? I don't know man You're indifferent

Yeah I'm indifferent man Okay In this video This is a Joel Goldberg directed video right? 416-905 Yeah Shout out to Joel Goldberg Who shot Backbone Slide as well

You gotta shout out to Joel Apparently he just hooked up his car with Bluetooth, so he was listening to the James B episode in his car in Bluetooth like the first time. So now that he's arrived in 2018, I feel like he's gonna be here in all these episodes in his car now.

So he's listening, man. He was here a couple weeks ago with Ziggy. Ziggy kicked out the jams like he'll be doing. But yeah, 416 to the 905. So you know what this means, man. This means you're my guest for 416. Exactly. This is meant to happen.

But you're going to come back for 905. Yeah, I'll come back for 905. You know, God willing, man. You got to live a few more years. That'd be crazy, right? So hey, if I get the 905, you're my first call. Oh, man. I promise you that. That's so dope, right? So, hey, if I get to 905, you're my first call. Oh, man. I promise you that.

That's so dope, right? Okay. Just, was it last week or two weeks ago, Mr. D concluded its run. So, tell me a little bit about what it was like saying goodbye to your Mr. D co-hosts. What do you call colleagues? Colleagues, co-hosts, cast crew. Whatever. Whatever they are.

Actors. Man, listen. We had a great time with the cast and crew for eight seasons man i love them man i'm gonna miss them especially you know in the summertime man that's when we film right so in halifax right in halifax nova scotia man and it's been a beautiful thing for for the last you know i mean close to a decade when you look at the two years of pilots he was doing before that but um it was a great experience man i love my cast and crew man great people it was a great experience, man. I love my cast and crew, man. Great people. It was a great cast. I mean, you know, former guest Jonathan Torrance

was in that cast. Yeah. Of course, that's a Jerry D thing. But how come it had to end? Like, why not keep going? I think Jerry just wanted to evolve and do different things, man. He's been doing it.

For him, it's been like 10 years. Yeah, but once you get a character people dig like that, you don't leave that. You know, you keep going. I don't know, but I mean, if that's all you see, see but i mean maybe he felt that there's more that he wanted to do maybe he felt like he wanted to expand there's a lot of things are going behind the scenes in terms of like twisting people's arms to make a a show you know i'm saying and to get that off for

eight seasons yeah you know he told me after you know like a couple times you know after season three what got real tough like they didn't tough. There was issues with coming back. He didn't think they would be coming back after season three. Then season seven was the same thing. There was a lot of different things that go on behind the scenes. All people see the final product, but the fact that he was able to do this for eight seasons and 10 years altogether playing this character of a dysfunctional teacher.

Yeah, and you were the VP, right? Yeah, I was the VP in the latter two seasons, you know what I'm saying? And you were great on that show. Thank you. When you act, you're always great. Thank you, man. I'm setting up Brian Gerstein. He's the sponsor of this show.

Okay. He's going to ask you a question. Hi. It's a great question. He's going to tee it up for us right here. Propertyinthe6.com Hi, Wes. Great question. He's going to tee it up for us right here. Hi, Wes. Brian Gerstein here, sales representative with PSR Brokerage and proud sponsor of Toronto Mike's. I want to wish Mike and his listeners a happy new year. If you have any real estate in 2019, you can call or text me at 416-873-0292 so I can offer you a no obligation free market evaluation. Wes, being so multi-talented out of your rapping, producing records and acting,

do you have a favorite part of the business and which comes most natural to you? And which comes most natural to you? I like, right now, because I'm in music mode, I'm full throttle music, you know what I'm saying? But once this album is done, the brand new album is done, I'm going to get back into more thespian artistry as well, because that's something that I've been doing pretty good at, man. Something that I've worked very hard to do. And you just mentioned a little while ago, Mike,

that, you know, when people see you do one thing. I was never known as doing a comedy. All my roles was dramatic. I'm a serious actor. I'm the straight character in the show anyway. I'm around a bunch of funny people. And the script itself is funny. And to me, I had to say to myself,

do I see Don Cheadle doing this? Yeah. And he'd do a damn good job. But he could also play a serious role too as well. So that's the type of actor I want to be where I'm diverse and I'll be able to do different things and what have you. But right now as we speak, the latter part of the last week of 2018,

I'm just trying to wrap up my new album. And then after that we'll get back into everything else. You're like Leslie Nielsen, man. You're the straight man and then all the hilarities around you. But here's a jam. So what am I listening to here? Somewhere Down the Line featuring Adam Bomb. I love your lyrics, man. I love, like, you have a,

there's a bit of comedy in there. Like, it's clever. I like it. It's so different. Like, I have some questions coming up. I'm going to bring them out now because they're kind of relevant listening to your new jam here.

But let me just say, okay, so Jay Reeves wants me to ask you, this is what he wrote. I'll just read what Jay wrote. Please ask why rap music is so misogynist. Can rap still be rap without the misogyny? I think the answer is yes, because you do it. I agree.

I mean, I don't know how to articulate this in 2018. It seems like we're answering the same questions over and over and over and over again i mean look what public enemy did yep look what two live crew did look what uh epmd did look what nwa did there's always different personalities different characters different um opinions different conversations and within that that makes a human being that makes a person you know i'm saying and a lot of times when you put an album together, one song doesn't necessarily define an artist. I'm not defined by one song, you know what I'm saying?

I'm the first artist to put social commentary in music in terms of being a hip-hop artist out of Canada, but does every single song I do going to be that? Nah, I want to have some comedy, some wit. Yeah, I know your mom's a good example, man. That's wit right there, man. Yeah, it was clever. It was great.

So when I hear questions like that, I feel that it's kind of, I don't want to say it's a disrespectful question. If this question was asked in the infancy of this genre of music hitting mainstream, then I could understand. But when we have so many generations and so many different points of reference to hear a question like that right now it's almost like either you're not listening to hip-hop you're not really you know i'm saying and if that's the case you haven't really you know and that i'm not disrespecting no you know what he's doing he's he's uh yeah

i'm just in you all of the same uh brush Well, maybe not. Maybe he just wants to hear my specific opinion on that. I just feel that in 2018 to answer 1988 questions and kind of like, you know, come on, man. Okay, well,

let me change the channel then. Duddy, longtime listener of this show, she's great, wants to know, how do you feel about this generation's, this generation of mumble rappers,

she calls them. Because the style has radically changed. I know my boy is listening to stuff that sounds radically different from when I was listening to Public Enemy and My Joe. What's he listening to? Earl Sweatshirt, J. Cole. J. Cole is dope and J. Cole is not a mumble rap artist. So I need to listen

closer. But what would you say to Duddy? Because there is this new mumble rap. I'm not mad at it. I'm not mad. Listen, man, these are sub-genres. Listen, you know,

I just mentioned a minute ago, points of reference. Let's look at jazz. The genre of jazz music is a point of reference. They had so many sub-genres of changing from swing to bebop to big band

to like all kinds, you know what I'm saying? I'm sure these conversations were had before with a changing of the guard changing of styles what have you like that and the same thing's happening with hip-hop now i'm from the era of conventional traditional hip-hop but at the same time i'm like i don't got problems with the kids doing mumble rap they having fun with that you know i mean i'm a lyricist i'm gonna do my thing but i i'd be um i don't want to be hypocritical

and i think the hip and hip-hop is short form for hypocrisy a lot of times cuz we a lot of times we are hypocrites because when Public Enemy was fighting the power Biz Markie was picking his boogers and we enjoyed both of those we embraced both of those styles and we also embraced 2 Live Crew when Wadair was doing over there too as well as Too Short you feel what I'm saying so that's why when I'm when I hear questions like, can hip-hop just be misogynistic and that's it alone? I'm like, I thought we had examples throughout the years.

You know what I'm saying? You're preaching to the choir, man. As I stare at my Public Enemy t-shirt, I'm telling you that they were saying something. They were politically charged over dope beats. Yeah, man. But they were saying something. Definitely, definitely. Definitely, there dope beats it was but they were saying something definitely definitely definitely there's all sorts also i just want to say too there's there's a lot of growth spiritually lyrically as well as consciously

from the first public enemy album bum rush the show to it takes a nation and millions to hold us back your bum rush the show was their debut album and when you think about it yes it was politically charged. There were undertones of obviously social commentary but there was a touch of braggadocio a touch of misogyny as well.

You know what I'm saying? A touch of that. When you look at songs like 98 Oldsmobile and tracks like that certain lines of whatever Chuck was saying he didn't do

when he dropped It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. So there's a definite shift. I guess there was a time when they saw their responsibility and they continued and became the most influential hip-hop group ever.

No doubt, no doubt. By the way, on that first album, You'll Bummer Us, the show, that song Time Bomb, I still stick it in the mix. It's crazy. Time Bomb holds up really well. Crazy. Crazy. Just throwing that out there. Okay, now this is the 30th anniversary, right? So Symphony in Effect came out in 1989.

So are there any big bashes planned? Bashes are going to be backbones going to be sliding all year, man. That's all I got to say, man. Well, because I pulled this for the last time you were on, I'm going to just play the inspiration for the title really quickly here. Here you go, man. Shout out to Billy Squire, man.

That's right. Yeah, man. For those who don't know. And only because I loaded it up yesterday. I mean, I listened to a lot of James Brown, man. Shout out to Billy Squire, man. That's right. Yeah, man. For those who don't know. And only because I loaded it up yesterday. I mean, I listened to a lot of James Brown, man. I almost bought this poster. James Brown made his Toronto debut at a roller rink in Mimico called the Mimicombo. What was that?

It doesn't exist anymore. This was the first time James Brown ever played. In the 50s? It's got to be, right? 50s are, yeah, it's got to be. It's got to be. But a little bit of funky drama real quickly here. 50s are, yeah, it's gotta be.

It's gotta be. But a little bit of funky drummer real quickly here. How many great songs are built upon this funky drummer sample right here? Millions. Man, speaking of Public Enemy, speaking of My Show Fresh West, okay, it's just a little bit of James Brown sample there. Funky drummer, man.

That never gets old either. So thanks for repping the city. Thanks for being here for 416. One more note from a guy named Basement Dweller. Basement Dweller just wants me to tell you that Private Symphony, he says, was an awesomely underrated

track. He's got no questions for you, but he just wants to let you know he appreciates that jam and that he has deep appreciation for Private Symphony. You probably don't get a lot, because Private Symphony you know he appreciates um that jam and that he has deep appreciation for private symphony so you probably don't get a lot because private symphony is like a ballad man it was like a yeah you know say some thank you number one and um but i also want to say um the reason why i decided to drop that as the third official single was just to show

range and to show like you know potential of different things because i could have easily done another video for mike's my piece which would have been it's 115 beats per minute just like dropped in the back bone slide right and it would have been close to the same topic in the same um fast bars what have you like that so something like that was just private symphony was just to expand me to try to do different things and expand me as a songwriter, man. Well, back in, okay, to give it a little context, back in like 1990, I guess the single came out in 1990, the album in 89. But back then, it was commonplace for the hair metal rock bands. They'd put out their rockin' number, like Pour Some Sugar On Me, right?

And then they'd follow that up with Love Bites, like a ballad. You know what I mean? That was kind of the formula. So to see, to hear it in the rap genre was kind of, was kind of cool. Well,

shout out to Drake. Look what Drake's doing now, man. This is like, this is what, I mean, this is what he does, man,

on a regular basis. It's not that outlandish right now or that much of an anomaly or, you know, a novelty of music for hip hop artists to have,

you know, love songs or what have you. Damn right. Now, that's a perfect segue for the question I got from PM Toronto. PM Toronto wants me to ask you if you think Drake is a good ambassador for the Raptors and for the city we live in. Yeah, I don't think he's a good ambassador.

I think he's a great ambassador, and here is why I think he's a great ambassador. Aubrey Drake Graham is the voice of his generation, man. Beyond the parameters of hip-hop. You understand what I'm saying? That's something that no other artist can claim within the last 10 years what he's done. You see what I'm saying? And the fact that he's straight out of Toronto, hate it or love it, it is what it is. And on top of that, too, with more money comes more fame.

With more fame comes more problems. More times you're going to be the news positively as well as negatively you know i'm saying i never made that type of money that never had that type of fame so i never had them type of problems you know i'm saying so you have to look at this guy what he's overcome coming from a city where people didn't know to be a city representing hip-hop to um in the in the in the post uh internet era that he's in right now he's done something that's monumental man when i came out we didn't have a rap we didn't have a basketball team toronto didn't have that there's a different toronto right now you know i'm saying so

but you know i mean i'll speak you're a humble man but uh you were the first and that's always the toughest like until let your backbone slide becomes a hit and it was a big hit in this country until then we couldn't even like a lot of us couldn't even visualize like a toronto rapper on the charts like this was like groundbreaking stuff i did something that was groundbreaking and i will say that um that was the pre-internet era um but hold on i'm going to add on to this i feel that i inspired a lot of people and, you know, my community definitely inspired me. I just feel that we were at a time when we were seen as the underdogs. We had an underdog mentality. For sure. The average 15 year old right now that's from Toronto does not see himself as the underdog because he's seen himself as the greatest.

And that came from what Drake's doing right now. It came from what Toryke's doing right now it came from what tori lanes is doing came from what the weekend is doing right now you see i'm saying so i might be little in what i've done i'm just being real no no but you did you broke the yeah i did some dope you broke the eggs man they're eating the omelets nah thank well listen there's different generations my opinion there's different generations you know i'm saying i know i know drake personally knows me but a lot of his fans who are like 15, 16, 17, or even in their 20s or late 20s might not necessarily know me. So I know a lot of cats grew up watching me, and there's a lot of cats watching them. You know what I mean? And somewhere along the line, I'm a part of it to some capacity.

But for me to sit back, Mike, and just twiddle my thumbs and lie on my laurels, that does nothing for me as uh you know sit back mike you know and just twiddle my thumbs and line my laurels that does nothing for me as an artist it's for me to continue evolving for me to continue growing and i think a lot of artists i call it ohds not only artists but a lot of people from my generation they have a mentality it's it's a sickness it's called ohds old head deficiency syndrome where you just sit back and you think about like the glory days right the glory days can help you but a lot of times too if you're not moving forth and forward it could be a liability to your your um to yourself to your faculty man so well i'm glad i did the cool things in the past yeah but now i'm excited about this new album excited about this new year and it sounds

great that jam we just heard with adam bomb like i mean you're still creating new music and you're right a lot of a lot of guys are like Just hey here's what I did In like early 90s And I'm done Now I'm just gonna play that Over and over again Yeah

And don't get too excited We're celebrating Because it should be celebrated It should be documented You know 2019 commemorates The 30 year anniversary Of an album That had a lot of cultural impact

On our country You know what I'm saying No doubt Now for me Should I be twiddling my thumbs or should I continue growing? I'm going to continue growing. I'm going to continue listening to these younger guys too because they're inspiring me as well.

Good stuff. Let me give you some presents, man, since it is the holiday season, man. But there's a six-pack of Great Lakes beer in front of you. Great. That looks so great right now. You can dive in if you wish, but it's all yours. That's a local craft beer from Great Lakes. They're fiercely independent. They're here looks so great right now. You can dive in if you wish, but it's all yours. That's a local craft beer from

Great Lakes. They're fiercely independent. They're here in Etobicoke. 99% of all of their beer. Oh, you opened up the... That's great. That's brewed for you, Ontario, and that beer, man. You know, you mentioned Halifax

earlier because you filmed Mr. D there. 1%, maybe less, of the Great Lakes beer ends up there. All the rest stays in Ontario. Super fresh, man. You mentioned Halifax earlier because you filmed Mr. D there. 1%, maybe less, of the Great Lakes beer ends up there. All the rest stays in Ontario. Super fresh, man. Enjoy that. You told me, what's the word again? When you only eat fish, you don't eat beef. What's that term? It starts with a P. Opasquatarian? Yeah.

You know what's so funny? I don't even like titles. I don't even like titles. I just don't. You pigeonhole yourself like that. All it means is that you've got a vegetarian lasagna. I don't even like You don't like Titles I just don't You know To pigeonhole yourself Yeah man Okay Well what all it means Is that you've got A vegetarian lasagna

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out where their locations are. They're in Mississauga and Oakville. Thank you very much, Palma Pasta. Man, you're going to love it. Seriously. It's the best lasagna you'll have in the GTA. So enjoy that. So you got your beer. You got your lasagna. I want to tell everybody listening they can get $10 right now from PayTM.

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How's it going today? What time is it? What time is it? We're good. We're good? Okay. Remember the time. On this day in 1916, Gregory Rasputin, the monk who had wielded powerful influence

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Let's hear it. Maestro Fresh West, are you ready to kick out the jams? Let's rock, let's rock, let's rock. Don't worry about a thing Cause every little thing is gonna be alright Singing don't worry Cause every little thing's gonna be alright. Say me don't worry about a thing.

Cause every little thing's gonna be alright. Rise up this morning, smile with the rising sun. Three little birds, up each by my doorstep. Singing sweet songs, of melodies pure and true. Singing, this is my message to you. The Honorable Robert Nesta Marley. Three little birds. Tell us why you love this jam.

It just makes me feel good, man. It just seems like it's optimism. It reminds me of my character, Paul Dwyer, Mr. D. No, I'm a big Bob Marley fan, man, and it just makes me feel good, man. It just hits my soul. And I just love it, man. It's one of my favorite songs.

You know, even on a cold winter day like this, it warms you up, man. Like, I feel warmer now. That's what's up, man. That's why I love Bob Marley, man. That's great. Now, normally, for normal people who kick up the jams, I say, oh, yeah, I try to, like, restrict your list to one song per artist.

I had no such rule for you, so we might hear from Bob again later in the show. Definitely. Was it difficult to come up with your 10 jams? Yeah, because Bob Marley got so much music. You thought about 10 jams from Bob? Yeah, I Bob Marley got so much music. You thought about 10 jams from Bob? Yeah, I love Bob. I think I picked some good ones. Oh, yeah, yeah.

I like your list quite a bit. In fact, yeah, a lot of these songs I'd put right up there as some of my favorite songs of all time. And, you know, the chorus just kept on going. If it's safe, if it ain't broken, don't fix it. Don't fix, man.

He repeated that chorus like 80 times, man. It just worked, man. You know, when I do that Remember the Time bit, I always play a little bit of,

what's that group called? The Time. What are they? The Chamber Brothers. And I always think they could make that a 30-minute song where they just keep going. Time. I would dig it. Just keep looping that over and over again.

It's crazy, man. You ever heard of MacArthur Park by Maynard Ferguson? You want to know how I learned about that song? How's that? Because Weird Al Yankovic made Jurassic Park, and that's when I learned about MacArthur Park. MacArthur Park. MacArthur Park. But he just kept on playing that over and over, the same chorus over and over.

It was like an eight-minute song. So like you said, if it ain't broke, you don't fix, man. So that's what happened with Bar Marley with Three Little Birds. Hey, let's kick out another kick-ass maestro jam. We'll be right back. Ooh, child, things will get brighter. Ooh, child, things are gonna get easier. Ooh, child, things will get brighter. Someday, yeah, we'll put it together and we'll get it undone. Someday when you head is much lighter.

Someday, yeah, we'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun. Someday when the world is much brighter. Ooh, child, I don't even want to talk over this song. Beautiful. Ooh, child, the five stair steps. As if it needs an explanation, why do you love this jam?

One year, it must have been like 1989, 1990, I went to one of my favorite parties in New York City ever. And this was played. This party, it was a hip-hop event, but it had a session of just playing old-school joints like this. And I just loved it, man. I loved it. And then watching our boys in the hood,

they played that again. You know what I'm saying? This was right before you saw Ice Cube when he was playing Doughboy. Yep, yep. It's just so inspirational. It makes me feel good, man. It's feel-good music, man. And then I heard it again. Spike Lee used it in Crooklyn. Yep. Yep. It's just so inspirational. Makes me feel good, man. Feel good music, man.

And then I heard it again. Spike Lee used it in Crooklyn. Yeah. Spike Lee joint. But yeah, it's just, uh, never gets old,

man. Beautiful song. It is beautiful. Yeah, it's uplifting, eh? You're picking these feel-good chants. As a rapper producer, do you ever think, when you hear a song like this that you love, do you ever say, how can I work a sample of that into one of my songs? Yeah, Tupac did this.

He did this over. I mean, that's what I did with These Eyes by the Guess Who. This was great. And he also did it with Gowan. Of course. Here's my part right here. Hold on. Brothers and sisters Brothers and sisters

I don't know what this world is coming to Yes, the rhythm's a rebel Without a pause, I'm lowering my level I don't know what this world is coming to. Yes, the rhythm, the rebel. Without a pause, I'm lowering my level. The hard rhyme, where you never been a man. You want styling? You know it's time again. D, the enemy, telling you to hear it.

They praise the music, it's time to play the lyrics. Some say no to the album, the show. Bum rush the sound, I made a year ago. I guess you know. You guess I'm just a radical. Not on sabbatical. Yes, to make it critical. The only part of your body should be parted too. Pass the power on the hour from the rebel in you.

Hey, yo, Jeff, man. I don't understand this, man. Yo, you got this one out, man. You're losing them. Radio. Man, my heart rate's increased dramatically. This is Rebel Without a Pause, Public Enemy. Dope.

Now, they're your jams. If you want me to say, Mike, shut up and put this up to 10, I'll do that. Crank that. Crank that. Remember, I'm the guy who had Terminator X in the Valley of the G-Beats. That was a big Terminator X guy. Come on, man. Man, and you share a sample. Like, there's a, I mean, James Brown is all over this jam, but you guys, like, let your

backbone slide in this jam. Share a sample, right? This is, must have been a big influence over, I mean, this is my stuff. Love Public Enemy, man. I was there. I was there at the, it wasn't called the Rebel back then. What was it again? The, what did they call the... Sound Academy.

Sound Academy. You and Mishimi got called on stage. That was crazy. Yeah, man. It was dope. Good times, man. By the way,

are you still in touch with Mishimi? I haven't heard from her in a little while, man, but I know she's doing her thing, man. I saw you guys at Roots of the Six

with DJ Ron Nelson. You guys are dream warriors at Nathan Phillips Square. Cool, yeah. Very influential. And you're still Nathan Phillips Square. Cool, yeah. Very influential. And you're still friendly with Chuck? Yeah, man. That's my peoples, man.

That's amazing, man. Chuck D wrote the foreword for my book, Stick to Your Vision. And he's playing my new joint on his radio show. That's amazing. I got mad respect for Chuck T That guy's saying something man By the way There's that great documentary

Shad's hosting it It's on It's a documentary series On the origins of hip hop On Netflix So shout out to Shad man Doing big things Yeah but when's the

Toronto hip hop episode You gotta ask him But I You know I don't watch them things Get at me if you want to It's all up We're gonna make that happen

I'm gonna make that happen We're on a mission, yo They can't see us, man But every time Chuck yellsinator X, I've got my arms up in the X. Yeah, man. Like the S1W. So dope, man. So dope. Most influential hip-hop group ever.

Oh, man. This is from It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold It Back. And, yeah, the whole thing's great, man. So many samples. The Bomb Squad, right? The production, yeah. Oh, the Charles Barkley line. Some Flavor Flav That's right That's right We showing up in EFF

ECT All the known as a feck You understand what I'm saying Yeah Crazy Yeah Wow man Bring that back

Y'all wanna hear that beat right Bring that beat back Bring the beat back Y'all wanna hear that beat right Bring that beat back Bring the shit back 1, 2, 3, 4 Hit it

This shit ain't over Come on y'all Let's get busy Come on Say yeah Yeah, yeah, man. Hell yeah. Let's rock the house. Yeah. Oh, here's some funky drummer right here, buddy. Ain't it funky? Ain't it funky? Wes, I gotta tell you, man.

If I could go back in time and just tell like 1989 Mike that one day, okay, Maestro Fresh Wes will be in his basement listening to Public Enemy. How cool is that, man? That's, dude, I'm living the dream. I'm telling you right now.

No doubt. Let's kick out another jam. music is a world within itself with a language we all understand with an equal opportunity for all to sing, dance, and clap their hands. Well, just because a record has a groove, don't make it into groove. But you can tell right away enough today when the people start to move. They can feel it all over.

They can feel it all over They can feel it all over They can feel it all over Stevie Wonder, Sir Duke. Tell me why you love Stevie. He's one of the greats, man. He's still alive, man. God bless him, man. Just his words, his voice, his tone,

subject matter, lyrical content. He's just dope, man. You mentioned you You were on like DJ Ron Nelson's CKLN show Fantastic Voyage When you were like

15 years old Is that right? Cause this guy had hits When he was 15 years old Fingertips Part 2 and all that Holy smokes Listening to that

Like this song right here Seems like he had fun Recording it You know what I'm saying? Yeah like you can hear The smile on his face right? Listening to that, like this song right here, seems like he had fun recording it. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, you can hear the smile on his face, right? It's the same. You can feel it all over You can feel it all over You can feel it all over Yeah, yeah

So the way I discovered Stevie wonder is kind of messed up because i was listening to mother's milk by red hot chili peppers like late 80s or something and they had a cover of higher ground and i was like this is amazing i didn't even know it was a cover at first i'm like this is amazing then i discovered it was a cover and i'm like well let me hear the original and the next thing you know what i'm deep into stevie i'm like what this is amazing. Then I discovered it was a cover. And I'm like, well, let me hear the original. And the next thing you know, I'm deep into Stevie. I'm like, what is this? He's awesome. One of the greats, man.

Like Bob Marley, I could have picked any one of his so many songs. He's got hundreds of great ones. I can feel it all over, all over, all over. Can't you feel it all over? Come on, let's feel it all over. You can feel it all over. Everybody all over feels it all over. Everybody I know about people Go! I wanna look 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. Very. One, two, three let your backbone slide You listen to every word I say Every verb you heard I play Snap to the verb, break You try to cover Hover me, you roast

A fake, a flag that I run a post Toast, I'm the most D-E-F's how it goes No X's or O's A tic-tac-toes L-T-D knows This ain't a game, I'm on a mission Call me a hip-hop tip-tactician

A rap is like a slab of clay that's shapeless Champagne, no shimmer, no glass, it's tasteless A universe without light is lightless That's why I always take time to write this I'm older than my hands before I start chiseling Could be a rain or brainstorm or drizzling Sun could be shining, sun could be showering Practice makes perfect, I'm powering, flowering

My lyrics are awesome and tuning volume and blooming and blossoming blowing away blockades and barricades make it black and blue from the blast of the place it's a blood sport but builds out back i make your vision go blurry while your brain goes blank into oblivion beats from box to box the bass rocks from blocks and blocks let your backbone slide now this kid can't be from Canada. This is Maestro Fresh West. Let your backbone slide. First Canadian hip-hop hit.

Holds up, buddy. Still sounds amazing. So why did you choose this jam? More to like a shout-out to my producers man. First Offense, Pete and Anthony Davis. I went to the studio with Pete and Anthony to lay down the beat. Yeah. That's what happened.

Amazing. I also like that you kind of like, through your rhymes and stuff, you would kind of educate us on things like that. Before the internet, what did we have? Even little things like, oh, what year did it come out in? Oh, it's 89, y'all. Not Beethoven's 5th or 6th. Of course, 89.

The answer's right there. Thank you. My pleasure, man. My pleasure, man. But no joke, I clearly am a fan. I'm super biased, but no joke, man. This song holds up. This still gets the people on the dance floor it was cool man the first time i heard um let your backbone slide in the club it was mixed in with

a heavy d record it was i want somebody to love me for me featuring i'll be sure you play cheetah do you ever get tired of guys like me rhyming it back to you? No, I love it. I love it. Okay. So I might take over from here. And again,

I got the 12-inch single to my left. I bought that back in 89. You signed it for me last time you were here, so now it's got like a prominent spot in the studio. Right behind Doug Flutie, though. And Andre the Giant and my box set of the Wire DVDs Favorite show of all time

That's Doug Flutie right? That's Doug Flutie Yeah You're a big Argos fan I'm a cool cool fan You rep all the Toronto teams I love football man My team in the NFL

Is Steelers We ain't doing too good as well Let's get it out of hand I've created a monster A musical monologue Makes you wanna Move with the maestro You feel high So ascend The blend The crescendo Is nice yo I'm the guy

The rhythm is a ride To the fresh side And let your backbone Slide This is a throwback Do you ever get tired Of performing this song? Because you give the people

What they want Yeah You know it And did you perform this at Danforth Music Hall last night? I just did conducting things. Oh, just conducting things

because you got the brass in the back. Yeah, makes sense. In this part, it's fun to have the headphones on. Yeah. Yep.

But back then, man, it was my Sony Walkman, man. So everything was in the headphones, man. That Sony Walkman, I never would have left home without it. It would be like my smartphone today, man. You didn't leave home without it. Ha. Let's get together and feel alright Hear the children crying Hear the children crying

Saying give thanks and praise to the Lord And I will feel alright Saying let's get together and feel alright Let them all pass all their Dirty remarks There is one question I'd really love to ask This is the remastered version.

Oh, is it? This is the one from Legend. Because that was the... Listen, I can hear it. Legend was like a must-have, you know. And it was sort of like, I want to call it like a greatest hits package, you know. But it had all the must-haves on it. This guy, man, international fame.

Man there's a sometimes on trivia trivia, you'll get, like, what's the first, like, reggae song to become a big hit, like, outside of Jamaica or whatever. And the answer is... I think the answer is Desmond Decker, Israelites. Oh, where? Desmond Decker. But this is the guy who took it to the next level.

Bob Marley, man. Every corner of the globe, you're going to hear Bob Marley, man. Every corner of the globe, you're going to hear Bob Marley. Yeah, yeah. One love, one heart Give thanks and praise to the Lord And I will feel alright Let's get together and feel alright Give thanks and praise to the Lord And I will feel alright Make them clap to this

To show our appreciation for your support Make them clap to this And I will be lost Make a clap to this Make a clap to this Make a clap to this I came in the door, I said it before I never let the mic magnetize me no more But it's biting me, biting me, inviting me to rhyme. I can't hold it back. I'm looking for the line. Taking off my coat, clearing my throat. The rhyme will be kicking in

till I hit my last note. My mind remains to find all kind of ideas. Self-esteem makes it seem like a thought took years to build, but still say a rhyme after the next one. Who paid? Never scared. I'll just bless one. And you know that I'm the solo whistle. Eric B. Make him clap to this.

Make him clap to this. Make him clap to this. Eric B. is president. Make him clap. Make him clap. So tell me, man, take me back. This is the old school rap I grew up with. I love this stuff. But these guys influenced your rap style or just influencing

you through it? Rock him as one of the illest. You know what I'm saying? People ask who's the top ten. These guys influenced your rap style or just influencing your career? Rakim is one of the illest. You know what I'm saying? People ask who's the top ten. Number one. I got to say probably the R, man. The R is ill, man. His content.

His style. The way he put the words together. His rhymes, just the way he put the poetry together. And he rhymed about hip-hop. Listen to the subject matter. Listen. That's hip-hop right there. Make a baby clap to this Do you think today's rap should bring back more scratching?

More DJ scratching? Unless I have more scratching, but the DJ's removed From the whole thing You know Unless it's live You know what I'm saying Right And which a lot of times It's supposed to be

It's supposed to be live man You know what I mean I just did a tour With Classified Ew you know what I mean But when you go On a Classified tour When you do a show with him

You see how important DJ Ivy is That's his DJ Yeah To the overall show You know what I'm saying So the DJ Might not get that much

Shine right now On records As we used to, but on live... Classified's great too, man. That boy caught in the industry, man. Oh, that was a great... Every time I have somebody

on from the Maritimes, I play Maritimes by Classified. That's great. Dope I'm dreaming on the couch with my feet up You scream I'm lazy You must be crazy Thought I was a donut You tried to glaze me Thought I was a donut You tried to glaze me That's a great one.

Back when DJ Ron Nelson was on, he talked about being the first guy to bring hip-hop acts to Toronto, like bringing Public Enemy and bringing... I don't know if he was the very first one, but no one did it like Ron Nelson, man. So would you...

Ron Nelson put me on stage, like, you know. I can ask you. So did you... Where was it? At the temple there, Masonic Temple. What was it called back then?

Concert Hall. Right, the Concert Hall. Like, would you go to these shows and see these guys who bring to town, these hip see these guys uh he'd bring to town these these hip-hop artists i'd be opening for a lot of them you know what i'm saying master dc dj cheese um a lot of artists right a lot of battles a lot of stuff man so you were there at the beginning man like that there's a there's a there's a documentary here

man like uh the origins and then what it led to man because i know earlier i said it and i'll just say it again like you gotta draw the lines like you can't have a drake if maestro doesn't cut through first that's all i'm saying cool man but you know what i noticed too is like a lot of times stuff that i did prior to like 89 people try to switch the dates and stuff like that you know i mean how so well it just seems like there's a trend of like who came out first which artist came out first not like it matters that much but but I came out in 82. 82, 83, man. That's documented. But I wouldn't stress that that much because, you know, hip-hop, when Backbone dropped, that's when things got, I guess that was a change in regard to some capacity. But when you look back from a Toronto perspective, you talk about Ron Nelson being the godfather

of Toronto, yeah. And I'm a student, man. He put me on when I was 15 years old man As the Melody MC That was my original rap name Right Can I ask you about a guy from back then That I don't know what happened to him

And maybe you know where he's at What happened to Rumble MC Where's Rumble at? I'm not sure where Rumble is man But Rumble's old rap name used to be Davey D Davey D And he changed it He changed it to MC Rumble.

Yeah, man. Then he came back with DJ Jamon Strong. They formed Rumble and Strong. But before that, they also had Beats and Rhymes Incorporated. And he was in a group called T.O. Vice as well with my man K-Force. You know what I'm saying? So Rumble came out as Davey D. Straight out Scar, bro.

And yeah, he battled KRS-One. Yeah. D straight out Scarborough and uh yeah he battled KRS-One yeah like and he I liked because he he blended the the the rap with the reggae but he also blended like some alternative music too as well I think Mike what separates me from a lot of those other artists I might have dropped my album or songs and I don't miss you came out with with uh Ele Style 87, but at that time, hip-hop was still considered alternative when you did different things with even reggae. It was considered alternative. Dreamwires were definitely hip-hop, but they were also alternative. And Rumble and Strong, when they dropped like crazy, crazy,

that was like an alternative too as well. When Backbone dropped, that was unconventional hip-hop. And I think that's what resonated with a lot of people when it was infancyancy the genre music let it roll get bold I just can't hold back a fold because I'm a man with soul and controlling effects so what the heck rock the discotheques and this groove is what's next attack react exact the mac I move you with a strong song as long as you groove to this I keep the crowd loud when you're hype do damage on stage and into the mic it's not you to give them see stand still while my rhyme stick till you're hype Do damage on stage and injure the mic It's out you to give and see, stand still

While my rhymes stick to you like Skippy and Jeff Feel my blood fits on my death kiss The rap solo is You the one of this The fleamonous era, I reign with terror When I grab the mic, believe you're gonna hear her Fascinating rhymes as I enchant them So let's all sing the Big Daddy anthem

Go with the flow, my rhymes grow like an afro I entertain the gain and cane, I never have no problem I can sneeze, sniffle, and cough, even if I stutter, I will still come off Cause rappers can't understand the mics I rip They sure enough ain't equipped, that's why they got flipped But my apparatus is up to status, don't ask who the baddest Of course that is the make or break, I take up my rhymes Gaze the head, put it to bed, so watch what's said

Say the bass for the pipe and rearrange the tone I take a loss and be forced in the danger zone Cause I kill and kill at will. Teaching a skill that's real, you're no thrill. So just stand still and chill as I feel. Signs I dwell until my rhymes fill your head up. Don't even get up. The teacher is teaching, so just shut up.

Classic. Big Daddy Kane. Set it off. Crazy. He always had that smooth delivery. Set it off. Crazy. You always had that smooth delivery. It was effortless. One of the illest ever to touch the mic, man. Yeah, earlier you mentioned Ice Cube,

and I still remember it was on... Burn Hollywood Burn. Yeah, Burn Hollywood Burn. Right, right. Which was great. Public Enemy featuring Ice Cube. On Fear of a Black Planet. And Big Daddy King.

Big Daddy smooth words to mother. Let's check out a flick that exploits the color. Rolling through Hollywood late at night. Red, blue lights gonna come. I said, I'll stop because I'm horrible. And you don't need to hear that. Yo, man. Shout out to my homie Danko Jones.

Pleasure working with him last night, man. Performing with him. As the microphone lord proceeds to get raw. Asiatic rap fanatic. Matic Lee. You better say me. Set it off. If you're all what you you eat Then feed me dope

Cause I'm just about as dope as dope can get So make legit Kane is the perfect fit The king of my kingdom Complete in a cypher The lyrics I break them Keep the crowd hyper As I release the masterpiece

The groove will never cease Until Kane says peace Yo, Maestro Yo, hit it Big Daddy Kane's about to come with it I can't do it back That's awesome. Set it off.

Set it off. Set it off. The previews. We're about to go way back, way back. But first, you ever hear from Kish anymore? That's my homie, man. I talked to him two nights ago. Oh, get out of here.

He's in LA, right? I talked to him two nights ago. He's one of my best friends, man. I follow him on Twitter, and I always say, if you're ever in Toronto again He'd love to come down here I'd love it man That order from Chaos was great What?

To give you a dope ass interview Make that happen man And the whole posse from the jungle To my man Jamel from Queens Of course the one known as Ant Live Ferruvi The 7 and 3 Frank Nitti, Ike, and Mo Mel Cornish and Baz The whole Brooklyn posse Blase, blase

And may I send this out to the one known as AJ Fresh Peace, my brother Yes, yes The other Fresh I miss the days when like the final track on the album Was like everybody Like the DJ, the final track on the album was like, everybody, like the DJ, the dancers, they all got a verse.

Yeah, man. You remember that? Hip-hop changed, man. You remember, what, Taste of Chocolate closed with Down the Line, and then you got like Ant Live and all these guys. I think Bust Rhymes on that too, but yo, my new album's going to be sick, man, so I got to tell you, man. Okay.

My new album's going to be sick. When's this coming out? Man, here's the thing. I want to drop it like next month, but then my man Lord Quest just gave me another beat today. So you're going to lay down a beat today. Is this happening today? Man, my engineer is going to hate me, man.

Okay, two more jams. Wrapping up. Okay, we're almost done. Two more jams. We got to go way back. Thank you. It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under. It's like a jungle sometimes. It makes me wonder how I keep from going under.

Broken glass everywhere. People pissing on the stairs. You know they just don't care. I can't take the smell. Can't take the noise. Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice Rats in the front room, roaches in the back Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat

I tried to get away, but I couldn't get far Cause a man with a tow truck repossessed my car Don't push me, cause I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under edge, I'm trying not to lose my head. It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from going under. Standing on the front stoop, hanging out the window, watching all the cars go by,

roaring as the pieces blow. A crazy lady living in a bag, eating out of garbage pails, used to be a fag, had such a dastard tangle, skipped a life in dangle, as her con princess seemed to lost her senses. Down at the peep show, watching all the creeps, so she could. This goes way back, the message. It's like a jungle sometimes This inspired me to write songs with cultural awareness, social commentary.

So, enough respect to Grandmaster Melly Mel on this one, you know what I'm saying? Raheem on this one too as well grandmaster flash this is the the beginnings right this is the uh the origin of hip-hop 1980 81 this came out mess came out 81. sacroiliac is the first place i heard that word man he's gonna ask about that i went broke my sack broke my sacroiliac so many suckers on my sacroiliac. Broke my sacroiliac. So many suckers on my sacroiliac. That's where I heard that word from first. Amazing. Now, I know you got to get into a recording studio,

so I'm going to break one of my rules. I never truncate the songs. That's my rule. But I'll truncate this. Everybody knows this great song. And we'll get to your last jam so I can get you out of here. And I really appreciate this. 4-1-6. Couldn't have happened without Maestro Fresh West. this great song and we'll get to your last jam so i can uh get you out of here and i really appreciate this 416 couldn't have happened without maestro fresh west so we'll bring back down my

the grandmaster flash good stuff and here let's listen to your final jam ah yeah Like a sound you hear that lingers in your ear But you can't forget from sundown to sunset It's all in the air, you hear it everywhere No matter what you do, it's gonna grab a hold on you California soul California soul If the sun comes up every morning And if you listen so carefully, the winds that ride on the high tide, whistles of mellow beat.

So the people started to sing, and that's how the surf gave birth, I'm told, to California soul. California soul. When you hit the beat, you want to pat your feet. And you got to move, because it's really... Marlena Shaw, Californiaifornia soul so dope man gangstar used that rhythm you know what i'm saying so i just remember that when i heard it that one through my dad's record crates then i heard i pulled out the marlena i'm like wow okay cool

it's great man we have a melody and the beat y'all but it didn't seem complete until they saw two lovers kissing oh sure

they knew just what was missing So happy they were all Walking and feeling Because they had added That loving feeling To California's soul California's soul Might as well get with it California soul Brothers will get with it

Sound your ear And I think you'll save your ear Oh Man, you know what I forgot to play? What? Hard Times, Baby Huey, man. Episode 905 will play it, all right? And of course,

anytime you want to come back, Maestro, you're invited back. Are you kidding me? I don't need an excuse. Thanks for being number 416. 416, it's only right, Mike. It's only right. And thanks for repping this city of mine, man. No doubt, man.

No one does it better. God bless you. Thanks for having me. And all the best in 2019, my man. And happy 30th anniversary to Symphony in Effect. We'll be having some fun. And that brings us to the end of our 416th show. You can follow me on Twitter.

I'm at Toronto Mike. Wes is at Maestro Fresh Wes. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Propertyinthe6.com is at Raptors Devotee. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta Fast Time Watch and Jewelry Repair is at Fast Time WJR and Paytm is at Paytm Canada See you all next week!

Well I want to take a streetcar downtown Read Andrew Miller and wander around And drink some Guinness from a tin Cause my UI check has just come in Ah, where you been? Because everything