Rich Kidd chops it up with Big Mouths Online.

Dope likkle feature put together by Complex.com where 1da breaks down the making of some of his biggest joints thus far.

Drake – Best I Ever Had

“It was December ’08 or January ’09 when I made that beat. I found that sample on my computer and I heard the intro and I thought it was cool. My boy gave me a folder of a bunch of samples and I heard it in there. The sample on it is very smooth. It’s a quicker tempo than a lot of the stuff I do. I was just envisioning a song about a girl. It’s an emotional kind of beat so I figured it would be a girl song. I thought it could work for Drake. He was finishing [So Far Gone], and he said he needed two more songs. I had just done the beat the day before—I sent him that one and he just killed it. He sent it back, and I knew it was a hit the first time I heard it. That beat took me about 20 minutes. And in a few hours he finished the whole song. That one was just wham, bam, thank you ma’am.”

READ THE FULL FEATURE HERE

Previous: NEWS: Boi-1da Produced “Not Afraid” By Eminem Debuts at #1

“As an artist you still need to know about the business side of things to be successful.” says Junia-T, Toronto MC, producer, businessman and big brother to so much young talent in this city.  “Since I was 15 years old (spitting in our school cafeteria ‘Cafrica’) I was observing and getting mentored by my crew SMC out in Sauga”.

From building schools in India to defining success for himself over 10 years of taking in the GTA music scene, Junia has paid close attention to his fellow scene makers and learnt from some of Toronto’s dopest promoters and artists on how to develop a versatile career.  “I essentially started out as a water-boy.  I was too young to get into shows my crew was performing at so my boys brought me in as the dude with the drinks.  They took me everywhere.  I learned a lot of what I know now from those days”. Since then Junia has continued repping his west side crews Ridgeway and Hustle & Flip, at the same time building up his repertoire downtown and in each corner of the City.

Full interview after the jump! (more…)

SICK look for Eternia. Her grind is crazy! Really happy to see things falling into place for her. Here she sits down with one of the world’s biggest/most influential websites to talk about her new project with MoSS and much more. At Last June 29th! Oh, and if you’re in the NYC area this Saturday be sure to go wish E a Happy Birthday at her official Bday Jam. Here’s all the event info!

“People ask me all the time is it hard to be that honest or raw or whatever. And my answer is no. I think it’s actually really hard for people who have to be one thing on record and another thing in real life. That is hard. That takes work. That can cause people to have a mental breakdown.”

Eternia is far from crazy. She’s actually so sane it can make listening to her music rather uncomfortable. Her unflinching, documentary-style raps pull no punches in the ‘reality rap’ department. Refreshingly, this multi-faceted artist’s version of the truth encompasses the life of a performer and a human being. If the hard-hitting confessionals found on It’s Called Life and the mixtape Get Caught Up were a preview of Eternia’s evolution, her fifth full-length, At Last, due out June 29th, will elevate her status Stateside with hip-hop fans.

Produced by fellow Canadian, MoSS, At Last is the culmination of two years of recording between Canada and New York City with some of hip-hop’s finest including Rah Digga and Joell Ortiz. Though she’d been indirectly introduced to MoSS’ work by her label Fat Beats in 2005, circa his production of “Kilos” on Ghostface‘s Fishscale, it took a fortuitous gig as the opener for Marco Polo on tour for Eternia to know MoSS should helm her next album. MoSS said ‘he saw a whole album in his head’ after watching Eternia perform and the rest is history. But with Eternia, it’s no surprise that she came to the same conclusion in her own time, in her own way.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE!

Previous: VIDEO: Eternia & MoSS – It’s Funny (rmx) feat. Ras Kass (Behind The Scenes)

Previous: NEWS: Eternia & MoSS Announce Album Release Date

From Qtv!

Here’s the full video of K’naan’s chop-up with “Q’s” Jian Ghomeshi. They talk about pretty much everything under the sun – the success of Wavin’ Flag and why he changed the lyrics for the Coca-cola version, to the idea of a good producer being able to ‘speak different languages’ and whether he considers his music political. It’s almost a full hour so grab a beverage – a mauby or a malta (Carib of course) – and enjoy!

P.S. Wavin Flag’s been #1 in like TEN different countries.. Talk about having REAL bragging rights to put in a verse, lol!

Previously: VIDEO: K’naan – Wavin’ Flag Live on Sound Opinions (In-Studio)

Caught this on NR. Peep the link below for a bunch of questions/answers that didn’t make the printed issue (on news stands now).

Do you feel that you can go bar for bar with anybody?

Drake: As far as rappers? Um… I’m really still trying to become a better rapper, you know? And I still have idols. I still have people I look up to. I definitely don’t feel that I’m the best I can be nor am I the best rapper. Like I said, I just love making the music, and I’m less concerned about where I stand in the rankings and more about just where I stand with myself, like am I getting better? You know, am I the best I can be? I really don’t care about like compared to Hov or compared to Wayne. That’s another man. I’ve never been really worried about what anybody else is doing. I just use it as reference points and as influence and inspiration, but I don’t really bother myself with thinking who’s the best. ’Cause that doesn’t really matter. It’s just who’s got the songs that move people at the time. Like if you’ve got the title of being the best rapper but you don’t have the hottest songs out? To me, that’s what’s important is just like putting out consistently good product. I don’t really care how they rank me or anything like that.

READ: Drake – Eyes On Me (XXL Cover Story Outtakes)

I have to admit this interview might seem bit short for such a huge talent.  Not because there aren’t enough amazing things to say about the lovely Tanika Charles, but more because when you’re in her presence, it’s not even about her.  Tanika, aka Mz. Chawls, has a way of looking you straight in the eye and knowing exactly how you’re feeling.  And she called out my forever aching heart right away.  “You’re a cancer, aren’t you?” she pinpointed me.  “How did you know?” I replied surprised.  And with that signature twinkle in her eye she responded with an, “ooh girl, I just know … Trust me when I say, I KNOW”.

Full interview after the jump! (more…)

Get to know DJ Wristpect in this interview/feature with HipHopCanada. Stylus DJ Awards coming at the end of the month and he’s nominated for 3. Good luck brudda!

Toronto, ON – When Canada’s best DJs got together in 2009 at the Stylus Awards, only a few could walk away more distinguished than they left. DJ Wristpect was one of the lucky ones, taking home Canadian DJ of the Year. That means, by definition, for 365 days he was the number one jockey across this vast country of ours. Maybe it came down to his diverse, eclectic capabilities.

Maybe it was a reflection of his non-stop schedule of club appearances. Maybe it was the sum of all the work he’s done building his brand. Either way, Wristpect got his due respect. A year later, he’s released his latest installment of Bridging The Gap Mixtape Series, this time Toronto to Virginia. He collaborated with DJ Jester to release an all house mixtape. He’s played dates in Hong Kong, Shanghai and New York and is about to embark on another west coast tour.

Oh yeah, and he’s now part of Smash Squad DJs with Clinton Sparks and Starting From Scratch. HipHopCanada’s Ajani Charles (Project T dot) sat down with arguably Canada’s hardest working DJ to see what he’s working with and working towards.

Read the full article here!

Via HHC!

Vancouver, B.C. – Shaun Boothe can really throw a journalist off her game.  Not only did he begin the interview by questioning me, but he managed to call my bullshit on at least a couple of occasions: he’s disconcertingly genuine and armed with a wisdom that brings the ivory tower to the streets. Shaun’s history fits the traditional rap narrative in many ways – humble beginnings, an insatiable thirst for poetry, a golden opportunity and impending success – yet it’s not a cliche.  Writing love poems for girls on the playground soon turned to winning MuchMusic’s temp contest, opening up the music industry and causing Shaun’s path to veer from the academics of philosophy and psychology.

Shaun’s tagline is Hip-Hop in 3D, a maxim which can be interpreted a couple different ways.  For one, he’s modern, a little off-colour, and right in front of you.  His myspace header offers up the x-ray specs of a hip-hop visionary, claiming “you’ll need these to see me,” hinting from the start that there’s a depth to his art.  His performances are very interactive and mix musical timelines with black history documentaries and dual personalities.  Beneath all the drama lie words of sense and storytelling.  On Queen samples he speaks of the classic poor boy, the trailing underdog, always looking up.   His “Unauthorized Biography” series of raps showcase influential people of African descent and his tongue-in-cheek critique of the media is bitingly truthful.

Click here to read the full article!

JD Era gets a nice look via ThisIs50.com. They talk about how he started, what he’s been trying to build with his movement, Drizzy and more.

Previously: NEW MUSIC: JD Era – You Know This (DJ Pack)