Directed by Mark Valino.

Lunice chops it up with LiveAGL’s Greg Drakes during The Red Bull “Culture Clash”.

liveagl.com/​
themanifesto.ca/​

Hit the jump for Valino and Drakes’ log-commentary of the shoot and interview.

Previously: NEW VIDEO: Lunice “Glow” (Directed by Adam Saewitz)

(more…)

Ms. Fiona talks fashion and beauty with The Fashion Bomb Daily.

Pics and more of their convo available HERE!

“The MF Life” hits shelves December 6th.

http://liveyourmflife.tumblr.com

www.melaniefiona.com

Previously: VIDEO: Melanie Fiona “4AM” (Live @ The Black Girls Rock & Soul Show)

Via ATF!

Visuals for Drake’s interview last week with FMF. They talk Serena Williams, the Jay/Wayne ‘beef’, the questionable Pusha-T jab and, of course, “Take Care” which drops November 15th.

“The wood is actually a walnut in my condo” … lol

Previously: VIDEO: Drake “SNL Skits & Performances”

k-Os waxes poetic on his latest MuchMusic special, new tour, and of course, hip-hop in general with ExploreMusic.com.

The Much special – “k-Os Live” – is now available as a special edition CD/DVD on iTunes. It includes “Faith Pt. 2” with Drake and more!

Previously: NEW MUSIC: k-Os feat. Drake “Faith” (Pt. 2) (Prod. J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)

This is a must read. Shouts to 40 mang!

Toronto’s 
Noah “40” Shebib 
is the one producer Drake can’t do 
without.

If you want a laugh, pull up the music video for Drake’s “Replacement Girl.” It’s 2007. The Toronto rapper is wearing a leather baseball cap, backwards, with enormous designer sunglasses and his necktie above the belly button—not unlike how Fred Flintstone does his. He double-time raps in front of a crudely drawn world map while women of various tint and confusion dance close by; at the video’s climax, Drake leans on the hood of an expensive car the director rented for the shoot. It’s not a bad R&B-cum-rap song. And the video went on to play on BET, a first for an unsigned Canadian rapper. But this Drake was, to put it kindly, not the cool, introspective, self-deprecating one we now know.

Something else happened at the “Replacement Girl” shoot. During a break, a wiry, white Toronto native named Noah Shebib showed up and played Drake ten beats. Shebib and Drake are both former child actors from the same hometown, but they were only meeting now, at the behest of a mutual friend. Drake didn’t buy any of Shebib’s beats that day, but he liked what he heard. He booked two days of studio time with Shebib at two hundred dollars a day, strictly to track new songs. Drake would rap, Shebib would hit record.

The session worked out better than either expected. By day three, Shebib told Drake he wasn’t going to charge him. Drake brought Shebib onto his team, first as an engineer and later as musical director for his live shows. As Shebib watched Drake going through the motions of the industry—listening to beats from top and up-and-coming producers that were never to the rapper’s full satisfaction—he slowly figured out, by process of elimination, what Drake really wanted in his music. “That was the first time as a producer I ever felt like I had a reason to do something,” Shebib says. “I wasn’t just sitting down to make music for no apparent reason.”

READ FULL FEATURE HERE

Reema Major chops it up with the fellas over at Royalty Radio.

Previously: NEW VIDEO: Reema Major – I’m The One (Directed by Mike Portoghese)

Really dope interview with a really dope artist. One Day Soon is available now!

A lot of people really like Ian Kamau—so much that they’ll change their Facebook profile photo for him. It was early last week that I noticed the tiny pink-and-black swatches on my feed: digital declarations of support for the musician, visual artist and community organizer, and his new debut LP One Day Soon.

Kamau is a fixture in Toronto’s hip-hop scene: since 2003, he’s sporadically released music as a solo artist and Pangaea Project member, and in the mid-’00s toured Canada and Europe with k-os. But it’s an affinity for unique, personal connections that have mobilized an outpouring for the truly independent artist.

For seven years, since 16, Kamau headed up the Graffiti Transformation Project at Scadding Court Community Centre, teaching art and painting murals with young people in Alexander Park. Since then, he’s been involved in various arts-based community projects throughout the city—most recently at Davenport Perth Neighbourhood Centre—with a brief sojourn to complete a fine arts degree at York University and Sheridan College and launch a design company.

A firm faith in his own artistry and travels to places like São Paolo, Johannesburg, and Nairobi are what largely inspired One Day Soon, a disc resonant with personal narratives delivered in Kamau’s brimming tenor. But it’s also dedicated to the spirit of the young people he’s spent time with: “Young people are what you were,” explains Kamau. “And there’s no reason why you shouldn’t continue to be that.” I needed a reminder of Toronto The Good, so I talked with Kamau about how community can foment change. You can buy One Day Soon here.

The videos you’ve just released for your cover of City and Colour’s “The Girl” are quite moving. Why did you create different videos for the same song?
That song was on a mixtape I put out last year called Vol. 3: Love and Other Struggles, which explored the idea that love in whatever it’s forms is difficult. Usually when people say ‘love’ I feel like they’re talking about romantic love between a man and a woman. But within romantic love there are different forms, or there is the love between parents, or parents and their children. And then there’s also this idea of people seeing others fight for things, and not recognizing that that anger comes from love. So if you’re frustrated with society because it doesn’t treat people in a certain way, fundamentally, it’s about your care and concern for those people. I did community work because I love my community; I love black people. People fight pretty revolutionary struggles out of love.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Previous: NEW ALBUM: Ian Kamau “One Day Soon”

Ms. Fiona chops it up with www.YouKnowIGotSoul.com

Over the years, many Canadian artists have found success in the United States with their music to the point where this country claims them just like they are one of their own. Toronto native Melanie Fiona had dreams of making a career in music, but it took her leaving her home and coming to the U.S. for her to become an international star with the release of her debut “The Bridge”. After the album went on to become Gold, Melanie finds herself not only as one of the brightest young talents in r&b, but also one who has been heavily requested by her peers to work with. Had she remained in Canada, one would have to wonder if all of this would be possible. Now, as she prepares to release her sophomore album “The MF Life”, Melanie Fiona looks to shine even brighter while continuing to put Canada on the map. In this exclusive interview following her performance at Summer Stage in New York City, we talk about what to expect on the album, growth she’s experienced since her debut, her current single “4 AM”, Tyrese reaching out to her for a collaboration, coming to the US to find success, and covering other artists’ material.

Blake Carrington joins The Game & Rich Hill to talk favorite kicks with KarmaLoopTV, plus he kicks a freestyle.

Previously: VIDEO: Blake Carrington (Interview w/ VIBE.com)

Era talks Toronto, Drake, Raekwon, ‘the truth’ and the new mixtape with ThisIs50’s Young Jack Thriller.

www.nohandouts.net

Previously: NEW MUSIC: JD Era feat. Raekwon “Payday 2″ (Prod. Snaz)