Via The Segment. This is almost a year old but I just caught it for the first time just now and thought it was a pretty dope PC-cam rendition of the classic Bobby Caldwell joint “Open Your Eyes” which was, of course, famously re-interpreted by Dilla/Common. Shouts to the sound effects at the end lol. Get the audio below also (as well as the full Live Sessions Volume II project) for free download.
If I’m not mistaken, Ebrahim is from Vancouver…??? His debut project was Juno nominated (circa 2007) and he’s been in the lab recently with Slakah which should result in some goodness.
Nice photo/video retrospective piece on the Ghanian-Canadian kid we now know as Spek Won.
Benjamin Nii Kpani Addy is the first of his family to have been born in Canada after his father immigrated to Toronto from Ghana in the 1970s. He grew up in the Ghanaian neighbourhood near Martin Grove Road and Eglinton Avenue, where he was surrounded by a supportive, tight-knit community and instilled with the morals and language of his family’s culture. But Benjamin rebelled against these traditional values as he entered his teens, like many who feel their parents cannot understand the challenges they face, having come from a different country and grown up in a different time. He says he absorbed gang mentality deeply, that he “went from a kid who was afraid of his own shadow to being used to extreme violence.” Benjamin moved away from this as he got older, realizing it wasn’t going to lead anywhere worth going, and instead focused on his musical ambitions. Under the moniker “Spek Won”, Benjamin has used hip hop to find a middle ground between his Ghanaian roots and his Toronto upbringing.
Halifax emcee Quake releases his forth single ‘Do My Thing’ from his debut LP release The Myth. The track also features skilled Boston rapper Reks (Grey Hairs) and fellow Halifax artist Kayo. The song comes fresh off the heels of the bass-heavy single ‘I Stand Alone’ which featured Motor-City representer Royce da 5’9′. The follow up single is produced by Grammy-nominated Tone Mason who contributed 7 selections to the album, including ‘I Stand Alone’.
The Myth is currently streamable at Quake.Bandcamp.com and will be available for orders mid-week, after the launch of QuakeMatthews.com. Quake also has two other projects due out for 2010 including an EP project with Kayo, and a mixtape entitled Best Foot Forward. Look-out for this up and coming Canadian talent in 2011.
