CANADA WEEK 2008Charisma? Check. Swagger? Check. Controversy? Check. With four years in Toronto, a first hand education at two majors under his belt, and cosigns from both Whoo? Kid and DJ Drama, The Kid Famous seems poised to help T-dot and the rest of Canada Plant their flag on the Hip-Hop map. Will you make him famous? Read on.AllHipHop.com: You got
a lot of buzz from a previous incident where it was said you were writing for a
Def Jam artist. Can you go into that a little bit?
Famous: I actually like to stay away from that, but I mean
as far as that goes, that was just something Wendy Williams put out. Basically,
it was stemmed up I dont know how it was stemmed up, but it was an article in
Hip Hop Weekly and you guys[AllHipHop] got publication of that so you guys
posted the video, and it just so happened that wed been working on the
project, like this whole Famous project, and it just went hand-in-hand so the
timing was absolutely great because the buzz was absolutely going crazy.
The good thing is, we had good product to back it up so a
lot of those people who checked it out, they have now become fans you know. But
as far as the whole Jay-Z writing thing, like, Im not writing for Jay if
thats what you really want to know.
“I’m not writing for Jay if that’s what you really want to know”
AllHipHop.com: You seem to be fairly savvy as far as the usage of
media. How does that effect who you are as an artist and your business model so
to speak?
Famous: well the whole business of it is like when I came
into this I first moved to Toronto like 4 years ago and I was interning at Def
Jam. Then I moved over to Sony BMG and I was working there on Tuesdays and
Thursdays while I was working at the radio station.
So before the whole music thing, I was really just
learning the business and we all know the new wave of media is really digital
right now, theyre all on the internet. So I really try to focus on that,
really try to touch as many people as we can on the internet.
Its this 3-hit program that I have. So the first time,
people dont really care. They just see it but they dont care. Then the second
time they might remember. Third time they see it; its a wrap. Im trying to
hit people in threes so if each person I get to see the product sees it three
times, then theyll get familiar with Famous.
AllHipHop.com: Now each new era in Hip-Hop pertained to location. It
comes in certain waves, like after the initial New York movement, you had
Compton with Ruthless, Houston with Rap-A-Lot, New Orleans with No Limit, etc.
What do you think it would take for Toronto and Canada as a whole to jump off
and take center stage or to garner more attention?
Famous: Well you right now the city is real hot and I
think the leader of it right now is Kardinal. You know the whole Konvict
situation, hes got the Danger single out with Akon. So I mean Kardinals been
putting Toronto on the map for like so many years but like the recognition was
never there. But I mean through like Akon who spots something like that, we all
know Akons hot international so hes just helping me because I think Im right
behind him you know as far as putting Toronto on the map.
“And you know the thing about Toronto, is like the fact
that none of us made it yet but were still doing it, it just shows that we
actually love the music”
And you know the thing about Toronto, is like the fact
that none of us made it yet but were still doing it, it just shows that we
actually love the music you know its more than just the money and the fame.
Were actually doing it because we love the music, and people appreciate the
music, its not really where youre from, its kinda the music. You know as
long as your music is real where youre from; people appreciate that.
AllHipHop.com: As far as Canadian Hip-Hop goes, is there anything
different about it? The UK has Grime, and in other places around the world,
their movements didnt really start till they got a different take on Hip-Hop.
Is there anything currently brewing in Canada?
Famous: Yea I think its more of a sound really. I cant
really speak for all of Canada but I can speak for Toronto. As far as Toronto
goes, its very multicultural, people are real open, and you get a bit of here,
you get a bit of there. So when youre thinking about world music, people just
appreciate that sound. Reggae and soca are real big influences up here.
AllHipHop.com: So when people hear the name Famous, what images
should that name conjure? What do you
stand for? What is your direction as far as the music goes?
Famous: Well as far as Famous when they hear Famous…well
Famous is the name but its The Kid Famous so the Kid is just a regular kid
like you know the dude who moved here four years ago and got his grind on, but
Famous is like the inspiration right, so Famous is like the main name. So when
people hear Famous, it kinda gives me something to live up to.
The whole Famous thing is like its just real music. When
they hear the name Famous, theyre just gonna be like ok whats this guy about? Its not often that a lot of artists from Canada are known in the US by a lot
of the artists. The name Famous goes a long way. Its more than music. Its like
entertainment, its like lifestyle, and its like branding. Theres more to
Famous than just making words rhyme.
AllHipHop.com: How do you reconcile the business of this music with
the art of this music? Do you come into conflict with that at all?
Famous: With the music thing its just my life. No matter
what, youre gonna get my life. Its just about which beat is gonna bring out
my life. As far as the whole business
to it, I dont think they really work hand in hand. I mean Im selling myself,
so it makes it real easy to sell myself between the music and then just putting
it out to the right people.
At this point, the business really hasnt interfered
because its really me running it me and my partner Rez. Its only 2 people
running it so its not like we got a major label whos like telling us what to
do and all that. Were controlling it, so I can control it as much as I want at
this point.
AllHipHop.com: If there was one album full of instrumentals that you
had the chance to rap over and it had to be an existing album, what album would
you choose to rap over?
Famous: Ooh. I like that American Gangster. I know
I could definitely rock over like all those beats. What else could I rock out?
Yea that would be the one album.
AllHipHop.com: What projects have you been working on and what do
you have coming up next?
Famous: I dont like to kill the whole surprise factor.
You know I find right now people arent surprised with the music they know what
to expect. When you give them that surprise, thats when they anticipate it
more. But like I said we released a whole project like no more than maybe 4
months ago and the buzz is just building you know and we got the hits backed up
Im trying to have a strong fan base with people who are
Famous supporters, you know that come out to the shows no matter where I go in
the country. So right now this whole year were just putting out music to
really just you know gain that and so people know the Famous life. They gotta
know me. You know Im trying to have longevity in this. You know not just the
one hit and then Im out. So its gonna take some time but right now everything
is moving real good.
AllHipHop.com: Any last words?
Famous: Dont hate me cause I rhyme different!