Album, record label, reality show, throw in the odd energy drink and that seems to be the new formula for veteran performers in the music industry as artists push to grow their brands. Hip-hop’s very own brotherhood of the travelling pants, The Wu-Tang Clan, has seen its members disperse into solo careers, feature films (in front of and behind the camera) and even mashing their way through video games between reunions and collaborations in the years since their album, 36 Chambers, debuted.
“We did that album for like $30,000 – everyone got like a G a piece and the rest just went to studio time,” recalls clan luminary Ghostface Killah from a coat-check-sized back room at Toronto event venue The Gates. “We gave music to a lot of labels that shut us down and said ‘You got too many guys in the group.’ But one guy, Steve Rifkin, was like, ‘I don’t have a lot of the money but I can promote the hell out of you.’ And that was the best deal we could ever take.”
It’s a fitting time for Ghostface, born Dennis Coles, to reflect on the full-time hustle that was necessary to get his break in music. He’s currently in the midst of promoting his own quest for new talent with the show Canada Takes The Mic. “When I was coming up it was about a body of work, it was about what this person has created. Now they just take one song and don’t even want to hear the rest of your stuff.”
The iconic lyricist is looking to offer aspiring Canadian rappers and soul/R&B singers the chance to be heard and mentored when he searches across the country for one artist to be co-signed to his soon-to-be-launched label Supreme Records. Of course he’s no stranger to Toronto and the Canadian music scene, having just collaborated with the local jazz punks BADBADNOTGOOD on the album Sour Soul.
“I fell in love with them instantly they’re young, respectful and humble,” Ghostface says fondly about being introduced to his recent album mates. “They listen. They’re the future.”
But it was more than just his veneration of the Canadian music scene that made him decide to do the show it was the opportunity to launch Supreme Records through a platform.
“I was trying to do a label when my friend Peter Jackson introduced me to Val, who was working on Take The Mic and she thought maybe we could collaborate, mix them all together and make something bigger.” Joining Ghost as a judge and executive producer on the project is Flow 93.5 founder, manager and former Canadian Idol judge Farley Flex.
As for how Ghost will transition from spewing rhymes to dishing critiques, he assures that his onscreen persona will be true to life. “I’m just going to be honest. That’s all you can be. I got to feel what I feel in my heart. And I could be wrong. Not every judge is always right.”
Registration for the show opens Wednesday (April 15), with Toronto auditions kicking off October 9. Whether or not Killah will be using the catchphrase “You’re ghosted” to axe contestants will be determined when Canada Takes The Mic premieres this fall.
Find out more at CanadaTakesTheMic.com
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