When you hear that there’s a unknown rapper out of Vancouver who was the only Canadian artist to headline a festival in the Philippines, you pay attention. A Vancouver, BC transplant from Hamilton, Ontario, Immerze may not be well known yet but he has the attention of at least a few hundred new Filipino fans. With the release of his Dayton Spokes EP, Noisey sat down with the up and coming artist to discuss the Vancouver hip-hop scene, the benefits of being tagged a ‘Canadian Rapper' and how he ended up halfway across the world touring more than once.
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Immerze: Vancouver has definitely birthed Canadian hip-hop legends such the Rascals and Swollen Members just to name a couple, but as an artist who’s only been in the game for a couple years, as well as an East coast native coming to Van on a track and field scholarship, how I view the scene may differ from those in the game who were born and raised out here. With that said, there’s a lot of undiscovered talent here but it’s discouraging to keep pursuing a career in this market because no one is looking in Vancouver for the next big thing. Although that’s the harsh reality, there’s always a positive outlook on any situation. For instance, there is a huge void of dope artists the city can call their own, which leaves room for those who are actually talented and dedicated to the culture to be the pioneers of the new school and to represent the city and this country. Another benefit being from this market is that VanCity houses some of the best DJs in the game, like DJ Seko, DJ J Fresh, Sailor Jerry and Icy Touch just to name few. I wouldn’t say I’ve made a name for myself yet, but I’m a firm believer of quality over quantity I strive to make the best music I can possibly make from the soul and with substance. My work ethic is key. I try to out-do myself on every song I make, and I’m a humble dude and let my work speak for itself and people recognize appreciate talent when they hear it.
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That was an amazing experience! The main event was the 7107 Festival held in Clark, Philippines, and I was the only Canadian artist heading. Chronico Music Group were the first group of people I met out here, besides my track team at the time, and they actually got me to do my first show opening up for Kid Ink a few years ago. Fast-forward to the 2014 and one of members of Chronico (Mike) was organizing the festival in Manila. Once Mike heard some records off of Dayton Spokes, the rest was history! The whole experience was a highlight to me from having my records played in clubs in Hong Kong to all over Philippines. The response of people dancing to my music, vibing to it and bombarding me with questions about where they can get copies of the album was great. I also can’t forget the Good people at Wave 89.1 Jimmy, KC, and Scratchmark for having me! My best accomplishment was definitely my headlining performance in front of all those people. They came to have a good time, and it’s safe to say I held down the stage. Shout-out to Paolo, Culu Tanner, Richie Mcfly and DJ Jagw1re who accompanied me on the trip, as well!What makes you stand out from other Canadian artists, and how have you maneuvered that 'dreaded' title of "Canadian Rapper"—or, is it a dreaded title at all?
I really can’t speak on makes me stand out from other Canadian artist as to I don’t know how they go about doing things, but I can say I’ve had the privilege and courage to leave home, and get out of my comfort zone which has exposed me to a lot of life experiences that fuel my music. Every song has a story behind it; I don’t just rap for the sake of raping unless I’m freestyling off top. I’ve literally almost lived every where in Canada, being born in Toronto, growing up in Hamilton, traveling to Windsor, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, and now residing in Vancouver, as well as touring Europe and parts of Asia… I’ve seen a lot of different cultures. I feel it would be a shame to dread the title of “Canadian Rapper”. If you’re as talented as you should be, it shouldn’t matter where you’re from, and where you’re from shouldn’t limit your capabilities if you truly believe in yourself - the world is your stage. Maybe in the generation before me, being a Canadian Rapper had a negative stigma attached to it, but in my generation I feel like Canada is the best place to be in all aspects of life, landscapes, sports team and especially music. We got some of the best artists in the world with Canadian citizenships. Throughout everywhere I’ve been in the world, once you tell them your Canadians their eyes light up and show the upmost respect and hospitality. So in my eyes being a Canadian rapper is the best title an artist can have!
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The concept for Dayton Spokes is basically embodying my current state as an artist right now. When you look at a Dayton Spoke rim, otherwise known as wire rims, you see a bunch of bars/wires intricately placed in the centre and sealed with the lip of the rim. That’s’ how I’ve approached this project and every record I’ve done. I always make sure there’s substance with quotable lines and loaded with bars after bars to display my lyricism. I really started to pursue music as a career while living in the West coast, and I feel that Dayton Spokes really embodied that. After meeting [producer] Rich Kidd in Amsterdam, we decided to work on an EP that wasn’t going to be anything you hear everyday, but flow smoothly together. Keeping that theme, Rich Kidd and I just kept building off that. While I produced on the project, getting production from the likes of Rich Kidd (who produced almost half of Dayton Spokes EP), Kaoboy, Cinfamous out of Hong Kong really created a smooth project. At the start of this process, the purpose of Dayton Spokes was to simply drop a small project to showcase my talents but as life’s trials and tribulations started hitting me, it became my therapy. Everything I was going through transcended into this work. I channeled my pain through music rather than let it eat me up inside. Along the way, I ended up learning a lot of things that kept me going. Dayton Spokes purpose then became a method of keeping my sanity. We all go through trials and tribulations that leave us asking “Why me?” but we also have moments where we just wanna relax and dream. I feel like I articulated certain topics in a positive light. Just because you’re going through hell doesn’t mean you can’t turn it into positive energy to fight through it. This is everyday people music; this is Dayton Spokes.
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