Mississauga rapper Keita Juma’s introspective and moody approach to hip-hop has been slowly building buzz in the Toronto scene over the past couple years, and the Peephole/Beach EP he dropped in the spring of 2014 proved how much of a unique sonic identity he’s carved out for himself. Part golden-era underground rap and part experimental futurist beats, Keita balances a respect for hip-hop’s traditions with an appetite for new textures and concepts.Keita headlines the Drake Hotel on July 24th, where he’ll be previewing material from his upcoming Chaos Theory EP, scheduled for release this fall. Check out the free download of the first single "Ancient Body Language" below. We met up with Keita for Yerba Mate tea to find out more about where he’s coming from.
Keita Juma: I’ve lived in Toronto, but high school was in Mississauga, and I think that all of my formative years and experiences after leaving England were there.You were only 11 when you moved from Bristol, UK to Canada. Do you think those early years had much effect on your music?
I think the jungle influences came into my music from there, and dance music too. I think that’s from growing up in Bristol, but I didn’t even notice until someone else pointed it out to me. The rapping side is more Toronto.When did you start making music yourself?
I was 14 when I started using Fruity Loops.Did you start off just producing beats, or did you always want to rap too?
Originally I just wanted to rap, and making beats just came from me not wanting to rap on other people’s beats.What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the Toronto’s hip-hop scene over the past few years?
Support. On both ends: from artist to artist, and also the industry to the artist. I think we’re all starting to believe that maybe we have something here. Before it was ‘Toronto: the screwface capital, and no one is going to get anywhere’, but now people are like ‘I think maybe we can figure out our own way’. The music industry itself has changed, because of globalization. People aren’t just looking to America for popular content. People are looking to Toronto now too.How much of that change is the ‘Drake effect’?
A lot of it. It’s huge. Because prior to Drake, artists didn’t put Toronto on our back. We didn’t say we’re proud of Toronto, proud of the way we speak. Those things we make fun of ourselves for, we weren’t going out in the world and saying we were proud of that stuff. In rap specifically, it’s hard to get respect if you’re not proud of where you’re from, because it’s like saying you’re not proud of your home. You have to be able to go out in the world and say this is where I rep, and I’m here now.You mentioned being influenced by jungle. Who in hip-hop has inspired you the most?
As far as artists who I keep coming back to for inspiration, I’d have to say Outkast. It’s just the fearlessness in each album. They weren’t creating to appease rap fans as much as they were just creating music, and it happened to be rap.Tell us about the EP that’s coming out in the fall
I wrote this material when I was working for Rogers last year, and I guess that’s why it sounds so dark. The content isn’t necessarily dark, but sonically it’s very dark. I’m at a different point now.What do you do now?
I run a youth program teaching young people studio skills. I’m trying to create more engineers in the city, because I feel like there’s a lack of them. I try to give them the skills to do whatever it is that they want to do.I’m guessing that’s leading to less darkness in the next batch of songs?
Definitely.Benjamin Boles is a writer living in Toronto - @benjaminboles
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Noisey: I don’t see a lot of musicians representing Mississauga in their bio. Why not just say Toronto?
Keita Juma: I’ve lived in Toronto, but high school was in Mississauga, and I think that all of my formative years and experiences after leaving England were there.You were only 11 when you moved from Bristol, UK to Canada. Do you think those early years had much effect on your music?
I think the jungle influences came into my music from there, and dance music too. I think that’s from growing up in Bristol, but I didn’t even notice until someone else pointed it out to me. The rapping side is more Toronto.When did you start making music yourself?
I was 14 when I started using Fruity Loops.Did you start off just producing beats, or did you always want to rap too?
Originally I just wanted to rap, and making beats just came from me not wanting to rap on other people’s beats.What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the Toronto’s hip-hop scene over the past few years?
Support. On both ends: from artist to artist, and also the industry to the artist. I think we’re all starting to believe that maybe we have something here. Before it was ‘Toronto: the screwface capital, and no one is going to get anywhere’, but now people are like ‘I think maybe we can figure out our own way’. The music industry itself has changed, because of globalization. People aren’t just looking to America for popular content. People are looking to Toronto now too.
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A lot of it. It’s huge. Because prior to Drake, artists didn’t put Toronto on our back. We didn’t say we’re proud of Toronto, proud of the way we speak. Those things we make fun of ourselves for, we weren’t going out in the world and saying we were proud of that stuff. In rap specifically, it’s hard to get respect if you’re not proud of where you’re from, because it’s like saying you’re not proud of your home. You have to be able to go out in the world and say this is where I rep, and I’m here now.You mentioned being influenced by jungle. Who in hip-hop has inspired you the most?
As far as artists who I keep coming back to for inspiration, I’d have to say Outkast. It’s just the fearlessness in each album. They weren’t creating to appease rap fans as much as they were just creating music, and it happened to be rap.Tell us about the EP that’s coming out in the fall
I wrote this material when I was working for Rogers last year, and I guess that’s why it sounds so dark. The content isn’t necessarily dark, but sonically it’s very dark. I’m at a different point now.What do you do now?
I run a youth program teaching young people studio skills. I’m trying to create more engineers in the city, because I feel like there’s a lack of them. I try to give them the skills to do whatever it is that they want to do.I’m guessing that’s leading to less darkness in the next batch of songs?
Definitely.Benjamin Boles is a writer living in Toronto - @benjaminboles