OVER THE EDGE
| January ac, 2008

Paul ALVIZ

THe Corp Weexcy (WiLFRID
Laurier University)

EDMONTON (CUP) -- Here’s a riddle for
you: what’s white, from the East coast, and
talented all over? One of Canada’s premiere
hip-hop artists — Luke Boyd, also known as
Classified.

Hailing from the small town of Enfield,
Nova Scotia, there was no shortage of odds
stacked against this emcee and 15-year-vet-
eran of the rap game.

However, after pouring his heart, his souf
and countless hours of effort into what is now
one of the more successful Canadian rap ca-
reers, he’s ready to take a step back, have a
look around and appreciate everyone and
everything that’s helped him get to where he
is today.

His latest album, While You Were Sleeping
— which punches in at number 12 in a prolific
producing and recording history — offers a
compilation of some of his best work to date,
as well a few new tracks and a bonus DVD
featuring all the music videos and other foot-
age.

Classified’s love of music began, as with
most musicians, when he was a child. His
father, an avid guitar player, enjoyed playing
shows with his band and influenced Classified
to find a voice of his own. However, at first he
struggled to find a niche as he was not inclined
to play traditional band instruments such as

guitar and
drums.

“oT * an
actually
the only
person in
my fam-
ily who
can’t play
an instru-
ment
[My Dad]
had micro-
phones
and speak-
ers set up
and shit.
I couldn’t
play gui-
tar and I
couldn’t sing. I listened to rap and that was
kind of what I was into,” explains Classified.
“Me and my friends would write little raps
and record it on a tape deck. Eventually, it just
kept building up. I got a computer for mak-
ing beats, and then we went to our first studio
and started buying equipment-to produce, and
make real instrumentals and stuff, and just
kept building.”

Initially, Classified’s father wasn’t exactly
thrilled about his choice of musical expres-
sion.

“He wasn’t. into rap, like anybody’s dad
is. You know, parents are never into rap. So

Presumably Classified

he was into it

just because
we were mak-
ing music
and stuff, but
it took him
a while to
understand.”

However,
his father has
since come
full circle,
providing
live _instru-
ment tracks
on guitar and
keyboard.
He’s featured
in two tracks
on While You
Were Sleeping.

“He’s always trying to get up in a video
now,” jokes Classified at his father’s enthusi-
asm.

Despite his lack of formal musical training,
Classified hasn’t let it hold him back and his
natural ear for a good beat is obvious through
his music. He produces all of his own tracks,
and has taken several artists under his wing,
one being Chad Hatcher, whose guitar and
vocals can be heard in the song “All About
U”, an uplifting track with a real life message
about being comfortable in your own skin.

Unlike a lot of popular rap represented by

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mainstream media, Classified does not write
rhymes about wheelin’ and dealin’ or pimpin’
hoes. If he does make references to money, it’s
generally the lack of economic opportunities
available for Canadian rap acts — not that it
fazes him. He’s grown well past any juven-
ile dreams of “pimpin’ all over the world” or
concealing bags of money in the secret com-
partment of a Ferrari.

“Tf I come out frontin’ and acting like some-
thing I ain’t, the people I hang around with
would shut it down pretty quick and be like,
‘what the fuck are you talking about?’ It’s
good because if I wanted to talk about fake
shit I probably wouldn’t still be making music
because I’d be out of fake shit to talk about,”
he candidly explains with a laugh.

When asked if he could pick only one thing
for people to take away from listening to his
music, he responds with a simple request:
“Don’t be scared to be who you are, as comy
as that sounds. I think that’s one of the biggest
problems in society: so many people hating
on each other ... We’re all fucked up, we all
have good qualities, we all have bad qualities,
and that’s pretty much life. So accept it and
move on.”

Classified will make his way straight across
the country in a path that has been carved
out by six previous tours. He will be playing
shows in Hamilton, Barrie, Oshawa, Toronto
and Ottawa between Jan. 28 and Feb. 2.

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