Nova Scotia based rapper Classified, aka Luke Boyd is all about the balance these days — balancing a bustling home life including raising two daughters while producing other Halifax area hip hop artists combined with a tough tour schedule in support of his latest CD “Handshakes and Middle Fingers.”
“We just got into North Bay. Last night in St. Catherine's was sick and the Toronto show was sold out,” Classified observed, noting the tour comes to Lethbridge for a show at the Stone, April 15 with Kidz In The Hall and the Scalebreakers (Subway and Guy Woods).
“It was pretty hyper,” he continued adding to the new CD and the first single “That Ain’t Classy,” has been very favourable.
“So far so good,” he said noting he covers a variety of topics on the CD including world events, marijuana, being a dad, making it in the music industry.
“That’s the way I’ve always done it, just talking abut what I’ve been going through in my life. I was on the road for two years straight, I just wanted to get home, get back into the studio and make another hip hop album,” he said adding the stiff schedule will change now he’s a family man.
“I don’t want to be away from home for a month at a time now. In four or five years, I want to be able to stay home, produce other artists, and watch my little girls grow up,” he said.
This CD even features Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy on the track “The Hangover,” as well as Kayo, one of the artists he is producing and who is opening his tour.
“It sure is. It’s just the coolest horn line. I found it on a you Tube clip and wanted to use it, so I had to track down the owner of the rights for it. So I talked to CBC and a whole bunch of people. I built a really cool beat around it and the lyrics really describe society today,” he said adding marijuana is a popular theme on the new CD especially on the track ‘High Maintenance.’
“I smoke. There’s good and bad things about it. I wanted to write a song that tells both sides of the story. I sing about how it slows my actions down,” he said adding he also imparts a little of his knowledge about the music business on the new CD.
“I get about five e-mails a day from kids asking about the business and what they need to do to succeed in it. Hey I used to be that kid. But instead of answering all of them, I just wrote a song about it. And when it was done it turned into a real song, so I put it on the album,” he said.
“Growing up in Nova Scotia, I idolized Joe Run. He‘s the one who first took me into a studio and showed me how it works,” he said adding the Halifax hip hop scene is thriving.
While the latest CD is the second on Sony, he still recorded it in his backyard studio.
“It’s like night and day. I formed my own label because nobody else would sign me. I never got into the music business to be a businessman. I got into it to make music. So now I can concentrate on the music and they handle the business stuff,” he said adding the success of his previous CD “Self Explanatory” which featured the Juno nominated hits ‘Anybody,’ ‘Listening’ and ‘Oh, Canada,’ put a little pressure on him.
“ I thought about it at first. But then this is my fourteenth album, so I just went in and did it like any other. I just got off the road after two years and just wanted to get into the studio,” he said.
“ It’s all about balance. When I’m doing one like touring, it makes me appreciate the being on the studio. When the home life and studio life got boring, I go out on the road,” he said adding he is looking forward to returning to Lethbridge for the third time.
“The first time I was there I got hit in the back by a food tray, and I said what the fuck, where did a food tray come from? It didn’t hurt it was just a really funny story. There are lot of hip hop fans there, so it is a really good place to play for them,” he said adding they will be bringing a drummer, a guitarist and a DJ on tour for the show, though no horn section as the new CD featured live horns as well.
“It will be an upbeat, energetic show. We’ll be bringing the party, or to bring it back to Nova Scotia, we’ll be bringing a kitchen party to Lethbridge. I love doing a show where people are screaming and they go home saying ‘What a great show,’” he said.
