Ivy
League Entertainment
November 7th 2006
Oye,
My
American book launch event will be at the KGB Bar in Manhattan's East Village
on Wednesday, November 22nd (near the corner of E 4th Street and 2nd
Ave). The Rap Canterbury Tales
performance begins at 8 pm, followed by an informal poetry reading and book
signing in the bar. This is a free
event and my main concern now is making sure it fills up to help spread the
word about the book, so if any of you know anyone in New York City, please pass
on the invitation.
Last
week I was on the Ivy League circuit, performing at Harvard, Wellesley, and
College of the Holy Cross, all in Massachusetts. The Harvard performance was definitely the high point of my
academic adventures thus far, with the Dean of English, distinguished
professors, as well as PhDs and undergrads, about sixty in all, assembled in a
stately reading room with a massive fireplace and mantle as a backdrop. Of all the shows I have done, this
audience probably had the most Chaucer awareness, and every nuance, comic
reference, and shade of irony was absorbed with delight. You can watch a video clip of the
performance here:
The
other new development is that my new album, "Lit-Hop", is finally finished
and ready for release. The album
consists of fourteen tracks, ten of which were recorded while I was touring in
the UK this spring. I worked with
some amazing producers in London and Brighton during this time, as well as an
English rapper called Dizraeli who has to be heard to be believed. Then, back
in Vancouver, I spent two straight months in the studio with Lin G, the
super-producer and engineer who made the beats for "The Rap Canterbury
Tales", and we crafted an album out of this diverse collection of songs
recorded on the road. I also got
some local Vancouver talent involved in the project at that point, including
Moka Only, Josh Martinez, Jena Fair,
I
just recently found out that one of the lead singles, "Mad Style
Disease" (featuring Dizraeli) is now playing on rotation on CBC Radio
Three. Ah Yeah.
I
urge you all to at least give some of the songs a preview, and if
you like them please consider buying a copy and telling friends about it. Without a record label or promotional
machine behind me, it is only through word of mouth that I am getting my
recordings out there. Also, since
today is mid-term election day in the USA, and the civilized world is collectively
holding its breath and hoping for a change of the guard over here, I want to
give you all a chance to hear my new track, "Symptom", which tackles
the beast of American politics head-on.
This one feels like a land-mine beneath the road I am currently walking,
so I've been down-playing it a bit, but it's going to get aired one way or
another, so I guess this is the best time.
Until
next time, bring the noise,
baba