Luke Boyd, otherwise known as Classified, is a famous Canadian rapper from Nova Scotia, Canada. He hardly needs any introduction though; he’s already got 14 full length records to his name and has collaborated with many well known artists on his albums. His most recent record, entitled ‘Handshakes and Middle Fingers’ was released in late March 2011, and the first single ‘That Ain’t Classy’ got a significant amount of radio and TV recognition. Classified has been nominated for numerous awards in the last few years and also won an MMVA earlier this week for hip-hop video of the year.
I had the chance to sit down with Classified in early April when his tour stopped in Montreal. I wasn’t sure what to expect from such a well recognized rapper in the music industry, but the father of two was both incredibly friendly and a lot of fun to get to know.
We talked a little bit about what he had been up to since the release of ‘Handshakes and Middle Fingers’, his big tour, and where he consistently gets his inspiration to write record after record. I also surprised the singer with a pen and a paper and tested him on his artist skills in a way he’s not used to sharing!
CONFRONT: How are you?
Classified: I’m good!
CONFRONT: Yeah? How’s the tour been going so far?
Classified: Good! We’re two weeks in right now, kinda getting over that two week hump where it starts to feel like real life again! *laughs*
CONFRONT: Yeah that’s true right? Has it been a while since you’ve been on tour?
Classified: A tour this big, yeah. We haven’t been on a long tour since last… Well, almost a year and a half now! We’ve done a lot of festivals and stuff. We were doing a couple 4-5 day tours, but nothing as big as this.
CONFRONT: Is it hard being away from home?
Classified: Yeah. I have two daughters now, so that’s what kind of sucks. I mean there’s the Skype thing and the phone and all that but…
CONFRONT: It’s just not the same?
Classified: Nope! Not at all! *laughs*
CONFRONT: What do you love the most about touring?
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Classified: Shows! Honestly, that’s the only thing I like about touring! Our show is what it’s all about, the traveling, the waking up at 9 in the morning after partying all night, that’s all bullsh*t, it’s all about the show. I mean you sit in the studio working on these songs all year, you want to get out and play them in front of people.
CONFRONT: Yeah definitely! So your new album just recently came out like… last week I believe?
Classified: Yeah!
CONFRONT: Are you playing a lot of your new songs? Has it been tough with the crowds not knowing what you’re playing?
Classified: Yeah we’re playing lots of new stuff! It is weird though, it was one of my concerns with my manager I was like ‘Yo, we gotta get this album out earlier’ because I want to do new stuff, but no one is going to know any of the new stuff. But, you know, I find every show that we do, people know the stuff a little bit more, so by the end of the tour, everyone will know it *laughs*
CONFRONT: Yeah, everyone will sing along!
Classified: We do a lot of new stuff mixed with old stuff, and just try to get the crowd involved.
CONFRONT: That’s awesome. What have your inspirations been on this album?
Classified: Life. Like I keep saying, just kind of what I’ve been going through- with my daughters being born, with, you know, just the success of our last album and touring outside of Canada and stuff, kind of where I’m at in life and what I’m going through. It’s my 14th album so I just try and write about where I’m at in life right now, and just kind of talking about the music side of things and the personal side of things!
CONFRONT: Does it get more difficult- I mean, like you’ve said, you’ve written 14 albums- do you ever run out of things to write about?!
Classified: *laughing* Oh, totally! All the time! But then again, when I sit down- like if I sit down right now to write a song I’d have NOTHING. But two days ago I was on the bus and a good idea popped in my head so I had to write it down. So when it’s time to go to work I’ll be like okay, and take out those ideas I wrote down. Some of them I’ll scrap and others I’ll build on. I even just, you know, outdo myself from the last album. I’m always trying to outdo what I’ve done before, so it’s that much more work. Every album is a bit tougher.
CONFRONT: Yeah, I bet. So, you’ve got a new single out called ‘That Ain’t Classy’ and you’ve got a new video out for it, the single is all over the radio, how are people reacting to it so far?
Classified: Really good! It’s been crazy, we’ve been getting ads on the radio, and just the feedback, I mean, the first single is so funny because you want to put something out that’s going to hit as many people as possible basically, it’s not the best song on the album, it’s just the song that most people are gonna… Well, that’s how I would look for a single, what song is gonna turn the head of the radio, TV, the casual listener? But yeah I’ve been getting a lot of Facebook and Twitter messages from some underground people just saying that the single’s been really good. And then just a lot of people who just listen to mainstream radio and are saying ‘this is great!’ So it’s been great feedback so far.
CONFRONT: Awesome. How was the making of the video? Because it’s got like a cool feel to it.
Classified: It’s all fireworks! A lot of people think its all CGI that we edited afterwards, but it’s all fireworks in the background. We did this thing with the camera where they take it out of focus and they turned parts of it into the words Classy and stuff like that, so it was really cool. All I really had to do was rap and deal with the fire around me and that was it! It was cool, and Much is playing the hell out of it which is super cool! *laughing*
CONFRONT: That’s true! *laughs* Do you have one of your 14 albums that really stands out for you?
Classified: Hmmm… This one. I mean, I know it’s really cliché to say, but I’m one of those artists that if I get through half a song and I don’t feel that it’s better than my last album, I’ll just scrap it and start again. So this album for me is the best work I think I’ve done… Until the next one!
CONFRONT: I guess so right?! Where’s your favorite place to play in Canada? Besides home, if that’s one of your favorites.
Classified: Home’s dope. Actually, home is a bit of a pain in the ass because you’ve got all your friends and family that you can’t even really enjoy the show, you’ve got people e-mailing you trying to get on the list, so it’s a lot of hassle. But it’s fun when you get on stage. Actually London was always a fun place for me, London, Ontario. We used to play at The Embassy which is this grimy fucking club in the middle of nowhere- this was a couple years ago now- but the kids used to come out and have a great time. That was just one place I always remember. I went on stage and was like ‘oh shit! These kids are really losing it!’ That was always one big memory I’ve had.
CONFRONT: Are there any big differences from the Maritimes, where you grew up, compared to the other end of the country on the West Coast?
Classified: I think we get more reception out West and Ontario then we do at home half the time. I don’t know if it’s because we came up and everyone knows where we’ve been and stuff, but there are so many Maritimers everywhere, I mean when we did our Out West song- that was a song I only used to do back home, but now there are so many Maritimers out West that I do it there too! So West Coast is always big, but I find that usually right across the board it’s usually pretty much the same reaction, it all depends on the songs people know.
CONFRONT: What’s your favorite song to play?
Classified: I like doing… Well, lately I’ve really liked doing laid back shit. I like the Maritimes because it’s hype and people get into it and stuff, but it’s still a very chill song so I can just chill and talk, and I don’t have to be all hyper. Also ‘Oh Canada’ obviously, people love that. The Weed Song too, just smoke some weed during the song! *laughs*
CONFRONT: *laughs* Sure, why not?! So, how were the Juno’s this year?
Classified: Really good!
CONFRONT: Yeah? You were nominated this year, right?
Classified: Yup, I got nominated and got to do my first presentation. We were in the middle of a tour so I didn’t get to enjoy everything the way we normally do, usually we fly in Thursday and stay straight til Monday, and do shit every single night, but we were in the middle of a tour so we didn’t get in til Saturday and then we had our big show in Toronto on Saturday night, and then the Juno’s we did all day Sunday. But Juno’s are cool, it’s cool to meet up with all the artists you don’t necessarily get to see throughout the year, and everyone kind of comes to that spot to see how you’ve been doing. That’s what’s really cool about the Juno’s.
CONFRONT: Yeah definitely. Have you collaborated with anyone in the past that you really enjoyed working with and that really stood out for you? I know you’ve done a lot of songs with a ton of different people.
Classified: Yeah, there’s a LOT. I don’t even know if I could pinpoint just one, I think though the most impact I ever had working with someone was probably Maestro. I worked with him years ago when I still wasn’t doing many collaborations. He flew down to my studio and we worked on music there. He just had an energy that you don’t even see in 18 year old kids that are just getting into the game now, and he’s been doing this shit for 20 years. He gets into the studio and he’s like ‘YO put this beat on, I’ll take this!’ and it’s just like wow! It’s inspiring to see that excitement and happiness to make music. That’s something I’ll always remember.
CONFRONT: I bet. You’ve been in the industry for a long time, what would you say to someone who’s just trying to get into the business?
Classified: I would say, don’t rely on Facebook and Twitter. Everybody’s an artist on Facebook. You really gotta get out there and tour and do those shows and play in front of 10 people. Don’t expect to get paid 100 thousand bucks or whatever you expect, just because your video is on TV… It doesn’t mean that you have a fan base because you’ve got a video on TV, so touring, shows and be yourself. There’s a million artists doing the same thing, so stand out. Come out with your own story and tell your own story, where you’re from, what you represent. People reflect on that way more than some guy that kinda sounds like Jay Z or raps kind of like Kanye or some shit.
CONFRONT: Definitely. Do you have any pet peeves in the industry?
Classified: Oh my God, Oh God. Ever listen to my albums?! *laughing* I guess that people think you should act a certain way just because you’ve got some recognition, that shit always bugs me. And it’s just little stupid stuff, it’s not like I got to sleep and have nightmares about it, but it’s just how people think… I’m supposed to drive a certain car or act a certain way, or do whatever. That stuff just bugs me. There’s not ONE big thing that every time it happens I’m pissed off you know?
CONFRONT: It’s just those little things?
Classified: Yeah, little things here and there. Like last night the sound system on stage wasn’t right, when I came out for the first song I didn’t even know if my mic was on. That’s a pet peeve. Waiting all day to get out there and rock the stage and you can’t even hear what I’m saying right now. Just little things like that!
CONFRONT: Yeah for sure! What are your plans for the summer? Where can your fans find you?
Classified: We’re doing a bunch of festivals all summer, we’re going out East and out West for the big festivals, then we’re hitting the States in September, and back in the UK and Australia at the end of the year too. Lots of travel, we’ll be around a lot!
CONFRONT: Awesome! My last question for you, I’m actually going to ask you to draw something for me that represents you and explain to me what it’s about!
Classified: Really?! I can’t draw!
CONFRONT: That’s okay! That’s half the fun.
*Classified spends a minute or two drawing and a bunch of people gather around to see what he’s doing*
Classified: Oh man, it’s because this used to be the symbol of my dad’s gym that he owned and I always used to draw it as a kid, it was like the only thing I could draw.
*Continues to draw*
Classified: *laughing* Classy huh? That’s why I’m an artist!
CONFRONT: *laughing* I see it! Thank you very much!
Classified: Thank you!
To learn more about Classified, you can find him at any of the links below:
http://www.myspace.com/hiphopclassified/music
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