Advertisement 1

Maestro Fresh Wes rides Raptors' Jurassic Park wave into Soundtrack Music Festival

Maestro Fresh Wes, at the Soundtrack Music Festival on June 22.

Article content

It’s the morning after the Toronto Raptors have beaten the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals, and Maestro Fresh Wes is still elated.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

The rapper, actor and author is feeling a personal connection to the championship team, understandable given that their success has also called attention to the re-release of his song, Jurassic Park, from 2017’s Coach Fresh. The Maestro (AKA Wesley Williams) isn’t new to sports-related tunes; he wrote Reach for the Sky for the 2014 Winter Olympics, and The Distance for the 2016 Summer Olympics. This one, however, hits closest to home.  

“The city’s very happy right now,” he says from his Toronto home. “It’s an amazing feeling.”

Article content
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

“Jurassic Park wasn’t meant for the championship final, it was meant for the fans that support the team whether they win or lose,” explains Williams, who made his way into Canadian music history with the now legendary Let Your Backbone Slide in 1989. “When the team made it into the finals we said this would be awesome to drop for the playoffs, and it was really well received. I’m glad we did it.”

While he’s beyond thrilled that his team took the championship, Williams has other reasons to celebrate. Earlier this year the godfather of Canadian hip-hop released his ninth album, Champagne Campaign, to positive reviews, working with such artists as Saukrates, Rich Kidd, and Tona. For the album’s second single, Waste Yute, Williams brought in fellow Toronto rapper Dusty Wallace.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

We spoke with the multiple Juno Award-winning rapper about the Raptors, creative inspiration, and the problems of having an iconic song attached to your name.

Q: Congratulations on that swell of interest in Jurassic Park. Think you could also write a banger for the Edmonton Oilers?

A: Aw, man, are you kidding? You guys won how many championships?

Q: Five.

A: This is the Raptors’ first, and the city hasn’t won anything since the Blue Jays in ’92 and ’93. You guys are doing fine. Anyways, this was incredible for me because basketball is the closest to what we do as hip-hop artists. I draw inspiration from these brothers.

Q: Inspiration from how they play? The level of creativity in their game?

A: I’m talking the kind of inspiration you get from seeing anyone working at a world-class level, anyone who dedicates themselves to that level. We could look at boxing as a similar inspiration, but for team sports it’s definitely basketball.

Advertisement 5
Story continues below
Article content

Q: You also seem to draw a lot of inspiration outside of hip-hop.

A: That’s true, because I don’t want to be boxed in. I’ve worked with Sam Roberts, and I was just doing something with The Trews; Lights, Blue Rodeo, King Reign, I try to keep it eclectic, I like to keep moving. I mean, I’m a fan of music, but also a fan of the history of music. Look at Quincy Jones, who’s a jazz trumpet player that ended up making disco records with Michael Jackson. I’m sure people in the jazz world were saying ‘Q, what are you doing?’ Pink Floyd’s biggest record, The Wall, had disco, and so did The Stones’ Tattoo You. These iconic artists evolved instead of staying in the parameters set by the gatekeepers in their genre.

Q: You do what you feel like doing.

Advertisement 6
Story continues below
Article content

A: I do whatever I want, and it’s more fun that way. I like to say that I don’t make records, I make history. Just like how the Raptors made history last night.

Q: You’re already a part of Canadian history because of Let Your Backbone Slide, which was released exactly 30 years ago.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Advertisement 7
Story continues below
Article content

A: Stick to Your Vision, Backbone, and Drop the Needle; I know it. The way I look at it, Chubby Checker has to do The Twist, so at the end of the day you do your big song to stay in the game, right? I realize that a lot of what I do tends to be ignored because of Backbone, even by my loved ones, but I embrace this. I was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role (on the television series The Line), my book (Stick to Your Vision) is part of the school curriculum in Nova Scotia, but that gets overlooked because of Backbone. It doesn’t bother me, though; like I said, I’ll just keep moving on.

PREVIEW

Maestro Fresh Wes at the Soundtrack Music Festival, with Boyz II Men, Shaggy, Ludacris, Ashanti, and more

When: Saturday, June 22

Where: Kinsmen Park

Tickets: $99, adults; $25, children. Available in advance from Eventbrite

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    News Near Tillsonburg
      This Week in Flyers