Richardine Bartee
Stream ‘Falls Down’ by Toronto’s Most Wanted rapper.
Yesterday, ShaqIsDope’s new track ‘Falls Down’ premiered on one of the most popular and innovative social networking websites in the world. In preparation for that feature, ShaqIsDope called me to interview. During our phone call, the Toronto rapper shared what it was like to grow up in his hometown.
Sometimes it was cool, and sometimes it was crazy. When you were downtown, you never know what you were going to get. A few minutes away, you have the biggest tourist attraction, which is the [CN] Tower. But a few minutes from there, there’s the projects and other hoods. Growing up here, I saw crazy things. I just had to adapt to it. I had no choice because it was where I’m from. I always said to myself at a young age ‘I can’t be scared to be where I’m from because this is where I live. I just gotta suck it up. That’s how I adapted to the streets.
When I asked ShaqIsDope whether he will change or not, he replied
I feel like, at that level, I won’t even lie… When people say they won’t change, I feel like they are not being real. I feel like people who have a 360 flip—that are kind of just extra with it—that’s because money does change you. It does change you a little bit. I would be more accomplished. I think the music would sound different but one thing that would never change is the authenticity.
I would be telling my fans what I had to do to get to that level. Money doesn’t change everything. It would change a lot of things but it doesn’t solve all of your problems. I feel the realness will still be there, whether I’m talking about how I just bought a quarter [of a] million dollar car or if I’m talking about why I don’t want it anymore. No matter what, I’ll still keep it real.
ShaqIsDope is one of my favourite acts that I learned about on the Internet. Stream his latest record below. He plans to release a new extended play sometime soon. However, there’s no official release date yet. Here’s a statement about ‘Falls Down’ from the artist.
