Maestro Fresh Wes connects with his roots

Fresh off a 13-year album hiatus, Maestro Fresh Wes stopped in for a visit to Centennial College to promote his new album and inspire students.

The Toronto rapper, a pioneer of the genre, gave a pumped-up performance at the Centre for Creative Communications on Thursday, and hung around to answer questions from students.

“There’s a saying I came up with. Don’t make records, make history. Anybody can make a record, especially nowadays.

“But there’s a reason why Bob Dylan, and Bob Marley are still around in music. Take the time and sharpen that craft,” said Maestro when asked how he’s continued his 25-year career.

During the Q&A, Maestro shared his wisdom with the students, telling them to keep going in the direction of their dreams.

“Extraordinary people will always have extraordinary challenges. I like to be around some extraordinary people to keep moving to the next level,” Maestro said.

After performing a few songs, including an old classic sampled from Lawrence Gowan’s ‘These Eyes’, Maestro was kind enough to hang around to take photos and meet with the students.

Valerie McDermott, a student enrolled at Centennial College, attended the show and tell to get closer to someone who shares her roots.

“I found it pretty inspiring because I’m from Scarborough as well so it was cool to know that he’s known as Canadian’s top hip-hop artist and the speech that he gave was very motivational. To just follow your dreams,” she said.

Maestro is promoting his new album ‘Orchestrated Noise’, which was released on June 25, 2013, and features a wide range of artists such as opera singer Measha Brueggergosman, The Trews, Lights, and Classified.

The reason for the genre additions on his newest hip hop album is simple.

“I just wanted to tap into being a Maestro man. I wanted to orchestrate some noise. I thought it was important. I just wanted to push myself and evolve,” Maestro said.

About this article

By: Angelica Bottaro
Posted: Sep 9 2013 4:47 pm
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Filed under: Arts & Life Community Events News
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