This Broken Mixtape

Comedians Big Norm and Keith Pedro are like the Filipino counterparts to Method Man and Redman. As the hosts of the live cannabis comedy show Bare Jokes and members of the hip-hop comedy group Runnin' at the Mouth, their comedy offers hilarious observations about race relations, multiculturalism, and pop culture. In the first of a two-part blunted interview, I talked to the homies about performing a PG set at a Jewish camp, Keith's trio of new albums, and how aspirations of becoming rappers eventually led them to comedy.

Vince Jamal is a Toronto-based Barbadian R&B/soul singer who is as much influenced by his ancestral island riddims as the classic American soul music he was raised on. Somewhere in his complicated music DNA, you'll find soul legends like Marvin Gaye and Bill Withers, classic neo-soul ala D'Angelo and Maxwell, the contemporary hip-hop sounds of Anderson Paak, and calypso and soca music. I talked to Vince about recording an album during a pandemic, the misconceptions of performing on a cruise ship, and his many takeaways from Prince's unparalleled artistry.

Erika Iri5 is a Chicago-based multimedia artist that works with various audio media, such as audiotape, VHS reel, and vinyl. Over the past 15 years, she's created a countless number of portraits of music icons like Prince, David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, and Madonna. I talked to Erika about her creative process, making mixtapes as a teenager, and working on a Bruno Mars music video.

Calgary R&B/pop artist Justine Tyrell was named one of Exclaim magazine's "Top 8 Emerging Canadian Artists You Need to Hear". She recently released her debut EP entitled While You Were Sleeping. I talk to Justine about Calgary's burgeoning R&B scene, how the music of Amy Winehouse inspired her to find her own voice, and how the title of her EP has more to do with insomnia than the Sandra Bullock rom-com.

R&B artist Seyblu, aka Chelsey Bennett, has spent the majority of the past year writing and recording her new EP. Entitled the Silk Sessions EP, it is her first major project in more than four years. I talk to Chelsey about overcoming her recording anxieties at a secluded cabin up north, her favourite dance movies, and how she's been discovering both new and old soul/funk in the last year.

Fion Liu, aka Sad Stab, is a multidisciplinary artist who is best known for their "abjectly adorable" tattoo art. They set an ambitious goal in 2016 to tattoo 50 touring music acts, which they successfully reached last year. I talk to Sad Stab about why they prefer using the stick-and-poke method over a tattoo gun, collecting rare vintage records, and their penchant for fixing vintage audio equipment.

Miya Adout is the founder and executive director of Miya Music Therapy. Along with her fellow music therapists, Miya uses music purposefully within therapeutic relationships to support development, health, and well-being. We talk to Miya about how a middle school career aptitude test planted the seed of music therapy, how writing and listening to music helped an elderly man and an autistic teenager, and how Alanis Morrissette inspired her to get into songwriting.

Stacy Darko, aka KÔSA, is a Toronto-based classically-trained R&B/soul artist and producer.

Having undergone an early music education at the Regent Park School of Music and the Etobicoke School of the Arts, she continued her studies at the University of British Columbia. I talk to KÔSA about how RPSM helped to nurture her passion for music; how she grew up on an eclectic diet of classical, top-40 pop, and Afrofuturistic R&B; and her latest EP entitled Tempest Love.

Electro-pop artist Aiko Tomi's music is equally comprised of M.I.A.'s manic hip-hop energy, the lush dream-pop sensibilities of Caroline Polachek, and the undeniable joy of an infectious J-pop hook. After a long hiatus from music, she's back with a brand new EP entitled For the Love and plenty of more new music on the way. I talk to Aiko about her new EP, the disconcerting rise in Asian-targeted hate crimes during the pandemic, and her unapologetic bubble tea addiction.

On March 22, 2016, Malik Izaak Taylor, aka Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest, died at the age of 45 due to complications related to diabetes. He left a massive void in hip hop music and culture, forever changing the way hip hop sounds, breathes, and lives on. On S6E06, I talk to Phife's longtime manager, producer, and friend, DJ Rasta Root, about his personal and professional relationship with Phife, the five-year journey of completing Phife's sophomore album, and what we can expect from the upcoming posthumous release.