Raz Fresco Stylus Spotlight Series

Toronto’s own artist/producer and founder of the Bakers Club, Raz Fresco is only 17 and has already been nominated for a Stylus award (Artist Mixtape of the Year) at this year’s show. He will also be performing at tonight’s nominee party at The Mod Club along with artists such as JRDN and Shaun Boothe. The young artist sat down with Urbanology Magazine to discuss why he is looking forward to the experience, which will be his first time attending the DJ Stylus Awards, and the role of DJs in supporting artists like himself.
WHAT DOES STYLUS MEAN TO YOU? I’m just starting to really understand it. It’s a symbol in the Canadian hip-hop scene right now, because it’s independent and it shows where the city’s at and it shows what is going on. It’s like a time capsule.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST AT THIS YEAR’S AWARDS? It’s dope that I’m nominated for [MCMXCV]… and just going [to the awards]. I’ve never been there before, so I’m just trying to take everything in and that’s what I’m looking forward to, just to soak everything in.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM AT THE NOMINEE PARTY? That’s going to be dope. The people who are there that don’t know about my music are going to be introduced to it, because I know I’m going to do a dope set and have the joints off my new project and some of the big joints from before and just getting new fans. I’m always looking forward to new people starting to eff with the [Bakers] Club.
WHAT DOES THE DJ MEAN TO YOU? Breaking records and just being a bridge. The DJ can be mainstream and have that direct link to the underground as well by doing the mixtapes. An artist can do that, but a DJ is more solid. It’s meant to be like that. It’s a direct correlation between the mainstream and the underground. DJs bridge that gap, break a lot of records and push a lot of projects. They co-sign artists and give artists a lot of spotlight.
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE CANADIAN DJ? DJ Starting From Scratch, just because I met him at FLOW and he was cool; he showed me love. He seemed like a cool guy and he has clout. I just have love for all the DJs.