Q&A with Jimmy B

On one of the first very cool fall days of 2013, rapper Jimmy B sits at the basketball court he grew up playing at in Toronto’s Scarborough community, the day before he and his SmashMouth homies will head out on the Canadian leg of the Smokers Club Tour alongside Ab-Soul and Joey Bada$$. The grind is real for the young up-and-comer. He just finished his tour stops with Flatbush Zombies and is now heading out on the road again. He juggles this while preparing to put out his new project, L.O.R.D.S. Here, the young emcee with a laid-back sound, shares insight on the upcoming project and what life is really like as an opening act on tour.
WE’RE HERE AT THE BASKETBALL COURT YOU GREW UP PLAYING AT, HOW HAS YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD INFLUENCED YOUR MUSIC? It had everything to do with it. If you listen to the music, there are people’s names in there that I grew up with, there are certain situations that we’ve been through in this area that happened and transferred over to the music. We’ve seen a lot of things here, seen people get locked up, we’ve been through things of our own so that all just translated to the music and it is the environment that has everything to do with the music.
YOU ARE GETTING READY TO PUT OUR YOUR NEW PROJECT, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE PROJECT AND WHAT IT REPRESENTS FOR YOU AS AN ARTIST? The project just represents everything that I’ve been up to up to this point as far as life goes and as far as music goes. It’s called L.O.R.D.S. and I use it as an acronym that stands for “life only respects the successful,” because me and my whole team are trying to be lords and whenever people think of lords, they think of gods, so we are just trying to be that in our own society. You only get respect in this life when you are successful. The whole project is just me trying to be successful when I’m still stuck in a place where I’m not.
WHERE DO YOU THINK THAT YOU FIT IN, IN THE TORONTO AND CANADIAN HIP-HOP SCENE? I just feel there are a lot of Toronto artists and everyone is doing their thing and shit, but I don’t feel like anyone is really telling the story of everyday life in Toronto. In Toronto, I feel like you’re either doing gangster rap or you took the Drake route, where you are making that singing/rapping music. There are not a lot of artists that are on a middle ground and if there are, they only appeal to a certain amount of people. I just want to broaden that horizon and appeal to everyone and the everyday person. You don’t have to be a gangster to know what a gangster’s mentality is. You don’t have to be a prep to know what a prep’s mentality is.
YOU OPEN FOR QUITE A NUMBER OF SHOWS, SUCH AS THE FLATBUSH ZOMBIES AND THE SMOKER’S CLUB TOUR RECENTLY, WHAT IS LIFE LIKE FOR AN OPENING ACT ON TOUR? Honestly, it is a bit of what it’s cracked up to be, but it is also smoke and mirrors. You’ve got to deal with janky promoters, when you are an opening act, no one really knows who you are, you showing up at these venues, you’ve got to explain to them who we are. The dope part of it is the performance part and chilling backstage and meeting people, but the smoke and mirrors part are long ass rides, you’re exhausted by the time you even get to the show and it takes an hour and a half to get settled in. It is an excruciating process, but it’s dope as hell, because you are on the road with people you work with, friends and shit and you know you get to party here and then.
DO YOU EAT FROM IT OR IS IT AN INVESTMENT? Right now, it’s an investment, because I believe if the music is good enough and if the person works hard enough, then all of that will come in time. A lot of people in my position would be out here trying to get a cheque off of everything, but me, I’m not doing this to be famous or to get money, but I’m doing this, because I actually love to make music.
WHEN IT COMES TO PERFORMING AND MUSIC, WHAT IS YOUR END GOAL? The end goal is to be the best at what I do, build a business and make sure everyone around me eats.

He Has Risen tour

 Nothing could stop the wave of the He Has Risen tour, headlined by Smoke DZA and Flatbush Zombies that hit up Toronto’s Wrongbar earlier this month.
Smashmouth Entertainment lined up a bill stacked with creative artists, who each brought a whole other level of hype to the amped audience. Toronto’s own Jimmy B set the night off right by proving himself as a performer as he connected with the crowd by using his charm, before The Antiheroes hit the stage, bringing lyricism and their underground vibe to an already energetic night of hype hip-hop.
“These guys really know how to perform and put on a show for Toronto so it was really dope to see,” said Sha Prince of The Antiheroes about Flatbush Zombies & Smoke DZA. The Toronto hip-hop duo opened the show at both the Ottawa and Toronto stops of the He Has Risen tour and enjoyed learning from the other artists on the bill.

“You can learn a lot from watching other people rock a stage. Flatbush really knows what they’re doing and they really had control over the crowd.”
Cashius Green brought a different element and energy to the stage, wearing a one-piece ski suit hanging around his waist and rocking the crowd in a wolf mask at one point, as the venue soaked in his unique energy.
The Brooklyn badasses, Flatbush Zombies, performed tracks off of their D.R.U.G.S mixtape, such as “Thug Waffle”, but started off their set by paying dues to Canada by playing the country’s national anthem. Their set was on a next level of intense as the crowd went insane after the group members admitted they were on acid.

Smoke DZA took over the stage and gave Toronto an unforgettable performance while rocking an old-school Blue Jays jacket. DZA’s grind has been on point this year. The KushedGod, who recently toured North America all summer on the Smoker’s Club One Hazy Summer tour, also put out three projects in one year, Cuz I Felt Like It, Rugby Thompson and K.O.N.Y, before headlining his first-ever tour. He says he was more than happy to hit up Toronto, as it’s one of his favourite cities to perform. “I love performing in Toronto, they always give me un-human-like energy,” he said.

It may be hard to top a year of two tours and three projects, but DZA promises his fans can expect much more from him. “I’m right at the door for doing what I’ve always wanted to do and that is being a star and producing quality projects and material for the world. I think I’m right there,” he said.
It is surprising that Wrongbar is still standing after such an interesting and creative night of high-energy artists. Each artist held his own as it was clear that this new age, rock star lifestyle of hip-hop is here and the artists are taking no prisoners.