Some moments in Maestro Fresh Wes's career of 'firsts' seem larger than him, and next Sunday is one of those big moments.
On that day, the Canadian star will officially become the first hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the Juno Awards. His name will join the ranks of influential homegrown acts such as k.d. lang, the Tragically Hip, and Deborah Cox.
It's a moment that the performer of “Let Your Backbone Slide”, born Wesley Williams, patiently waited for, confident that the country’s music industry would eventually come around, as it has in the past.
“I like being the first,” the Toronto native explained during a recent interview about reaching new heights in Canadian hip-hop.
“I'm a foundation of something that starts breaking international boundaries.”
As one of the country’s first hip-hop artists, Williams paved the way for generations of Canadian rappers, including Kardinal Offishall and Drake, who brought the local scene to global levels.
In his early twenties, he won the first 1991 Juno for rap recording with his party anthem “Let Your Backbone Slide,” which made a mark in the United States for Canadian rap. His 1989 record “Symphony in Effect” became the first Canadian rap album to receive platinum certification, meaning it sold 100,000 copies.
Symphony in Effect was the first Canadian rap album to receive platinum certification.
More recently, “Let Your Backbone Slide” became the first rap song inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019. And this year, he’s the first-ever hip-hop recipient at the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards.
In some ways, it seems like Canada’s institutions are quickly recognizing the influence of Maestro Fresh Wes. If that’s the case, it doesn’t seem to bother him much.
“I got love,” said Williams, who’s won three Junos in his career.
“But there’s always a hesitation to show me love.”
While Williams never directly expresses it, he has mixed feelings about being celebrated by the gatekeepers. For years, he worked to gain respect for Canadian hip-hop music when many in the mainstream dismissed the genre as a passing trend or completely ignored it.
He’s always kept a positive view, which he continues to maintain as he moves toward his induction.
“It’s not just about me; it’s about a genre of music,” he said. “And I represent the genre.”
Williams describes a sense of duty as he approaches the ceremony, drawing on a childhood memory to illustrate its complexity.
When Williams was in high school, Olympic athlete Ben Johnson visited his class. It was the early 1980s and Johnson was a young, accomplished Black Canadian sprinter with a hopeful future.
Not long after that visit, Johnson won the 1988 Summer Olympics gold medal in the 100-metre final, making him a hero to the country. But a few days later, he was stripped of the honor in a doping scandal that forever tarnished his reputation.
Williams doesn't delve into the specifics of Johnson's case, but that experience reminds him how fragile receiving praise can be.
He insisted that relying on your past achievements can hold you back in your personal and professional growth.
This is one of the reasons Williams said he always looks forward to his next project.
Recently, he has been on CBC’s “Mr. D” sitcom, hosted the YouTube cooking series “Maestro Chef Wes,” and started a scholarship for Black youth at Nova Scotia Community College.
Earlier this month, he released “Rap Prime Minister,” a 24-track compilation that covers much of his career and introduces his inspiring rap anthems to a new generation.
Notable songs include his powerful “Underestimated,” a 2015 track with JRDN and JD Era; and “Gravity,” an R&B-infused 2019 song with Saukrates and O-Sound, where he includes some lines from his 1998 hit “Stick to Your Vision” that samples The Guess Who.
Williams will turn 56 exactly one week after being inducted into the Hall of Fame, the same age as his idol Leonard Cohen when he received the honor at the 1991 Juno Awards.
Williams is aware of the similarities and often recalls this memory when discussing his ambitions. In the year Cohen was inducted, Williams won his first Juno. Seeing the well-received Montreal poet laureate on stage left a deep impression.
Williams said, “Just seeing the standing ovation he received and how well the country embraced him, I thought, ‘Hey, someday that’s what I want to be.'”
“Who could have predicted that I would be in this position now?”
Keeping this in mind, Williams has contemplated how his induction by Kardinal Offishall should be presented at the Junos broadcast.
When he performs a collection of his past hits on Sunday, he plans to feature several Halifax-area Black performers in tribute to the Canadians whose ancestors escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad.
These performers include local R&B artists JRDN and Kaleb Simmonds, as well as musicians Cyndi Cain, Gary Beals, and Reeny Smith.
Williams said, “What I want is for my Scotian brothers and sisters to feel represented,” as he moved to Saint John, N.B., with his family during the pandemic.
“This is a part of not only my hip-hop history but also a part of Canadian Black music history.”
