Drega

Big Break

Drega broke out into the mainstream in April 2007 with a guest appearance on The Bilz hit song Spanish Fly (O Meri Rani) . His performance on that track and appearance in the music video led The Bilz to invite Drega to feature on a promo record, This is Why We Hot . The song featured heavy weights in the burgeoning urban-desi scene such as Nivla, Kashif and Kateyez. Both moves proved highly successful as they exposed the young artist to an entirely new fan base, mainly in the United Kingdom, United States, India and the Middle East.

The Bilz who became famous for their song 2 Step Bhangra embarked on a 10 city Canadian tour and asked Drega to join. Performing at key South Asian events such as RBC’s DesiFest and Mehndi Masti Masala exposed him to crowds of over ten-thousand-plus. “Having friend’s that we’re local rappers and going to their shows, I expected that no one would care about my performance since I thought Canada didn’t have fans…man was I wrong,” Drega says of the experience which saw fans singing his lyrics and asking for autographs after the show.

Becoming a Radio Host

By September 2007, Drega had developed a following within the urban-South Asian scene but wanted to expand his base as well as his skill set. The opportunity came when in September 2007, Toronto’s own Dj Andre 905 asked him to join the radio show he was starting called Royalty Radio . “One thing I knew about Drega is that he is a comedian and can talk about anything, I knew he would be an entertaining co-host”, Dj Andre 905 says about choosing Drega for his radio show.

Having been a radio host for the last two years gave Drega the opportunity to meet many popular as well as up and coming artists. Having interviewed rappers such as Famous, Shane Stirling, Tona, Erik Flowchild, J.B., Mayhem Morearty, J.D. Era, and Camoflauge (to name a few) exposed Drega to the personalities in the Toronto scene. “As an interviewer, I would just ask questions I wanted to know as an up and coming artist; luckily I got to disguise it behind the veil of an ‘interview’. I got to really see how certain artists developed their careers and saw where others we’re lacking. I also would jump in after their freestyle set on air to show off my skills and most of the time I would hold my own,” says Drega.

First Mixtape

By February 2009, Drega had enough material to release Spaceships & Ferraris a mixtape which included an assortment of freestyles, dubs and original material. “My goal with the mixtape was to display my well timed flow, witty lyricism and a little of my soul, and I think I did that…I also wanted to get any mistakes out of the way before I dropped an album” notes Drega. The mixtape which has been featured on websites such as YoRapper.com, WafflesAndBeats.com and TheNewSauga.com garnered a small buzz for Drega most notably for his lyrical prowess.

The Making of “I Run the Show”

Currently, Drega is working on his next project entitled “The Artful Dodger” which will combine east coast lyricism with Electro, House and Indie Rock Rhythms. The first single, “I Run the Show” which was produced by Drega is inspired by hip-house group LMFAO. Drega explains, “I was actually in Niagra with my girlfriend for our anniversary and we we’re at a club and we we’re about to leave and the deejay announced this group, neither of us heard of, was about to perform and me and my girl looked at each other like, ‘okay we’ll stay another five minutes’. What eventually happened was that LMFAO shut down the club.”

With an idea in hand, Drega created the production for the beat having been a beat maker for over 10 years he knew how to put together a musical backing that neatly combined house, electro and rap. “When I got home, I just went to my keyboard and made the general idea for the beat within about five minutes, it took some time to get the sequencing right, but once I had it I was just dancing crazy to it, the vibe was perfect,” explains Drega.

The lyrics for the song are meant to inspire fun as well as individuality. Drega raps, “No ceaser or waves or gel in my hair, cause your girl’s gonna mess it up when I get there”. “Even though I’m talking about my hair, it’s a metaphor for my obviously unique look in that I don’t look like a rapper, which is basically the concept of the whole album” says Drega.

The Idea Behind “The Artful Dodger” Album

The Artful Dodger is a character in the Charles Dickens novel “Oliver Twist” who has become a master pick-pocket by disarming his victims into thinking he’s not a thief but really a normal boy. Drega gravitated toward this character as he felt his music disarmed people in the same manner, stating, “When you look at me, you probably don’t think I belong in the same category as a 50 Cent, I can’t make music trying to be the next Fabolous or Jay-Z, I had to have a reality check of sorts and match the music I made with what people will believe and what is actually me”.

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