DRIZZLE aka THE NORTHSTAR...NEW SHIT!!

Drizzle aka The Northstar was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He is the eldest of 5 siblings. Like many other Africans, his parents wanted a better opportunity for their children and were finally able to move to Toronto, Canada when Drizzle was 5 years old. He grew up in different neighbourhoods in and around Toronto but his family decided to settle in Durham Region (east of Scarborough) when he was about 14. Just like the journey he has been on, his skills as a writer and emcee have also come a long way. Since picking up the pen during his early teens, the 25 year old artist has spent years perfecting his craft. Listen to one of his many tracks and this becomes immediately evident. His use of wordplay and his uncanny ability to paint a vivid picture show signs of a seasoned and truly gifted artist. “I’ve always been able to write… even with like essays or whatever in English class”. Yes indeed he is definitely a writer. In fact, he is also currently writing hooks for an upcoming release by an R&B artist. Drizzle admits to being a big R&B fan especially with the state of hip hop being what it is today. R&B artists he says he would one day like to collaborate with include Usher, Omarion, Keisha Cole, and Ashanti just to name a few. His love of music however, isn’t limited to what we call ‘urban’ music. “I like anything” he says… “If the song has a nice melody and is actually saying something I’ll listen to it.” In an industry that has gone ‘pop’, Drizzle represents the last of a dying breed. Having been raised on that 90’s east coast sound, its all about the lyrics for him. “If it’s not saying something, then it’s not for me.” On the current state of hip hop he says, “Everybody keeps saying hip hop is dead. Hip hop isn’t dead, it just went south for a hot minute and now it wants a new home up north.” And he hopes to be at the forefront of this movement. Where many good rappers fail is in their ability to make songs. Drizzle however, is able to come up with hit ideas and seamlessly weave them all together. It seems that he just has a knack for making good songs and can turn an otherwise useless instrumental into a masterpiece. “A lot of times I’ll be listening to a beat with someone and they’ll be like ‘Man that beat is wack’ but then I’ll come back with some vocals on the same beat and they’ll be on some ‘Man that’s hot!’ Sometimes it just takes the artist to bring out the hidden potential in any given beat.” Although he feels he is in a league all by himself, he compares his style to the ‘young, fly and flashy’ style of artists such as Fabolous and Lil’ Wayne. On the flipside of this he can just as easily drop jewels and life lessons reminiscent of more ‘conscious’ rappers such as Mos Def. His music plays like a soundtrack to life. He can have you bouncing in the club and in an instant have you sitting back thinking about world politics. He can put you front and centre in a gritty street drama and at the same time make love ballads to satisfy the ladies. I know what you all are thinking; ‘They still make rappers like that?’ and the answer is ‘Yes, they do’. Drizzle is now poised to take the industry by storm after several set backs through out his career. For a few years he was part of a rap group named GGC, consisting of himself and two of his neighbourhood friends. The trio recorded several quality songs in hopes of releasing a full length album, but due to conflicts between members ended up dissolving the group. This prompted Drizzle to focus on himself and pursue a solo career. He has several underground hits to his credit and has appeared on numerous Toronto mix tapes including 2G Mixtapes Vol. 1, 2 and 3. In the summer of 2007 he released a 13 track mixtape appropriately titled the Intro. This mixtape was well received in the streets as fans and haters alike could not deny Drizzle’s abundance of talent. He has also performed at many venues across the GTA, always captivating audiences along the way. Drizzle has definitely established himself as a contender in the underground scene and is now hoping to take his brand of rap to the next level. He is counting on his versatility as an emcee to help him with this and hopes to garner some mainstream success with the release of his first single “Dot Summer”. He says that he’s ‘got something for everyone’ and has an abundance of material ready for his forth coming album. His influences include artists that he feels were about the lyrics such as Biggie, Nas, Tupac, Jay-Z, Raekwon, KRS-1, Kool G Rap and Mobb Deep. His more recent influences include Styles P and Lil Wayne. Drizzle hopes that his name will one day be mentioned in the likes of these illustrious lyricists… and by the sounds of it this dream isn’t that far of a stretch.
DRIZZLE @ SUBA LOUNGE PART 2
DRIZZLE PERFORMING @ CLUB DIESEL