Day 2: Moose Meat Raps

At 8 am, Nayles and his hypeman arrived. They regaled in stories of a drunken girl on the ferry who'd lost her boyfriend, and knocking on a rundown shack, thinking those were our accomodations. But they made it and were greeted with gifts of moose meat and fresh fish from the bed & breakfast owners.


Having not slept in more than 24 hours, Nayles drove me in town in time to catch KillA Clown on the Discovery Stage at the Legion. As one of only five rappers with a showcase over the weekend, I was curious to hear his style for the first time. Unfortunately, he was a no-show, being replaced by PEI's The Sidewalks. Their horn section was impressive, but I left disappointed with KillA Clown's no-show.


On the trek back to Greenwood Hotel, I met Halifax's Joe Buck for the first time. Breaking the cliche's of halifax underground backpacker sound, the singles from his new album 'Up' have impressed me with their catchy mainstream appeal.


Of the nine artists nominated for a 2009 ECMA award in the Rap / Hip-Hop Single of the Year category, Joe Buck is the only one who made it. The reason for the lack of hip-hop artists was re-iterated by Joe Buck.

"There just aren't many opportunities for hip-hop artists. The director of the celtic festival from Glasgow isn't interested in my music."

Fortunately there are still opportunities. On Thursday, Buck jumped on the open mic at The Backlot and took part in the 'Export Readiness Training Pitching Workshop.' He was one of 3 artists at the session chosen to pitch to some top names in the industry.

"I met face-to-face with David Hayman of Vapor Music Group who has selected music for everyone from the Blue Jays to car & beer commercials."

In today's industry, Joe Buck's approach to the conference is the best possible for a hip-hop artist.