Interviewed by @CopaseticSoulz
Cander is a well rounded musician and emcee. From freestyles, battle rap, live shows and beat boxing to Dj’ing events and playing bass/guitar in a few of his friends bands he is determined to improve his knowledge of music and help out the people around him. Cander’s energy onstage is captivating, you can not take your eyes or your ears off of him, he is truly an entertainer that has an incredible understanding for music. (bio from www.sonicbids.com/band/canderepk/)
Q: Tell us about this new project
A: Well its a sort of collab album i’ve been working on for the better part of the last 2 years. I really wanted to make a cd that had lots of my fellow emcees on it, mostly to share my work and give them some exposure in the process. I like working with others and learning different methods so this was a productive way of doing both. The name “music is a drug” is from a song i did with speeches beyond and Joose, i wrote it a while back but i asked them both to drop verses on it later in the developmental stages of the beat, the phrase is my way of saying music is the first and last high i ever wanted/needed.
Q: Who are you favourite hiphop artists from Vancouver?
A: I like old rascals stuff, dreaded fist is my shit. Lady venom by swollen members was a favourite for a long time. I honestly only listen to the local dudes nowadays like Attikus, Basmentdwellers, Groundbreakers, astrological and lots of WHISKAZ and The Loose Leaf Sessions.
Q: You have some interesting features on the album, what can you tell us about them?
A: The most interesting one for me was “Unstoppable” featuring Junk from House Hold Records. We were asked to battle each other almost a year ago, possibly longer. He didnt feel like battling at the time so i called him out when i battled cody the ktach and that sparked a little anger in him, but i did it for the simple reason that i respected him and wanted to battle someone that would really challenge me. We didnt beef really after, it was junk that came up to me while i was dj’ing a KOTD event and made peace with the situation and we hung out and came to the conclusion-“Fuck battling each other, lets make a track”. I call it the jay-Z/Nas approach, sometimes calling someone out ends really well, haha. Junks a beast and an all around good dude, glad to have him on the record.
Rupert common is on 2 of the tracks, both of which we perform as WHISKAZ from time to time. Rupe has a way of making you write differently when he’s around, he changes the environment almost, you tend to think like him in a way or at least thats what happens when we write together. He’s a genius, great writer.
Attikus has my favourite verse on the album on “Primavera”, he brought out some demons and expressed them with great flow and a good variety of vocabulary. All around a solid piece of art from the dude.
Q: What got you into rap battles?
A: I wanted to yell angry embarrassing things into peoples faces.
Q: What do you think about the battle culture in Vancouver, and where it’s headed?
A: im honestly done with the battle shit at the moment, unless its freestyle. The KOTD stuff was good for a while but i hope the scene goes back into freestyle battles, the real fun. I think written battles hit their plateau already and the few battlers that are still interesting aren’t that inspired anymore.
Q: What did you learned from this album that surprised you?
A: That im not a bad mixer and that i seem to be really decent at getting people comfy in my studio behind the mic. When working with so many different artists its a test to get everyone in the Lab with their verses ready to go and you have to be patient and keep cats focused. At the end of the day they’re all helping me out with my project so its a gentle loving push for them to get in here and record.
Q: What separates Cander from other hiphop music? What is it about you that stands out?
A: hard question to answer without sounding cocky right? I have a really direct approach that speaks into that part of your brain that tells you “listen to what this guy is saying”. My voice has a unique blend of my favourite artists all rapped into one. haha, honestly i don’t know what makes me different, i don’t try to be different, don’t care to be different, i just want to make good music and help people with their lives by sharing my experiences. i also want to live forever in song form, till sound doesn’t exist anymore.
Q: What do you have planned for the rest of the summer?
A: Sell these new cds!! “Music is The Drug” is done and i picked up the cds today. my goal is to work my ass off this summer/fall/winter/spring so i can do all the festival shows and tour next year. i need to get out of my current job and get serious about what i really love-music.