Ghostface Killah, the legendary rapper and founding member of Staten Island rap collective Wu-Tang Clan, thinks the next big rap or R&B star is hiding in Canada, and he’s coming to find them.
"There’s talent. It’s there, it’s just the opportunity for them is hard. It’s like diamonds, just trying to figure out where the diamonds is at, where the gold at?" the rapper, dressed in a jewel-encrusted purple leather jacket, says.
By far, Ghostface, born Dennis Coles, is the most prolific and consistent Wu rapper, releasing some 16 studio albums since his heralded 1996 solo debut, Ironman, including last year’s Sour Soul, his collaboration with Toronto jazz trio BadBadNotGood. But his latest move will take Ghostface from behind the mic and put him behind a desk — or, more likely, a judge’s chair. He’s not only launching his label, Supreme Records, in Canada, but he’s starting a reality show competition, Canada Takes the Mic, to find his first signee.
Held over 35 days, Ghostface and his team will go across Canada looking for artists who "may have the raw talent, but require the experience, mentorship and resources of a legend to set them on the road to success," according to a press release. The "diamonds," as the rapper puts it.
The winner will be chosen by Ghostface, Canadian music mainstay Farley Flex and one surprise judge, who, considering Ghostface’s influence, could be anybody. The winner will be signed to Supreme Records and awarded $100,000 in prizes.
We sat down with Ghostface to talk about Canada Takes the Mic, the Canadian music scene, moving to Toronto and how he came to work with BadBadNotGood. You can watch the full interview above.
Plus, we had some time, so we also asked him to read some CBC Radio 2 folk and classical IDs and the results were, well, everything we could ask for. Watch them below.
Follow Jesse Kinos-Goodin on Twitter: @JesseKG
Related: Ghostface shares details about Wu-Tang's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin