The Legacy Continues

Rip It Up, Issue 232, 1 December 1996, Page 14

The Legacy Continues

For Toronto hip-hop crew Dream Warriors, their choice of name reflects their philosophy of life. To co-founding member Lou Robinson, it is all about finding a dream then fighting continually to make it come true.

“Yes, I did imagine it would go on this long,” he stresses during my interview with all four Warriors in the groovy new offices of their Toronto management. “That’s why we called our first album And Now The Legacy Begins. This is not a fluke thing. We sat down and said, ‘Where do we want to be in five years?,’ and we worked towards it. A lot of kids say I want to be like [gangster rap mogul] Puffy, but they have no idea how he got to that position. We urge kids to get a plan. Work out your dreams and then be a warrior to get there!”

Lou and fellow founder Capital Q (Frank Allert), have worked together in the Toronto hip-hop scene since the mid-80s, an eternity in this ever changing genre. As a duo, they brought Dream Warriors to international prominence with that 1991 debut, but they doubled in size in 1993 with the addition of DJ/producer Luv and rapper/vocalist Spek. Their 1994 album, Subliminal Sublimation, proved they were remaining fresh creatively, and now third CD, The Master Plan, has just been released internationally and is being

hailed as perhaps their strongest, most commercial yet. During an afternoon of interviews with New Zealand magazines and papers, the Dream Warriors are clearly excited at the prospect of connecting with a new audience Down Linder. “We played in four cities in Australia about four years ago, but we’ve never been to New Zealand,” explains Lou. This is a band who rightly realised that their best chances of survival and success lay outside the borders of their home country. The local music media and industry ignored the band early on, and it was only when they scored a smash hit in England in 1991, with the intoxicating single ‘Wash Your Face in My Sink’, that they got any recognition in Canada. Two other singles, ‘My Definition’ and ‘Ludi’, went Gold in the UK, and the Legacy album did eventually go Gold in Canada. Trouble came with their follow-up album when Island Records in the UK didn’t like the direction the band were taking, and refused to release it. “We had so many people coming at us, wanting us to do different things,” said Lou at the time. “It was like they wanted a personal LP of a style they liked on the first record, but we just wanted to be ourselves and kick some new styles.” Their refusal to compromise hurt them, for the group lost momentum up to the eventual release of Subliminal Sublimation on new label EMI Canada in June 1994, over a year after it was completed. With guest appearances from Gang Starr, Butterfly from kindred sprits Digable Planets, New York poet 99, and Toronto worldbeat artists Siyakha, the record did capture the eclectic Dream Warriors sound. As Spek proudly declares, “The formula of Dream Warriors is that there is no formula!” They’ve always mixed in elements of jazz, rap, spoken word, reggae, ska, soul — whatever takes their fancy. New album The Master Plan is similarly varied, as Lou explains. “It is still a versatility thing, but I guess we have toned it down a bit in terms of the complexity of the lyrics — but we’re not sleeping with the lyrics, they’re still clever. And Luv toned down the beats and made the album very consistent. It has been a change, moving from two to four — there are more cooks at the pot.” The sonic stew this time has even more of a Caribbean flavour than before. Much of the album was recorded and mixed in Jamaica, and it includes guest appearances by reggae

stars Beenie Man, Madd Anju, General Degree and Lady G. . “One reason for recording in Jamaica was that three of the four members are of West Indian descent,” says Spek, who comes from an East Indian background. “But we also wanted to bring out the sonic level of the music. They just know how to mix reggae music there, lots of bass and kick snares, and sonically it’s the same thing as hip-hop. Plus we get to feed off the energy, the vibe, Jamaica is the ultimate place for vibes!” Clearly it was a fun recording process, and that shows on the good-time feel of The Master Plan. “We spent a lot of time in the studio with a lot of people we’d been listening to for years,” recalls Spek. “At one time I was chatting to a guy who said he did some production too. I’m going, ‘Yeah, right,’ but he asked my advice about getting his samples cleared. Then my manager came in and said, ‘Dude, -did you know you were talking to Sly Dunbar?’ Other times Cutty Ranks, Mad Cobra and Bounty Killer all came in. Down there it’s normal to have artists chilling together, feeding off the vibe.” For a hip-hop band, Dream Warriors have always behaved responsibly, never dissing anybody, and always helping out other acts. When they first broke through, no one could believe such a cool outfit came from Canada, but Toronto has long had a creative rap and hip-hop scene. It is not totally a funk-free Alanis and Celine zone here! According to Lou, what The Master Plan is all about, “is helping out other groups that are on the streets we came from. We’re providing a base to help them from the beginning, when they need it most. We’re all getting older, and there may be a time when we put down the mic’, but that’s not going to stop us from helping other artists come out.” Some local artists guest on the album, and all four Warriors are closely aligned with Beat Factory, a label run by their manager Ivan Berry., that has just inked a deal with EMI Canada to develop Canadian hip-hop and rap acts. ‘ In their music, Dream Warriors have avoided outspoken political comment, but they’re definitely aware the black community in Toronto face similar problems to those of their brothers in the US. Says Spek, “We are. educating without preaching or teaching. You don’t want to shove shit down people’s throats.” Adds Lou, “It is about doing it more than saying it.”

KERRY DOOLE