Q) For the people who aren’t familiar with your work, introduce yourself and tell us who you are and what your music brings to the table.

The name is Quake, I’m a 21 year old emcee from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I would say the majority of my music stems from personal experiences, i’ve been in this game for about five years so I talk about my struggles and successes to get me where I am today.

Q) Your debut album The Myth (August 31st Release Date) has been a project in the works for sometime now, how has it evolved over time and how do you feeling about finally sharing it with the world.

I was supposed to put my debut album out in 2006. I wasn’t happy with the final project, so I decided to put a few mixtapes out for free online while I improved my craft. 4 years later I finally deem the project ready to share with the world, and it feels great.

Q) You have a track on the album with Detroit emcee Royce da 5′9”, can you please talk about how that collaboration came about.

The internet is probably one of the most important tools for an independent artist. With twitter, myspace, facebook, etc, It makes it easy to get in touch with just about anyone. I hit Royce up online, sent him a few joints, he sent back the verse and the rest was history.

Q) Tone Mason are the majority producers on the album, they recently contributed to Drake’s debut Thank Me Later as well, what about their sound matches your style so well and why?

I think its safe to say that Tone Mason can give you any sound you’re looking for. I have been working with them for the last 2 or 3 years, so they got used to what I like and what I don’t like. Also what type of beats I sound best on. I learned a lot from Mellenius, and with that being said, I’m blessed to be working with such high class producers.

Q) What are your plans after the album is released, do you have any up coming mixtapes or projects the fans should be looking for?

I have a mixtape dropping online shortly after the release of the album, We are planning for October. Next in line is an EP project called “The Search” which is collaboration effort with fellow Halifax rapper Kayo and producer Richcraft.

Q) If you could work with any artist outside the genre of rap, who would it be and why?

Alicia Keys, her music is so soulful and I can hear the authenticity in it. A lot of singers these days are studio singers, meaning they sound good in the studio because of the way their music is mixed by the engineer. Alicia has that natural feeling in her music, nothing sounds fabricated or forced.

Q) What albums have you been listening to lately?

Nas & Damian Marley- Distant Relatives, Drake- Thank Me Later…The new Eminem is dope as well. Other then those two albums I haven’t gotten into any other ones recently so I just usually play my usual song picks from Nas, Jay-z, 2pac, Redman etc.

Q) People might not know but you’ve had a long history in the rap scene on the East Coast. You were performing at venues well under-age, how did you discover the hip-hop culture and what about it attracted you to it?

While I was in school, I had a baby sitter who watched me at lunch and after school. She had two older sons who were Hip Hop fanatics. This would have been around the time “Doggystyle” came out. They always played hip hop music, and made me mixtapes. I had never heard anything like it and for some unknown reason I was immediately drawn to it. Maybe I just wanted to be cool like the older kids *laughs* I started writing my own stuff but had no beats so I wrote right over other songs. Shortly after that, another friend of mine showed me how to download instrumentals off napster. I also give him credit for teaching me how to freestyle. That year I asked for a karaoke machine for christmas, and here I am today.

Q) If you weren’t a rapper, what would you do?

I have no idea. My original dream was to be a professional athlete, but I doubt that would have panned out. I actually have a new song I just wrote which questions what the world would be like if music was never invented/didn’t exist. It’s produced by Classified and will be on my next studio project.

Q) Thanks for your time Quake, any thank-you’s or shout-out’s?

Shout out to everyone who supports me, from friends to family, long time quake fans, to new comers. The Myth will be in-stores and online August 31^st Peace!

whats up im josh, 19 years of age, 6 foot 3 inches tall, and snowboarding has done something i never really thought it would, it took over my life. With that came skateboarding, and on the marketing side of it is photography. I’m 100% snowboarder first, Photographer second, ive been riding for probably 7 years now, i went through a park phase about 4 years ago just like anyone that rides haha i wanted to hit jumps and rails, but then i decided to give boardercross a try and loved it, it now has taken me to a couple nationals and all over canada for training and competition with the NSSA. I skateboard in the summer as a cross training sport, mostly bowls and miniramps to keep my pumping down, and with that said, i bring along all my camera gear and experiment lots, with lighting, different angles, exposures, etc. its something i have loved doing ever since the day i picked up a camera, and one day i would like to maybe make a career out of it. But im always going to be able to take photos, im not going to be able to snowboard at a high level my whole life, so for now, im working on my portfolio haha, so i can eventually go to school.

How does someone from Truro, NS make it in the world of international BMX?

I don’t really know the formula. Just kept having fun, a little luck, meeting the right people and some motivation I guess.

Did you find that being from a place off the BMX world’s radar hurt you as far as getting sponsors and recognition?

I wouldn’t say so much that it hurt me being from where I’m from. I will say if I never started traveling and meeting people I would still be there. There just isn’t any exposure that comes out of Nova Scotia. Half the time when I tell people I’m from Nova Scotia they think its some country overseas ha ha.

Where are you planning to go with your BMX career?

I plan on going to the fun zone and take it as far as possible. I just want to keep on having a blast, traveling and meeting new friends. You can’t beat doing something you love.

How has it been treating you so far? Do you like the life of traveling?

Its been absolutely amazing. A little overwhelming at points but I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. Living out of a suit case sucks sometimes though i will admit.

What would you say to other Nova Scotians looking to follow in your footsteps? What does it take to get where you’ve come?

Go for it! The sky of is the limit and anything is possible. You just have to let it happen, don’t try to force it. Everything happens for a reason.

Sam's a 17 year old from PEI. He skateboards, shoots photos, and bikes around.
His website is www.samueljstewart.com but thats not overly current. 
www.flickr.com/samstewart is his flickr and it's much more up to date and fresh.

Richard Cote is the mastermind behind Coastal Jibs and is therefore single-handedly responsable for most the high quality jibs popping up around the maritimes the past few years. Get in touch with Richard at through his site.

Kyle is a skater and photographer from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Get in touch with Kyle at kyleamcphee@gmail.com

I grew up in p.e.i and started snowboarding about 9 years ago when I was 13, I’ve been stoked on it ever since. Snowboarding’s the reason I moved to Whislter after I finished high school, and I stuck there for almost a year till i realized I was just cleaning condos for a living ( snowboarding everyday was sweet ) but I really felt like I was going nowhere so I came back home to p.e.i. and went to college for an art class then started a graphic design class last year and I love that shit. hopefully someday I can make a living doing something like making snowboard graphics or event posters and t-shirts.

Track Cohen on his site.

Check out T.J.’s Flickr Page Here