It was the height of the pandemic when one of the most influential hip-hop artists in Canada, Maestro Fresh Waysmoved to St. John’s, NB
He decided to be closer to family living in the area. The Scarborough, Ontario native would never dream of moving to the Maritimes, but he makes the decision with no regrets.
After recording smash hits like “Let Your Backbone Slide” and “Drop the Needle” in the late 1980s, some dubbed the award-winning artist the “Grandfather of Canadian hip-hop.”
He has now become a father figure to the children in the community.
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Since the move, children’s books have been released, children’s rap albums have hit streaming platforms, and Maestro continues to grow the community to where it is today.
In an interview with Global News, the musician said that at the core of his values is recognizing who we are as people and inspiring others to do good for one another, which was the inspiration behind his book, Stick to your vision: The young master goes to school.
“It was really stressing the importance of family structure, mentoring and influential elementary school teachers,” he said.
“Going to these schools has been a beautiful thing.”
Those prices trickle down to his coaching career in the St. John’s area, which is primarily highlighted by a championship football run and the foyer in various basketball tournaments.
Masters will tell you that some students may not fully recognize them at first, or may not even have heard of them. He said he often sees wonder from children as teachers and parents name-drop their talents, but he is okay with it.
His latest project, master chef wes, a show that will have him cooking with influential Atlantic Canadians. He said that cooking is one thing for him, but being able to write and produce a TV show in a city he calls home makes it even more special.
Asked if he had ever thought he would go to St. John’s, he admitted that it had never crossed his mind.
“But we are not thinking that a global apocalypse (COVID-19) will come and change everyone’s life and make us take certain decisions and steps. We are not thinking that it will happen, extraordinary people will have extraordinary circumstances , and we are all extraordinary people here at St. John’s.”
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