I was a snot-nosed teenager standing behind the counter of Vancouver hip hop shop FWUH when I first met Birdapres. He would stop by to discuss the latest releases and rumours, or with a stack of records under his arm ready to bless the employees. A friendship developed and I soon acknowledged each element of his music personified through his personality and habits. A collector. A historian. A genuine fan of music. As much as he embodies Vancouver and Canada in general, he represents the psyche of flawed record store employees worldwide. Listening to Birdapres is about spending your last eight dollars on a 40oz of beer and a psychedelic rock 7”. We need new shoes.

How old were you when you wrote your first rap?
I think I was twelve or thirteen. It was a diss to the Beastie Boys.

When did you decide you wanted to take rapping seriously?
I took rap seriously between 1996 and 2001 and kind of regretted it.

How hard was it for you find your perspective as a rapper? Did you ever second-guess your position, being white and from Canada? With so many niches carved out, in 2009 it must be easier for rappers to not feel forced to develop a (false) persona.
It’s definitely a different thing now, but at the time I didn’t sweat it too much. Being from Canada probably worried me more than being Caucasian. If you listen back to my shit from the mid-nineties, my perspective was pretty well formed. I might be a kinder, gentler Birdapres now to a degree. But I think (or) hope that comes with age.

How did you choose to mold your rap career the way you did? Was being independent a conscious decision? Did you have any specific influences in how you released your early cassette material?
I did very little to form my rap career in any conscious way. It’s always been a little messy. The independent thing was conscious though. Even before it was thrown around in underground hip hop I knew what it meant. My main influence with the hand-to-hand cassette thing was Moka Only. I wasn’t really feeling that at first, I thought 12” singles were the move. Then I started selling a bunch of tapes and figured it was as good a way to get the music out as any.

What was the first rap record you remembering hearing out of BC?
Out of BC was EQ “Put Your Body Into It”.

Out of Canada?
Out of Canada was Maestro Fresh-Wes “Symphony In Effect”.

What is your favourite Vancouver rap song of all time?
Favourite Vancouver song is Checkmate and Concise “These Days & Times”.

Favourite Canadian rap song of all time?
Favourite Canadian song is Maestro Fresh-Wes “Conductin’ Thangs”.

Rank in order from favourite to least favourite: J-Swing, Maximus Clean, Flipout, Kilo Cee, Hedspin.
That’s not possible. They all have their strong points. I mean, four more than the other, but still. They all did their part. Kilo was the biggest influence on me though.

Who do you think is Vancouver’s Greatest of All-Time Producer?
Kemo.

Graffiti Writer?
Virus.

B-Boy Crew?
Contents Under Pressure.

Rapper? DJ?
I can’t even come up with a top five for those two.

Explain your reaction to Swollen Members & Moka Only’s rise to fame and how you felt about their artistic output throughout.
That’s a rough question but I’ll answer it. Moka and Prev and me were friends long before Swollen. I think we all met Mad Child at the same time if I’m not mistaken. I wasn’t super happy in the beginning, it may have been jealousy on my part, I don’t know. I felt like our extended crew had a good thing going before all that. But as time went on I moved on. There’s been some talk about a tune me and Moke did back in the day called “Now”. It was really more of a “if the shoe fits” situation than a diss record back then. I thought Moke added a cool dynamic to their group and I thought they were cool without him too. Everybody is mad talented that you mentioned and they’re all real hip hop dudes. I mean yo, Rob and Prevail are my homies and Mad Child is someone I respect probably more at this point than ever. He’s ill as anybody on the mic.

Did your opinion of them as individuals ever change?
I mean I’ll add to that with Moka. I think he’s grown into a whole new sphere as an MC (and) producer. It’s hard not for my opinion to change. Plus his output is almost on some Sun Ra shit. You can’t fuck with that.

I know you and Moka Only recorded some material together under the name Golden Section. Will those songs ever be released?
Some of that shit is pretty bangin’, some of is a little unfocused and all of it is worth a listen to. Maybe in another ten years?

One of my favourite projects you’ve released is the ‘Alleged Legends’ record with DJ Moves. How early were you aware of the independent scene emerging in Halifax?
I moved to Toronto in 1997 and my roommate was a guy named Thomas Quinlan who ran Hand’Solo Records. He played the shit out of Hip Club Groove and Buck 65 and Sixtoo and Josh Martinez AKA Maxwell and Tachichi even back then. I fronted a little at first but over time I really got to like Halifax hip hop. Buck used to call the house and we’d build over talk of ‘Funk Your Head Up’, the fronted on Ultramagnetic LP that we both dug. I have a Kool Keith mix somewhere that Rich made me. That’s gotta be worth some loot now huh? My favourite Halifax rap tape is ‘Progress’ by Sixtoo. That shit was raw as fuck.

Explain when you first met Moves and how the collaboration came about.
Moves I met later through Marc Costanzo from the pop group Len. He suggested we work together. The first tune we did was “Birdapres Is” which I had conceived on my 24th birthday. I felt old, imagine. Probably in the same session, he showed me every break he had and I wrote all the names down in the little book I kept.

I know you’ve always been knowledgeable of samples and all genres of music. When working with a producer have you always interjected with suggestions or records?
With ‘Alleged Legends’, only on one song. Everything else I’ve done, a bunch of it has been samples I brought to the table.

And what was the exact roll you played on the records that you received co-production credits for (‘Nothing Is Cool’ & ‘Get It Done’)?
Really, to be honest, that was just me offering up my record collection. But trust me, that’s worth more than what many people have claimed co-production for.

And I know you have now been doing some solo production work under the moniker Thizzy Asper. When did you make your first beat on your own?
1996. I played it for my man Sichuan and he was shocked. He said it sounded way more upbeat than he expected. He thought it was gonna be some Mobb Deep shit.

Besides the songs you recently did with Pip Skid will you be producing for anyone else?
I worked on a few things here and there but I doubt it.

What equipment do you use to make beats?
Previously mentioned record collection, and SP-303 and a portable Numark turntable. I bought all kinds of other shit and didn’t use it.

Have you ever felt the urge to do more DJing?
Yeah. Playing records for people makes me nervous. I’d like to ideally but finding the right crowd for what I really want to play would be a challenge.

Name the top 3 hip hop records you would buy if money and availability were not an issue.
- Rammelzee Vs. K-Rob “Beat Bop” (OG on Tartown with the Basquiat cover)
- Grand Wizard Theodore “Can I Get A Soul Clap?”
- ‘Live Convention ‘81’

Name the top 3 non-hip hop records you would buy if money and availability were not an issue.
(No response.)

How do you feel about Serato and the immediate access the internet gives individuals to even the rarest of records?
I find it boring but I understand “you gotta do what you gotta (do)”. As far as the rarity thing, it still comes down to taste and finesse. If you don’t have those, all the rare shit in the world won’t make you ill. Besides, I’m always onto some other shit anyway. I got joints you won’t find anywhere online.

How do you think the industry is going to adjust to online pirating and the decline in album sales? Does it worry you as an artist?
I’ve really moved past caring about what happens to the music industry or what kind of moves they make. As a whole, what they get is deserved. As an artist? Sure, I wish things had have stayed the way they were. I’m not worried though. I’ll still make music.

Give a breakdown of your new release, ‘The Toothpaste EP’, and explain how it came about.
I dunno, I just put it down. The beats I made in like a day in Winnipeg. Went to New York for a few days, wrote some of it by the water there. Finished the rest at my folks place off Commercial Drive. It needed to happen I guess.

I noticed it’s going to be distributed digitally through (Pip Skid, Gumshoe Strut and Zucchini Drive’s online record label) Marathon of Dope. What are your thoughts on digital distribution and pay by donation releases in general?
Again, as long as people who want to listen to my music can, I’m happy.

How do you feel about Canadian Government funding for music and the arts in general? Do you think it’s fairly distributed within hip hop? Particularly VideoFACT grants?
Nah, they give other music way more love. VideoFACT is ridiculous in the age of YouTube. What? I’m spending money that isn’t mine to make a video suitable for a TV channel that no longer plays music videos?

What’s your reaction to the Conservative Government’s decision to cut certain funding?
My reaction is that the Conservatives are full of shit on so many levels. Not that the other parties aren’t but Harper tips the full-of-shit-scale like nobody since Mulroney. Dude has this whole evangelical hidden agenda. Sickens me. Cutting arts funding is probably the least offensive thing they’ve done.

If you could collaborate with a Canadian musician from any era who would it be and why?
Mighty Pope because he’s Mighty Pope.

What are your thoughts on Vancouver’s current hip hop scene?
Vancouver was a bit of mindfuck to go back to. There’s so many new hungry artist out there. I really don’t know what to think of it anymore.

And Winnipeg’s scene?
Winnipeg is cool. It’s a little big sleepy but there’s some cool things happening here.

What do you miss most about Vancouver?
Sushi.

What is your favourite cheap and easy meal?
Rice and peas (or) beans.

Best Canadian beer?
I’ve been drinking lots of Minhas Creek out here. It’s cheap and does the trick.

George Stroumboulopoulos or Nardwuar?
I’d rather be interviewed by George but Nardwuar cracks me up. The one with Pharrell was pure comedy.

SCTV or Kids In The Hall?
SCTV, man. Guy Caballero…

Trailer Park Boys or Kenny Vs. Spenny?
Trailer Park. Those other guys make me feel queasy.

Do you think Trailer Park Boys stole their show concept from a Hip Club Groove music video?
I think it’s a homage.

Finally, speak on any other new projects you’re working on.
Just more music on the solo tip. Not really trying to fuck with anybody too hard right now, other than a guest appearance here or there. I’m in my own world.

Any shout outs or thank yous?
Shouts to my record connects and all the people who like what I do.

‘The Toothpaste EP’ is available for download at http://www.marathonofdope.com.
‘Alleged Legends’, ‘Nothing Is Cool’ and ‘Get It Done’ are available through http://www.peanutsandcorn.com.
For more information visit http://www.myspace.com/birdapres.

- Posted by Crillz