We don’t sleep. My man Rush recently got in touch with Josh Martinez who just released the album “Buck Up Princess”. In this interview they discuss the new album including some older releases. You also get a peek into what makes this man tick. Peep It!

Josh Martinez voted the people champ introduce the man who makes up the creature called Josh Martinez?

Josh Martinez is from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is small town with a big city feel. In real life, I am a self-employed artist living a dream of sustainability through my music. I am able to pay rent and travel the world and meet beautiful women, with free booze and the general good life. I have a bachelor of History, have an aggressive social agenda, believe strongly in community and want nothing more than to live the best life possible, providing a bit of beauty for others to enjoy. 

This guy is also from cold ass Canada hit us about the hip hop scene out there cos it seems Canada is just blossoming now with hip hop?

Canada has been in the shadow of the States for a while, but it seems like now, everyone is interested in what’s coming out of Canada, and especially from my former home town, Halifax. There’s only 250,000 people in Halifax, yet world renowned artists like Buck 65, Sixtoo, DJ Moves, Tachichi and The Goods all come from here. I think what makes Canadian hiphop unique is the sense of perspective we’ve got. We’re right next door to the largest monoculture every created, yet there is an intellectual and philosophical difference between us that is miles wide. Canadians are humble, humorous and have a social conscious that believes that those who are creating wealth have an obligation to give back to the community that they take from. Also our laws are way more tolerant than the shit storm that is the US so we tend to express ourselves a lot more freely. 

1996 seems like a hell of a long time ago you done a lot of performances going on stage with the likes of Sage Francis, Sole, Jurassic 5 what’s it been like?

I learned early on that there were so many people making rap, and that in order to set yourself apart, you had to create something that was unique, and once you had that, you had to travel the highways and let people know about it. Like I said, it’s a dream to be able to be performing with the best of the underground scene in North America. I’ve made a lot of friends through touring and now consider some pretty big heavyweights among my closest friends. Rappers are humans too, and some of them suck, but some are incredible people who can’t help shining. 

Touring wise it seems as if you been hitting a lot of spots up any place you don’t think you will ever perform except Iraq?

I would perform in Iraq at the drop of a hat. I’d perform anywhere I was asked to play at. I’m a tour slut and I love the live show and if people are willing to put up the loot to bring me somewhere, its worth it for me to go. I’m trying to blow up really, and the old fashioned route of tour tour tour is still the only way to go. It connects a face to the music, and a personality to the words. 

Whenever South Africa comes up in a conversation the peoples first thought is apartheid what do you think when you hear South Africa or Africa?

I got a close homie whose father works in the townships in Cape Town working with the new ANC on co-op housing. I took a bunch of courses in university to give myself knowledge on the rest of the world, and I’m fairly well read in terms of current events. I know South Africa is beautiful, I know it is being greatly affected by AIDS, that Thabo Mbeki is honest and trying to forge a future when then past has been so crushing and I know that the cricket team is unstoppable in international competition. I feel sick to my stomach at what has happened to Africa in the last 400 years and how it has been raped and robbed by cultural and economic imperialism and how Aids is killing Africa’s future, and pharmacy corporations won’t provide generic drugs to alleviate the sickness and the whole thing makes me wanna kill someone. 

Lets talk about your music your first release known to me was “Maximum Wellbeing EP” how was that fathered and what’s the gem on there for you?

It came about kind of by accident. I was just writing shit down for a couple of years and one day my boy Kunga 219 (The Goods) came back saying he was making tracks over at Godski’s house. Did I want to come by and lay some stuff down? Yup. We recorded 2 tracks together but that just made me hungry to do my own shit. So I asked DJ Moves (who I didn’t know at the time) if he’d be down to help out and maybe make an EP. Turns out he’s the nicest guy ever and says yes. I’m not sure what he expected, but when I told him about this idea for this epic song about the holocaust, he got amped up and made this huge collection of beats to move from one part to the next. So I went home and for two weeks I wrote the lyrics for Deny, which to this day (7 years later) is still one of the best songs I ever wrote. Moves and me bought up all the 30 minute blank tapes from the city, and proceeded to hand dub out all the tapes for the album release party. The day after the release of Maximum Wellbeing, I left for Australia, and lived there and in Asia for the next 8 months. Then I came home and became a professional rapper. 

You formed your own label called “Low Pressure Records” which is now defunct, released a album called “Made in China” that I’m still looking for u ever thought of bringing Low Pressure back to life? 

Low Pressure still exists, I just don’t exist as a part of it. Nothing personal, we just weren’t able to maintain our friendships and business relationships together. Once the business was handled, I jumped ship to start something new with some other fellas and that’s how I’m now running my second record label called Camobear Records. It’s also gonna part of a non-profit venture to promote social activism through music and art. We’ll be releasing all of the Josh Martinez stuff as well as the new Chicharones project (Sleep from Oldominion) 

Buck Up Princess, an album I just got my hands on the other day nice man I dig the collabo with Awol One what’s ya favorite track off the album?

My favourite song is Uphill Climb with Sarcasm and Governor Bolts…The beat is shit hot and everything else just feels good. 

If you are to give your album a mic rating how much would it be?

Made in China would be a 3.5 and BuckUp would be a 4.5. I worked for two years on Buck Up and I feel it is a really strong work with no filler. Made in China was still a learning process for me and I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do on the songs. With Buckup I feel a lot more confident in the songwriting, the production and the overall feel of it. 

Camo Bear records the new label when can we expect “Authority Problem EP”?

Look out for Authority Problem to drop sometime in the fall. 

Man I love Canadian hip hop you need to hear more shit from South Africa any chance we might see you out here on holiday?

I hope very much to find myself in South Africa someday soon. If anyone wants to make it happen, I’m always game. Would like nothing better, really. 

Thanks for your time any final look into your mind before we bounce and have “nightmares”?

My mind is full of half-finished ideas and works of genius or madness, one way or the other, it all comes out in the music. I don’t really sleep cause sleep is the cousin of wasted time and I haven’t remembered my dreams since I started smoking copious amounts of dope, but all I can say is hard work is the easiest way to get what you want out of life. Work hard and live good and things come to you.

Interview By Rush

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