Time Is On The Line: A Conversation with Cola H.

Episode 48 | Aired on February 27, 2021

It’s a Hart House Hip Hop Education Takeover of The West Meeting Room! Hart House Hip Hop Ed works with campus partners and community Hip Hop practitioners to further values of representation, collaboration, and social justice, as we explore the key principles of Hip Hop and its importance in our everyday culture.

Our first podcast led us to the homie, Colanthony Humphrey, aka Cola. H. Cola draws outside the lines and paints his own path in music and in business. The Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter enjoys the abnormal and adds his own color: to punk rock as the drummer of the OBGMs, touring exclusively as the drummer for Sonreal, and Hip Hop collaborations with Clairmont the Second and DijahSB.

Read Transcript

[Intro music plays  – “Best Intentions” by Vic Adamo]

Marco:
Peace, everyone. This is Marco Adamovic aka Vic Adamo and this is a Hart House Hip Hop Education Takeover of The West Meeting Room broadcasting live on CIUT 89.5 FM. We're on Dish with One Spoon Territory in Tkaronto and grateful for the opportunity to be here. Working with our campus partners and community Hip Hop practitioners, Hart House Hip Hop Education supports values of representation, collaboration, and social justice, as we explore the key principles of Hip Hop and its importance in our everyday culture. Google Hart House Hip Hop Education to learn more. Our first podcast led us to the homie Colanthony Humphrey aka Cola. H. Cola draws outside the lines and paints his own path in music and in business. The Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter enjoys the abnormal and adds his own color to punk rock as the drummer of the OBGMs, touring exclusively as the drummer for Sonreal, and Hip Hop collaborations with Clairmont the Second and DijahSB. We talked about how he got into music, connections between Hip Hop and Punk, the Oooh Baby Gimme Mores in 2020, who he's become by the risks he has taken, some of the best and worst advice he's heard in the industry, and a whole lot more. We also put together a Cola H. playlist from the tracks he dropped in our conversation, so make sure to go check that out on Spotify. And without further ado, let's get into my conversation with trailblazer, role redefiner and master collaborator Cola H.

Marco:
I am joined by the one, the only Colanthony Humphrey aka Cola H., aka world conqueror, aka airport loiterer, game spitter, show killer. Is there anything you don't do my man?

Cola:
Man, I don't sleep properly anymore.

Marco:
Okay, well, that makes sense. Welcome, man. Welcome to the podcast. We're blessed to have you. How are you doing?

Cola:
You know what? I'm doing, I'm doing good. I've had a good start in the morning. Started out, you know, kissing my baby, of course, having a little coffee, and speaking to my therapist, and now I'm speaking to you. This is great.

Marco:
That's amazing, man. Yeah, ya know, I always I always love the chance to chat with you, man for so many reasons. First of all, I want to say congrats on the Outsah tape man, you dropped just yesterday.

Cola:
Oh, thank you. Thank you. Yeah.

Marco:
Can you tell us a little bit about the tape and what the past 24 hours has been like, since you released it?

Cola:
Oh, for sure. Um, so Outsah is a song like Outsah, like, just the spelling of it's supposed to be outside. But it's kind of like a little bit more of a slang to it. Joey always used to say that to us, like when we, he would be outside of the studio because you've got to be let in if you don't have the key, right. And the whole meet me outside comment, like the whole meet me outside, you know, catch these hands outside, like for anybody that's trying to overstep. That's one of the songs that Denz wrote. Like, in fact, I'd probably say one of the yeah, one of the first songs that he wrote for the album, The Ends. And, yeah, since making it we've like, since being in the band, basically, we've always had a little, we've had, I mean, our roots are in Hip Hop, but we just happened to make a punk rock band. And we wanted remixes to it, so the boys asked me to help chop it up and put it together. So I produced both of those remixes. And we asked, we asked the homies Oxymorons. They're from New York, to hop on. And they were also putting feelers out. And we got Femdot from Chicago. What we really wanted to do was we wanted to unite city to city, like, you know what I mean. Let you know you could catch hands anywhere, you know. And it didn't happen, but it didn't happen in the way we tried to make it happen. But it's all good. You know, Chicago, New York, and what like, you know what I mean? Chicago, New York, and Toronto, like are represented. And we got my little brother Clairmont the Second on the remix with Femdot as well. So, yeah, it just feels good to collab with artists that you respect and that you dig. So especially when it comes out like this tape, you know?

Marco:
I want to start at the beginning with you and I want like, I want to understand how you came to music, when you started making music, and if you can just kind of take us back and let us know kind of how you started your journey.

Cola:
Alright, no doubt. Uh well long long ago - No I’m just joking. But my dad is a musician, and we grew up in the church, like most Black families, especially here in Toronto, or like pretty much anywhere in the States. So I grew up watching my dad sing and play piano and be, you know, the choir director. And I remember, I must have been like three or four years old, and I hopped on the drums, because I saw drummers before that and I was like, I know I can do that. And lo and behold, I did it. My dad bought me a kiddie drum set, and I never looked back. And I've been involved with music ever since. Mainly, you know, my formative years, I was playing in church all the way up until like, I'd probably say, last year before the pandemic, I was playing in church, whether it be drums or keys, which I learned a lot later in my teens. But that's how I started my musical journey. My first paid gig that ever came to me, I was I was working at a community health center. But my boss at the time, La Bomba, Paula Gonzalez, she was throwing a show because she's actually known as a not only a graffiti writer, but as a bassist. And she needed to put a band together. And she hired me and Denz for keyboards and guitars, and that was our first paid gig ever. And I think I was, I think I was maybe 15 years old. Yeah. And that's, that was my intro into like, being a professional musician.

Marco:
So first of all, you and Denz go way back.

Cola:
Oh, yeah.

Marco:
Denz is a co-founder, right? You guys are co-founders of the OBGMs?

Cola:
Yeah, I’d even credit him even more so than that. Like I basically say, it's the brainchild. Like The Oooh Baby Gimme Mores, The OBGMs, that's the brainchild of Denz's. And I was right there. Originally, we were trying to be like The Neptunes, right, like a production duo. But we wanted to do something different. Because at that time, everybody and their mom was rapping, like, you know, like its, like grandmas are rapping and this person rapping and that person rapping. And like I'll even go as far as to say as we were still elite, like in terms of skill in the rap world, in terms of the people that we were up against. But it was just kind of like, what's a better way to gain attention in that way - Like, you know, you know, what, what was the Neptunes? The Neptunes was a band. They were N.E.R.D.. And that's what we did, we created a band, we leaned a lot harder, like we leaned a lot more into the harder side. And yeah, me and Denz started out as a two piece.

Marco:
How did you come to developing that rougher sound, that more distorted sound, that more intense, aggressive sound?

Cola:
Yeah, that's a great question. So I think it's a number of things. So Denz wanted to introduce me to Rock and Roll. And at that time, like, you know, living in York Square, like in Toronto, which was like, very, very hood at that point. Like, you know, and you’d kind of get jumped, like really in any hood, like at that time, you would get jumped if you were listening to rock music, right? Like, and I feel like the only acceptable ones were like Billy Talent and Nirvana with Smells Like Teen Spirit. Those were the only like two bands that were kind of accepted in the rap world at the time with the people that we were around. So anyway, you know, Denz was listening to all this stuff. I'd say a deeper catalog of rock. Like, you know, he introduced me to the Arctic Monkeys, which like, they were hard as fuck at the time, excuse my language. And then like DFA 1979. And like, the whole reason I got into Hip Hop was because of the danger. Right? So like, I just began to start leaning into like, you know, even harder stuff. Like, you know, So for an example. You know, Nirvana's In Utero is like probably one of their biggest albums. But I was into Bleach more, just because it sounded rougher around the edges - it sounded more dangerous. Like it was you know - and danger is kind of like the reason why I leaned so far into like punk rock and rap in the first place, right. Like, and that's probably due to the fact that I was raised in the church, a relatively conservative family. Like maybe trying to separate myself from that is exactly what got me into the danger in music in the first place, you know.

Marco: 
Favourite track on Bleach?

Cola:
Man, like probably No Recess, man. That shit is [sings Noooo Recess!] It's so good. It's so good. But, but there's so, there's so many good ones right? Like, with Nirvana you kind of can't miss. Like you can literally touch any track and people will completely understand why you love it. You know what I mean? But that's, that's probably my favorite track. Like, without a doubt I was singing it just in the car the other day. I was blasting my stereo to 100 like, Oh, it's a mess when I’m in my car, just enjoying tunes. Yeah, man

Marco:
You know, I've seen you. I've seen you guys live a number of times. I remember actually the first I saw you live was a, I forget, it was a bar on college. And that was when I first saw  the infamous mosh pit that y'all used to fuck with.

Cola:
Yeah.

Marco:
Where Denz would just take both sides and throw them together in this mosh pit. And I was struck by the energy that you had. And, you know, listening to The Ends, I'm also seeing a lot, lot of, well you guys say, you know, it’s Nirvana shit, it’s Jimi Hendrix shit, right? And it seems like you guys leaned into that a little bit more for The Ends, which dropped last year 2020. Y'all did a live stream from Horseshoe which was dope af.

Cola:
Thank you. Thank you.

Marco: 
Yeah, it was. And especially at a time in the pandemic, right. Like, just walk us through the process of like, how you came up with it, what it means to you. And obviously, it was received, like it made a huge splash. So yeah, just walk us through The Ends man.

Cola:  Well, The Ends has a number of different concepts. Like, I'd say a lot of them are probably like, emotional anger. Like, you know - so The Ends, like, the end of bad relationships. The end of not putting music out for a number of years since our last release. Like the end of like, you know, people trying to walk all over us. The end of like, it's a number of those very, very, very different things, right? Like, that's why it's called The Ends. And The Ends, like, if you look at the back cover of the vinyl, or the front cover of the Outsah tape, right? That's where the OBGMs was started - in The Ends, that that building that’s atop like, that's where those are, The Ends. Those are The Ends that we’re from. Like, so it's a number of different concepts rolled up into one. The process of creating The Ends, I would say it took years, and it took years for a number of reasons. A lot of those lean on Denz and that's not blame. He went through what any artist goes through. Denz, like, a lot of times, because our art is on display, essentially what you're doing is you're leaving yourself on display. There's a reason why lyrics to a song gets used in court and scripts to a movie doesn’t right?

When you're an artist, you bare your soul, essentially. It's your pulpit. But anyway, when you bare your soul, and it's not received in the way that you want people to receive it, like, you know, especially when you've been gunning as long as  – I feel like we've been making music together for like 18 years. And I feel like the band has been together for about like - me and Denz - like this band's Inception was what 2008 / 2009. So we're in our 12th and a half year. Like, you know, and when you've been gunning for that long, and people like - you're not famous yet, like or maybe not even fame -  but you're not respected yet. Like, you want to step away from it because you're just like, am I even writing good songs? Right? So Denz needed that time and I, you know what, after speaking countless conversations about it with him, like I understand. I understand that he needed that time. That time is very, very valuable. And then when he was back, we are back writing and we got Dave Schiffman involved who's behind like countless records that the world knows. I feel like he did like three or four of the Bronx’s records. Alanis Morissette, like a lot of people don't even know that he worked on Jagged Little Pill and like, you know, Haim. Like, It spans all across the board. And he's from the school of Rick Rubin you know, which immediately perked up my ears for a number of reasons, right. Like the same guy who's behind Beastie Boys and LL Cool J at the same time, like will absolutely be able to understand us, right. Like especially if you’re from that school. So we got Schiffman on board, and he came here and we recorded for about a month, a month and a half, and we got The Ends.

Marco:
You dropped your first, your first EP was Interchorus back in 2009. And that was just you and Denz, which I, which I remember actually, I actually I have the physical CD of that.

Cola:
Wow!

Marco:
It's all love man. And I was listening, obviously listening to all the records just kind of, you know, in advance of chatting with you and I think fundamentally like, there are certain things that have changed. But the fundamental sound still sort of stays there, like the grime, the danger. The only difference, I think, and you also on each album, you kind of you went from two members to four members to now down to three. And you know, you're mentioning all this sort of change, the changes and different ways that the band has sort of has ebbed and flowed. So it sounds like the essence is still there.

Cola:
Yeah.

Marco:
But with The Ends, y’all just like, you're just unapologetic.

Cola:
Yeah.

Marco:
At this point, you are unapologetic. And I think it comes through in a big, big way. What about this current three piece made it so that The Ends made this kind of a splash and impact in this unapologetic way?

Cola:
Well, I think after a while, and this solely comes with time. With time, you begin to realize that you can spend time trying to get the attention in different sort of ways, whether it's like somebody's like, Oh, you gotta have this type of tune, or you gotta have that type of tune. And then I don't know, somewhere along the line you turn 30. And then you're kind of just like, yo, I don't care what anybody says, like this is how it's going down. And this is what we're going to do. Now, even with like the writing, I can't ever say that in the writing process certain things have solidified, because, like, as a writer of music, I feel like that process is always going to change. Maybe the one thing that solidifies now is the fact that we never - at least, I mean, it remains to be seen - but I don't ever want to go a year without, I don't ever want to go a month without writing a song. You know what I mean? Like, I mean, we could probably talk about this later, but like leaving a corporate job solely to work on music alone, right.

The professional doesn't have the time to be like, uh, you know, I'm not really feeling the vibe right now. It's like, when you have to crank out work, you got to crank it out. Because like, your time is on the line, money is on the line - even more so time, time is on the line. And when time is on the line, you can't sit down. And when you work for yourself, you cannot sit down. So when it comes down to that, like I think that's probably the only thing that has solidified. And to speak to going from two members to four members to three, the big change in that is - so we split amicably, like when we went from four to three, like we still got love for Jem. It's just that Jem’s sensibilities lean more towards the pop side. And that doesn't really benefit the sound of The OGBMs. So, it was an amicable split. He's still doing crazy, wicked stuff. Like he releases his own solo music. And he was touring with Zaki Ibrahim before the pandemic. So it's just like, yeah, we still got nothing but love for him. And to come back to The OBGMs. When things go from four to three, like, the less numbers, the easier it is to crank out because you don't have to go through a number of people to sort of, you know what I mean, complete a song. Right? Whether it's an idea that somebody likes or somebody doesn't like or whatever.

Marco:
Yeah, for sure. I want to get into the transition from full time work to full time musician for a number of reasons. But I want to, I want to stay a bit on The Ends, particularly because you dropped The Ends in 2020.

Cola:
Yes.

Marco:
And there was a lot going on in 2020. I would call it you know, I mean, sort of more of a global racial reckoning. Right? And I think you also dropped a new podcast. Shout out OBGMs Band Practice.

Cola:
Oh, thank you so much.

Marco:
And so the one thing I want to talk about is the - what you call lazy comparisons - that the industry is making when it comes to The OBGMs and to The Ends. You've been called, you’ve been called Bad Brains. And I know you've shared the stage with Bad Brains and your sound couldn't be any different.

Cola:
Yeah, exactly.

Marco:
So do you want to talk to us a little bit about, about what that's been like, and what insights you've had as a result of that?

Cola:
Um, so, yeah, it's, it's really, really tough to be, you know, a person of color in - how do I construct this best - it's really, really tough to be Black in a majority white space that is not ready to see, like what we do. And when they're not ready to see what we do, they instantly try to make comparisons to other Black people. And, you know, I can't blame, you know, a casual fan for not having the breadth of knowledge, or even the catalogue of knowledge like to be able to compare us properly, right? I realize what we do is extremely different than what a lot of other people do. And because of that, like, they're just trying to look for something. And we do this just commonly with a bunch of things. Like, you know, we try to make comparisons to things that we recognize so that we're able to categorize them. So that when we refer to other people, we can, like, we know what to expect. The problem with it being journalists is you are paid to analyze, right? You are paid to analyze, and if it's music, you're paid to analyze the sound, right? If it's how we look like, I mean, the only comparison that we have with Living Colour, and that we have with Bad Brains is that we're Black. Soundwise, like the fact that we do Rock like or are in the Rock space is the only comparison that you can make. If you listen to the music and all you can pull is Bad Brains, then that means you haven't listened to it. So that's the problem that we have. It does, it still makes it hard, right?

Marco:
What inspires you in the current moment that we're in, because I know, for example, you've you know, the launch of The Ends, you've been hosting a lot of conversations with other artists. You know, Denz has been doing a lot of work on hosting conversations with artists around issues of race, around issues of social justice. And what are you finding that is inspiring in this moment, even though that there's a lot of work still to do?

Cola:
I think what's inspiring is the fact that I think with everybody being home, people are finally willing to listen. For a long time, I mean, there's this great joke where it's just like, have you heard? Like, the police are beating up Black people again. I don't know if you've paid attention in the past 400 years to the news! Like, you know what I mean? But it just feels like within the last year with like George Floyd and all that, like, it feels like people are finally willing to admit that there's a problem, and that it's a big problem. And it's a problem that has existed forever. I'd say that's inspiring. The fact that people are willing to talk. And this goes beyond just, you know, violence against communities of color. Like it's right up to tolerance, right? Like, I mean, it feels only yesterday that like, you know, the amount of of slurs that we would throw around, like, you know, pertaining to different communities, that that was acceptable. And now it's not acceptable, right? The fact that in this day and age, where even like what's known as the casting couch mentality is being destroyed. Change is what's inspiring, right? Like, all these different things like the you know, the Me Too movement that's inspiring all these different things that are inspiring. It shows that like, you know, life can change for the better. That's what's inspiring me the most. I wouldn't think that it would be any different for Denz or Joe.

Marco:
The words, you know, in that context, music is so much more important, because you mentioned that you're putting yourself out there and you can't separate yourself. And you can't separate the music from who you are in that instance. And I think that's another strong connection that exists within something like The OBGMs and specifically, you know, with you having this background and medium of both Hip Hop and punk. And so you've got these sort of two critical forms of expression. What do those two genres or words mean to you in the context of music being more than just entertainment?

Cola:
It meant, like, culture. Like, I mean, we say subculture like for these things, but it's culture. Like these are the driving forces of culture, right? And even at that, like, I feel like, at least now, as I'm growing older, I'm realizing that it means so much more than just these two words. Like Hip Hop is more than just like, you know, graffiti, and breakdancing, and MCing. Like, it's, it's a way of life, right? It's like, I don't walk around saying like, Oh, this is so Hip Hop like as much as I do, like saying, yo, this is punk rock as fuck. But it's just like, it becomes a way of life, like the way how you approach certain things, right? I feel like that's what those things mean to me, right? Like going completely DIY is so punk rock. Right? Not taking no for an answer, being completely in your face is so Hip Hop. Like, it becomes the way that you breathe, the way that you walk, the way that you talk, the way you consume information, the way you exert information, right, the way you express yourself. That's what those two words have meant, and like, continue to mean and it continues to evolve as like both those genres, both of those ways of life evolve. And as my mind continues to evolve, you know.

Marco:
Facts, man, facts. So, you know, there's a piece there on risk that I think, you know, putting yourself out there, but also everything that's wrapped up in both of those. I mean, to call them genres is to really simplify what they mean. But when you're embodying something like that in such a way, you're taking a risk. And so I want to go back to the risk that you took when you jumped from full-time work to full-time musician and, you know, maybe some insights that you could offer, you know, folks listening or things that you look back on and you're like, I'm so glad that I did this. Or just the process of learning and learning more about yourself as you took that risk.

Cola:
Yeah, definitely, um, the risk. So I'll never forget it. So while I was at my desk working, I got two offers. So first of all, I just started managing my baby brother, right? Well, he's not a baby anymore.

Marco:
Shout out Clairmont the Second.

Cola:
Yeah, Clairmont the Second, shout out to Clairmont the Second. He's not a baby anymore. He's a full grown adult now. But at the time, he was still in his teens. And we had gotten offered, we had gotten offered a publishing deal for him. And because I was sending through my own music to this publishing company, I had gotten offered a publishing deal as well. And then not only that, but at the time the band, The OBGMs, we were in talks with a record label. And things were looking very, very good. And, you know, I was speaking to my dad, and then, you know, I had some time to think. And I said, you know what, I think if there was ever a time to make a jump, if God is telling me to jump now, it's right now. So I jumped. And I handed in my two-week resignation. And I went to work on the last day of work. I went in on a Monday, which people wouldn't normally do. But I said I'm working on the 15th. That's what it's gonna be. And I was going to be proposing to my wife on the Wednesday. All in the same day, when I got home, the publishing deal fell through because there was miscommunication, which turned into a little bit of a back and forth.

So, both publishing deals fell through. And the record deal fell through all on the same day, on the Monday. And on the Wednesday, I was proposing to my wife, and my now wife, and you know, at first I was a little scared. I was like, oh, what did I just do? And I went, and I spoke to a mentor of mine. And you know, he basically said, you know what, give it a year and a half. And if you come out, and you don't have money or like, you know, the biggest loss that you can have is going back to work and say, man, that was a crazy, it was a crazy, like year and a half that I had. Or you can be me. And him, at the time, like, if you see his production credits, biggest pop stars in the world. I'm not even gonna mention them. But it's just like biggest pop stars in the world. So that's the advice I rolled with. And two weeks after I proposed to my wife, she said yes, obviously. And I was in an event. I was sitting down, like looking at this film. And I was like, you know what, I'm gonna be okay. And here I am, I'm okay. And I'm still doing my thing, even in the midst of the pandemic. I'm a full-time artist. You know? Sometimes you just got to take the risk. It's never going to happen the way you want it to happen. I think that's the biggest takeaway that I've had from this whole process. It won't happen exactly how you see it, but it can still happen if you're motivated to push it towards happening. So here I am - Professional Artist.

Marco:
No doubt man, no doubt. And yeah, kudos to you man for pushing through.

Cola:
Thank you.

Marco:
In terms of, you know, the entertainment industry, the music industry. I want to float this, float this question to you - What's the best piece of advice you've heard someone either give you or give someone else? And what's the worst piece of advice you've heard someone give you or somebody else?

Cola:
The best piece of advice that I've ever been given was at the start, from that same mentor that I was just telling you about. He said, you know, I had sat with him a week after like, you know, a week after I quit. And I was just like, look man, I want to figure this out. He's like here's what you need to know: nobody in this industry knows what they're talking about. We're not talking about like administrative like duties and stuff like that. We're talking about what's hot and what's not. Right? The executives, they'll try to convince you that they know everything. The record labels will try to convince you that they know everything. They know what's hot. They know how to make a record pop. They know what's poppin’ in the streets. The truth is, is that they don't know. They have a formula. And that's what they're concerned in making big. Nobody saw, like at the height of his popularity, no one saw Tekashi 6ix9ine coming, right. I mean like, and I'm not promoting Tekashi 6ix9ine when I say it, but they didn't see it coming. No one saw XXXTentacion coming, you know. And even right on top of it, no one saw Chance the Rapper when he was at his height of heights, coming. And like look what they all did. They all changed the game in some sort of way. And like, that's, that's just the reality. But record execs, industry professionals, including myself, will try to convince you that they know. And they don't. That's the best piece of advice I got.

The worst piece of advice that I've heard was actually just recently. An artist manager was talking to a panel. And you know, I don't want to smack them down too much. But basically, what they said was sometimes you just want people to listen to you and you want them to like be wearing your merch, right? So if you have to buy a shirt at $10 and sell it at $12 and you make a $2 profit, just do it. I personally think that's horrible advice. And the reason why I think it's horrible advice is because artists have been taught to demean their price and undervalue themselves in order to get seen for so long. And I think when it comes to the music business, you do not get successful by undervaluing your product. You want people to take you serious. There's a reason that when Nipsey Hussle was selling his album for I think it was either $100 or $1,000 a piece. There's a reason he sold out. It was beyond good music. It was, it was the fact that he valued himself that much more. And I feel like it's a, it's in bad practice to teach artists to undervalue themselves to get a little bit further. Like to be real with you, and I don't want to get too far into this, but that's exactly why the casting couch mentality exists. Like it comes from undervaluing yourself, your person. Anytime you undervalue yourself, you will fall for the banana in the tailpipe. Like you will fall for the things that will eventually slow you down, for the things that will make you feel dirty about yourself. That's what's gonna happen, right? So you don't ever want to undervalue your craft. The thing that you think that you're better than others at, the thing that makes you you, if you ever shortchange that you will shortchange yourself all your life. Or you might get what you want. But you will always feel that and you won't be able to sleep at night. You know what I mean? And that's just how I feel about that.

Marco:
If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.

Cola:
You'll fall for anything, and how many people do we know have fallen for things that they shouldn't have fallen for? It's countless, you know what I mean? And it's just like, we need artists to value themselves otherwise, like, you know what I mean, everybody will be undervaluing themselves. And it's just not worth it.

Marco:
Facts, man. One question I have is around communities and being a part of a community. Because I know, you know, particularly West End. I know you've been, you've been repping West End since before it was cool to rep West End of Toronto.

Cola:
Yep. Very, for a very long time. Yep.

Marco:
And I know, you know, and you seem to, you seem to drop features that no one’s expecting and then all sudden, it's like, oh shit, Cola is up on this too, right? So, talk to me - a couple of things: One is just the importance of community when it comes to, you know, culture, when it comes to working in creative spaces. And the other is this dynamic in Canada and in Canadian music about, you know, not whether it's more important, but you know, everyone says, you need to get out of Canada, to become successful. And so, you know, how, what do you make of that?

Cola:
Right. Well, on the community aspect. A community that you love and that loves you will always prop you up no matter what. It's, it's just inevitable. They will always prop you up. And if they truly love you, they will tell you when you're sidestepping. They will tell you when something was wack, because the incentive is to get better. Right? So for like, for the West End, right - so I grew up at Keele and Eglinton, York Square, right - We used to have rap battles all the time. And like those rap battles, it wasn't something where we were fighting each other. It was something like, yo if we really, really want to do this, we gotta be better than the next person. So I gotta be better than you. And your incentive is to be better than me. And essentially - actually, that's how me and Denz met. We met through our sisters, right. And, and we met through beat battles, right. To the point where we partnered with each other and just worked on becoming better producers. But the incentive is to be better than each other but for the betterment of the both of us, right. So that's the importance of community. And if it's making you guys better, that's the importance.

It's kind of weird now though. Like, I feel like people rep certain hoods or whatnot, and it's not necessarily a thing where they're trying to make each other better, right. It's more so they're trying to, you know, battle with each other in a negative way. But, I mean, that's for another story. Now, to come to your second question, which was going to the States in order to make it. I completely still wholeheartedly agree with that statement. Like, the reality is this. Like, I'll just use Clairmont, for example. Clairmont the Second is a Juno nominated, three times in a row Polaris prize long-listed, a Prism prize award-winning director. Like Clairmont has all these accolades. For the past year, Clairmont has been featured on multiple United States playlists. The majority of his plays come from the United States. The thing is, is that Canada is far too small and like there's not enough Hip Hop fans here, right? And the biggest music market in the world is the United States. Maybe you don't need to be big in the United States. Maybe it's somewhere in Europe. But in terms of Canada, there is just not enough people here. Like maybe, like you know, a popular act can be a million-dollar band here, maybe. But like, you know, two black guys and a half-Iranian half-Irish guy like being a million-dollar Canadian band, like only operating in Canada? I don't think that's very much so possible here.

Marco:
So what is, I mean, what is Toronto's place in the modern music industry then? Because I mean, there's a lot of, I mean, Toronto has blown up for the past 10 years, right?

Cola:
Yeah, for sure.

Marco:
And everyone wants to say that it's Drake, it's because of Drake. But, you know, anyone that, anyone that's been paying attention knows that the foundations had been built for a long time. What makes Toronto so unique in terms of the music that's coming out of the city?

Cola:
I think, I think it's a lot of things. And I would absolutely argue the fact that it is because of Drake, to be honest with you. And like I would argue that, and I feel like there's a number of things here that make Toronto that great. Drake didn't need to rep us like on top of that. Like Drake repped us and I think it's because he truly loves this city. And I think this city has something to be jealous of. For the fact that there are so many first-generation kids here, so many immigrant families here. Like I feel like it's, and it's from all different places, like in the world, right. Majid Jordan like is another example. I feel like every single Black artist that you see from this city that has gone on to do amazing things, like, none of their parents are Canadian. They're all from somewhere else. So I feel like the mixing of all those different cultures to bring up these kids who grew up, all in the, in the same place, I think that's what makes Toronto like a great breeding ground for talent. I mean, all my friends, like so many of my friends are like, they're all talented, all first-generation, and all have interesting lives beyond just making music. And that's what makes the music that much better. You know what I'm saying? I think that's what makes Toronto unique and special. And I think that's why Drake loves it. I feel like that's why, like, once again, I think Drake is instrumental to the economy of Toronto. Like, beyond music, but definitely, like, when he said, "Weston Road flows," All my Weston people were like, yo, we're taxing everybody at Caribana. ‘Cuz they're gonna want tours of Weston. Like, not just the strip, but just the whole entire Weston community. You know, I mean, we’re gonna be taxing people out here. Like, if they come out here trying to, you know what I mean? And nobody would have known about Weston. They wouldn't have known about Weston if Drake didn't say it on his records. You know, it's just a fact.

Marco:
No, and it's a great point. I mean, you know, leveraging that platform to really put a spotlight on specific areas, specific issues. I mean, I think there's a lot that, you know, your work with OBGMs and Drake have in common. I mean, you're leveraging that culture to rep a city, to rep just to rep period, right?

Cola:
Absolutely.

Marco:
In terms of who's in your ears right now, who do we need to be listening to?

Cola:
So in terms of - it's a bunch of people, right. Like, I'm listening to a ton of music right now. Yves Tumor is probably like - Heaven for a Tortured Mind. Great album. I encourage everybody to go listen to that album. That album, like was probably one of my most played albums of the whole year. I'm listening to anything that comes from DijahSB, another artist from here, Toronto. Clairmont the Second of course. And shameless plug, The OBGMs. Everything that is The OBGMs you need to be listening to that. Other than that, like I'm finding new music every day. I just took in Illuminati Hotties’ latest album and they're doing some really really cool musical stuff there. In terms of rap, 1TakeJay. I'm really really enjoying the off-the-beat-type rap flow, where it's kind of like, and it's really, really popular in the West Coast. And I think 1TakeJay is from out there. And, like, I really, really enjoy that. Like you're kind of on the beat, but you're kind of really not on the beat at all. And there's something about it that's just so swaggy about it that I really really dig. And as a drummer, too, right, being able to drum within the pocket but off the click, like oh, there's something so sick about that. And who else. I really really like G Perico's voice. I think he sounds almost like a modern day DJ Quik. Larry June is also another one. And like to be real with you, I've been listening to like a ton of 80s R&B funk. Like a ton. Like S.O.S. band. Like S.O.S. Band is probably my favorite. But like Mtume is another one. Cherelle, Alexander O'Neal, anything that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have produced, I highly, highly encourage everyone to go listen to it, because it's just filled with number ones, their entire catalogue, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. They're my favorite producers in the whole world. And I hope one day meet them.

Marco:
Wicked man. What are two songs and one album that are forever part of your life soundtrack?

Cola:
I'll start off by giving this album that I love. It's not a rock album, but it kinda is – Funkadelic, Let's Take it to the Stage. When I was 16 years old, and Denz was trying to convince me to be in a rock band. And I said, hell no. I stumbled upon this documentary on PBS. With them playing, or it was a, it was a documentary about Parliament Funkadelic. And, like, you know, they transitioned from being just like an R&B band to a funk band to like moving into rock and roll. Let's Take it to the Stage was a pivotal album that basically said we're here to stay and we're here, meshing these, these two things together. And that's an album I can't live without. In terms of songs. Hmm. S.O.S. Band, Tell Me if you Still Care. It helped me discover the softer side of who I was. Not everything is about like, you know, loudness and you know, trying to be seen. Tell Me if you Still Care by S.O.S. Band, produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Yeah. And Pull Out by Death From Above 1979. It’s just completely, like, offensive, completely loud. And just like, the type of energy that I was just like rolling with in my early college years, which made me want to get even harder with this music shit.

Marco:
And then in terms of other tracks, what in your own, in your own catalogue? So music that you've worked on or been a part of, what are some of the most meaningful tracks to you?

Cola:
Triggered by the OBGMs. Like, that's a meaningful song because it's hard. And it's everything that when I wanted to get harder with music, like it's everything that I thought we would sound like. That's one track in my catalog that I'm like yes. Another one would probably have to be Clockout. It's the song with me and Clairmont on his last, on his latest album. I produced that song, and like I got the second verse on it. It's just, it just shows like that both of us got lyrical skill and can still bounce off of each other, and let it be a family affair and still be like, just a complete banger. And lastly, I'd probably say New Money, which is like a solo track of mine.

Marco:
Ooh, la la.

Cola:
Yeah, Ooh La La. Yes. New Money. Like, there's not a bar in there that's not true. And it's just, it feels like what Toronto feels like to me. You know, that's my Ode to Toronto.

Marco:
So like a lot of artists have sort of said that 2020 was a year for strategizing because of the impact on the the arts community. You were obviously busy AF. And so what are some final thoughts on music in 2021 and sort of where we find ourselves globally? Locally? Like, you know, obviously, you're going to be releasing some music. So that's exciting. Anything else you want to share about? Just final thoughts on music and either 2021 or beyond?

Cola:
Yeah. So like, I think if 2020 showed us anything, it's that the world can be shut down for a multitude of reasons. And I think if you're taking this time to strategize, good. But if you're not taking this time to, to actively still maintain attention, or learn a new skill, you will suffer when the world does come back, if it ever comes back. I think people that are waiting - like it showed, it showed us this. If you wait, you will wait. Like period. There's never going to be a right time for anything. The right time is right now. Right? What are you doing right now? What's happening right now? What are people watching right now? What are people doing right now? If you do not add more skills to your arsenal, and if you are only waiting for the right time, you'll die out. Like there's just no way that you'll survive in this day and age. Because like the reality is like, I'm not sure our normal world comes back. I'm definitely not sure. And I know that sounds bleak. But like, I mean we booked a few things for 2021. But the reality is, is like it’llprobably get canceled, you know. And I think anyone that thinks live music is coming back in 2021 is not paying attention to the signs that things are going horribly wrong right now. So the thing is, is like, how are you going to survive this rat race next? And it's - you know what it's not by doing? Waiting. So don't wait. Right now is the time. That's my final thought.

Braeden:
Could I ask one question?

Marco:
Sure!

Cola:
Oh, please.

Braeden:
It seems like behind your work is this like really intricate fabric of relationships and you collaborate with a lot of people. You have band members. You're in the music business with your brother. You're in a marriage with someone. Like, these relationships have so many layers and so much depth and complexity. And so I just wonder, like, what do you think is essential in moving through those relationships and sustaining those relationships in a good way?

Cola:
I’ll say it like this. Communication is essential in moving forward in a relationship. But not only communication, it's understanding what the relationship is. So when I say understanding the relationship, relationships start for different reasons. And they usually end because somebody broke code as to what the relationship was. Like, I feel like a lot of us don't understand relationships to the extent that we should. Relationships are basically – they’re social contracts as to how you interact with somebody. And the moment that changes, the relationship can either change or end. And, like, I think as long as you understand like why it started, and how it started, and you're willing to make it evolve through communication, of course. A relationship can sustain the worst, like the absolute worst of what life has to offer. You know, and I think that's why I've been able to roll with Denz for so long. That's why I'm in business with my brother. That's why essentially, my wife is like, she's not just like - she describes herself as my biggest fan. But I think she's way more than that. She's my business partner, like, just in life, you know what I mean? Like, you know, you know, we're new parents, right. And like, even the things that we introduce our child to, or even right down to how we communicate in front of her. Like, maintaining a relationship, all that is key, like, so it's knowing why you got together and and communicating so that the relationship can continue to flourish.

Braeden:
I guess if I could follow up with something personal?

Cola:
Of course. Please.

Braeden:
Like, well, just, you know, being so - and I guess I'm asking from a place of being in a similar context - like, when, when you're married to someone and you’re business partners, and you’re co-parenting, and maybe you have, I don't know, creative sides, or creative work that intersects. But then you're also in a domestic partnership, and also a romantic partnership. It's like you're wearing all these different hats. And sometimes it's hard to know which hat you're, you're speaking from, like, and they have competing interests. And so I'm just like wondering if, like, do you, have you sort of acquired, are you learning like a new language, or bringing in a new set of tools into like, I guess, learning the interplay between all those different hats you have to wear?

Cola:
I think, I think what it is, is we’re learning a new set of tools. So marriage is not for everyone, I completely believe that. And it's for me, and it’s for my partner, like it's for both of us. Like we chose each other. And like, that's why we're still happy today. The reason why we love each other is because we love each other for who we are, right? But the reason why it works so well, is because the way we communicate. We know that we'll be able to grow together. So whether it's being business partners, whether it's buying property together, whether it's raising a family together, like you know what I mean? Whether it's, or even right down to who's gonna do the dishes, and who's in the living room. Like, you know, all those things, those all just become tools. They become assets that you use, like, in order to accomplish whatever you need to accomplish. But the thing is, is like, they're just tools, but they add on to our relationship. We know we can continue to grow together. And that's why we continue to grow together.

Braeden:
Thank you for sharing.

Cola:
Oh, no problem. No problem. By the way, great questions. Completely unexpected, but really, really dope.

Braeden:
Yeah, well, like it kind of, you know, what made me think of it is when you mentioned Dave Schiffman, like earlier in the conversation. Like, there's kind of, there's like these invisible relationships that happen behind the scenes that no one else sees.

Cola:
Mm hmm.

Braeden:
And, and I'm just like, I'm interested in that aspect of just yeah, people's sort of like, the intimate realms of people's lives that lead to the work you never really see.

Cola:
Can I expand on that actually?

Braeden:
Yeah.

Cola:
Now that, now that we're talking about it, like, I feel like a lot of times, especially as artists, because it's a lonely road, and because a lot of the times you find yourself alone. You find yourself being extremely introspective. I feel like great artists are very introspective. You forget that you need people. But like, even with everything that we're seeing in this in this world, like happening right now, where it kind of seems like everyone's mad at each other, right? You know, whether it be for political reasons, racial reasons, whether it be class reasons. But the reality is this. We need each other, we all need each other. Like, even right down to me talking shit, like people need people. We can't go it alone. Like, I mean, if we try to go it alone, or without particular communities, our minds don't expand. And right now there's a fight to keep things the same, or the fight to change things. And like, you know, there's two people leaning on on two different sides. But really, if we came together, and you know, we work together towards a common goal and that's like, advancing humanity, you know, we would be so much further than we are right now. People don't value each other as much as they should. And that’s where the big problems lie, you know?

Braeden:
Yeah, I feel like trust is really the only currency.

Cola:
It really really is. It really is. Trust me. Yeah.

Marco:
That's awesome Braeden. Just a quick plug - everything OGBMs, everything Cola H., everything Clairmont the Second, OBGMs Band Practice wherever you get podcasts.

Cola:
Yup Yup

Marco:
Cola man, as always, it's a pleasure. We appreciate you and just wish you so much more success and a brighter fire that burns in 2021.

Cola:
Oh, my bro, thank you so much. I really really really really appreciate you guys having me. And like yeah, I said before, Cola H. on everything just look up "dieforcola". So dieforcola.com, @dieforcola on everything and that will lead you to Cola H. and that is me. Thank you for having me.

Marco: 
Peace

Cola:
Peace

[outro music plays]

Marco:
That was my conversation with Colanthony Humphrey aka Cola H. You can check him out on social media @dieforcola. I want to give a big shout out to Braeden Doane for her support in producing today's episode. Look out for another Hart House Hip Hop Education takeover coming soon. In the meantime, check us out at harthouse.ca. I'm Marco Adamovic. Peace.

Producers / Hosts

Guests of the episode