Classified information

EDMONTON (CUP) — Here’s a riddle for you: what’s white, from the East coast, and talented all over? One of Canada’s premiere hip-hop artists – Luke Boyd, also known as Classified.
Hailing from the small town of Enfield, Nova Scotia, there was no shortage of odds stacked against this emcee and 15-year-veteran of the rap game.
However, after pouring his heart, his soul and countless hours of effort into what is now one of the more successful Canadian rap careers, he’s ready to take a step back, have a look around and appreciate everyone and everything that’s helped him get to where he is today.
His latest album, While You Were Sleeping – which punches in at number 12 in a prolific producing and recording history – offers a compilation of some of his best work to date, as well as a few new tracks and a bonus DVD featuring all the music videos and other footage.
Classified’s love of music began, as with most musicians, when he was a child. His father, an avid guitar player, enjoyed playing shows with his band and influenced Classified to find a voice of his own. However, at first he struggled to find a niche as he was not inclined to play traditional band instruments such as guitar and drums.
“I’m actually the only person in my family who can’t play an instrument . [My Dad] had microphones and speakers set up and shit. I couldn’t play guitar and I couldn’t sing. I listened to rap and that was kind of what I was into,” explains Classified. “Me and my friends would write little raps and record it on a tape deck. Eventually, it just kept building up. I got a computer for making beats, and then we went to our first studio and started buying equipment to produce, and make real instrumentals and stuff, and just kept building.”
Initially, Classified’s father wasn’t exactly thrilled about his choice of musical expression.
“He wasn’t into rap, like anybody’s dad is. You know, parents are never into rap. So he was into it just because we were making music and stuff, but it took him a while to understand.”
However, his father has since come full circle, providing live instrument tracks on guitar and keyboard. He’s featured in two tracks on While You Were Sleeping.
“He’s always trying to get up in a video now,” jokes Classified at his father’s enthusiasm.
Despite his lack of formal musical training, Classified hasn’t let it hold him back and his natural ear for a good beat is obvious through his music. He produces all of his own tracks, and has taken several artists under his wing, one being Chad Hatcher, whose guitar and vocals can be heard in the song “All About U,” an uplifting track with a real life message about being comfortable in your own skin.
Unlike a lot of popular rap represented by mainstream media, Classified does not write rhymes about wheelin’ and dealin’ or pimpin’ hoes. If he does make references to money, it’s generally the lack of economic opportunities available for Canadian rap acts – not that it fazes him. He’s grown well past any juvenile dreams of “pimpin’ all over the world” or concealing bags of money in the secret compartment of a Ferrari.
“If I come out frontin’ and acting like something I ain’t, the people I hang around with would shut it down pretty quick and be like, ‘what the fuck are you talking about?’ It’s good because if I wanted to talk about fake shit I probably wouldn’t still be making music because I’d be out of fake shit to talk about,” he candidly explains with a laugh.
When asked if he could pick only one thing for people to take away from listening to his music, he responds with a simple request: “Don’t be scared to be who you are, as corny as that sounds. I think that’s one of the biggest problems in society: so many people hating on each other . We’re all f—– up, we all have good qualities, we all have bad qualities, and that’s pretty much life. So accept it and move on.”