Introspective. Sincere. Diverse. Lyrical. Analytical. All these and more embody what the citizens of Toronto have come to expect when they hear the name of Filipino rapper “FenaxiZ” (aka “Fen”).
Growing up in the city’s East end, Fen began an early love affair with Hip-Hop as he was entrenched in the culture through friends and his surroundings. He states, “I was fascinated by graffiti along the RT train route and the b-boys at parties. During recess we’d trade tapes with Wu-Tang, Boot Camp, and Biggie and as we got older we’d start drinking and smoking in some of the grimiest spots just learning how to rap.”
Before long, Fen made the transition from staircase to stage as he began refining his skills at open mics and small hole-in-the-wall gigs. At the same time, he was laying the groundwork for his first project, The Audiobiography -a 9-track EP independently produced, written, recorded, engineered, and performed by FenaxiZ himself. The Audiobiography was definitely heard in the Canadian urban music industry as its single “Chain City” received rotation on several college radio stations such as 88.1 FM, 89.5 FM, and 105.5 FM. “One thing that made me stand out when I was on the grind,” Fen recalls, “was that the CD itself was packaged and shrink-wrapped exactly like a record you could find in an actual store while all these other demos were just burned off home computers. I impressed the right people with how I presented myself professionally and that led to some amazing opportunities.”
What followed was a string of radio and online interviews, compilation appearances, and bigger performances. Doors were opened as FenaxiZ started rapping infront of larger audiences at events such as Canadian Music Week and venues like Revival, Dundas Square, and The Opera House.
Unfortunately, the momentum came to a halt.
FenaxiZ enrolled at the University of Toronto to pursue a double-major degree in New Media and English. He confesses, “To this day, I don’t regret the decision, but I had to put the whole music thing to the side for awhile.”
Of course, you can always take the player out the game, but you can never take the game out the player. Still writing and recording songs from time to time, FenaxiZ realized he had enough material to release another record just to keep his name out in the streets while he was on hiatus. Thus, The Strongest Link mixtape was conceived. While The Audiobiography featured Fen going for solo, this second project involved him collaborating with many of the peers he had networked with and met along the way. The lead single, The Strongest Link (remix) featuring Alex Dimez, Kendo, and Tre Nice, was widely received on the airwaves and led to magazine mentions and movie cameos (it played in the background of the independent film “From Wimp To Pimp”). The mixtape also included the second single, In The Flesh (remix), which was made into a video by Write Just Films.
After graduating, Fen intended to return to his true love of Hip-Hop, but something happened: he was politicized. “I was starting to write songs again,” Fen explains, “but one day a friend brought me to a local Filipino community centre. I’m not ashamed to admit it, but I spent my entire life disconnected from my own culture. I was introduced to certain people who slowly eased me into learning about my roots and I embarked on a journey of personal growth. I studied our history, took Tagalog language courses, helped organize conferences, participated in community events, rallied and protested as an activist, and basically attained a part of myself that I had always been denied. Also, I became deep-rooted and formed great partnerships and relations within the Filipino youth in Toronto.”
Armed with this newfound knowledge of self, FenaxiZ is on the verge of releasing his first full-length LP, Vintage. 15-tracks deep, Vintage covers a wide array of topics. For example, The Real Toronto questions the local Hip-Hop community’s tendency to portray its hometown as a crime-filled ghetto. Also, the history of the struggle Filipinos have endured worldwide as a consequence of colonialism and globalization is explored in White Man’s Burden. Tracks like Golden Age and Full Circle invoke FenaxiZ’s earliest memories as a child in the big city while Queen featuring August Rigo takes a moment to appreciate women and Dear Life presents a vulnerable FenaxiZ as he attempts to make peace with the concept of death. He adds, “one track I’m very proud of is Empty Bottle, where I vent my frustrations on everything as I get intoxicated. Ultimately though, there’s a positive message at the end of the song.”
Looking forward to the future, FenaxiZ has set his sights on a life fully involved with music. He has formed a company in partnership with local singer and fellow activist UGN Son. The two plan to integrate their passion for music with their political goals in order to create a platform for talented Filipino youth to be seen and heard.
we got the new song up by one of the best hip hop female artist in the game ''MISS METRA''(I GO SO HARD) Please take the time and check out the hot new song~keep in touch 9emg-
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JOIN MY SOCIAL NETWORK! WWW.WHOGOTSENSE.TK POST PICTURES, VIDEOS, CHAT IN THE FORUMS, SHARE MUSIC, DOWNLOADS, AND GROW YOUR NETWORK! 1 luv!
deraj the scatterbrain got yo back again with another dope ass project "deraj the scatterbrain's mixtape" is out now!!!! click here for free download http://sharebee.com/5c7bbdd6 plus Download free "JUDGEMENT PROOF" (revised) here http://sharebee.com/efc4a96c 24 banging tracks all the way threw...produced by asop (living legends) , elusive , adept , xcallibur , greentooth , don pro and soooo much more...this album is truly a needle in a haystack... IF YOU HAVENT ALREADY, THIS WILL BE YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR FREE DOWNLOAD.. ENJOY...
*Rise For Order* Torontos up and coming Rock band preforming tomorrow night.
Saturday the 24th at *On the Rox Live.* Hitting the stage at midnight. Dufferin and Steeles 1600 Steeles ave, unit 5.
FREE drop cards for 3 free song downloads off there Debut LP *Rip It Up* Produced by Steve Thompson (G&R, Metalica, Korn, Soundgarden.....) Don't miss it.
hey what's good, i hope ur week is goin well for u so far..i can't believe how fast this year has gone by.. i've been workin real hard on my solo mixtape it's comin along real nice.. i'll make sure to kept u informed on when it drops..
here another one of my links to another one of my site.. please feel free to check it out and it would be great if u could join it..alot of songs on there are pretty old http://www.reverbnation.com/lcakachadalinka
Tomorrow we hit the stage at " The Kathedral" Queen and Bathurst at 10:00pm Aug 29th. Getting ready to release our album "Rip it Up" with producer Steve Thompson (G&R, Mettalica, Korn...)
This is the True 2 U Boyz, and we appreciate you watching our video and we hope you liked it. We would really appreciate your support by downloading our ring tones or using the links below to purchase or songs . There only 99 cents so come and spend a dollar with the boys and you wont be disappointed!
Hey, I just wanna thank you for being a friend on here, hit me up if you ever need anything. I also wanna let you know that I uploaded 2 new beats on my webpage, you can check em out below. Let me know what you think and whats new with you.
FINALLY, NEW MUSIC! "The Art Of Broken Glass" (EP), click myspace.com/mrjmedeiros and take a listen! Available on itunes or directly from my site. New Mr.J songs to add to your profile! WORD!
You can also follow on twitter.com/mrjmedeiros for free music.
Ahoy hoy It's been a while since the Trace Elements mixtape 'Elevator Muzak' came out, just finished a mixtape with DJ Xplane, its called 'IOU's' and is available for download, free as always. Hope all is good. Cheers, Syntax Check it out dude and let me know what you think.
Hey Hey It's been a while since the Trace Elements mixtape 'Elevator Muzak' came out, just finished a mixtape with Syntax of Trace Elements, its called 'IOU's' and is available for download, free as always. Hope all is good. Cheers Xplane
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