Toronto Rapper Famous’ Obama Video Another Step Towards Hip Hop Presidency
Posted November 13, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
“And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared … I will be your president too.”
– Barack Obama, Nov. 4, 2008
The newspaper headline taped to the wall of Ashton Bishop’s apartment consists of one word, but says pretty much everything.
“History” has a world of meaning to the young man who calls himself Famous on the mic, and the inspiration the Toronto rapper’s derived from U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama is mirrored by the passion he’s put into a burgeoning music career that’s enjoying a meteoric rise of its own.
Like the man who inspired his most recent track, a YouTube sensation entitled, “President Too” Bishop is a transplant, coming from Montreal to Hogtown four years earlier in search of more.
“I’m from straight suburbs, Montreal, probably just work a 9-to-5 every day and do something I didn’t like,” he recalls of his thought process back then.
“At 18 years old I left my house … didn’t know one person in the entire city, but it was real good because I got to stay focused.”
That focus turned into an internship at Universal Music with the help of a teacher and just like that, a career was born.
“Got the call to go down on a Thursday, on Friday I went down … started on the Monday,” Bishop remembers with fondness.
And now he’s Famous. Literally.
How he got there – again not unlike the way Mr. Obama ascended to his position – was through a combination of hard work and a certain innate charisma.
The opportunities followed and with each passing year they’ve grown more frequent – and larger.
Most recently Famous laid down a gutsy, hair-raising video in which he rhymed on a Toronto basketball court. He found himself there when T.O. hip-hop icon Kardinal Offishall passed and the clip aired before the Toronto Raptors season opener on Oct. 29.
“My Facebook was going crazy, my phone was going crazy,” he says with a laugh.
“But I didn’t evens see the final edit till it aired so I was just like everybody else.”
That exposure set the stage for a new disc – The I Rap Now EP – which was hosted by American mix tape legend Clinton Sparks and has the promise of being Famous’ most famous release to date.
The EP itself is a tribute to Bishop’s road into the business. A clever cover scheme shows him as a McDonald’s employee, a Champs Sports clerk and an intern, all posed behind his current form, donning a white tee with the unmistakable declaration that serves as the EP’s title.
And that brings us to Obama. The growing attention meant the stage was set for a hot, topical video and that’s exactly what the young emcee delivered, with a little nudge from a future president.
“It’s like a basketball game when I’m young, five years old and I watch (Michael) Jordan hit a game winner, what do I do the next day? Every kid’s at the basketball court counting down,” he says when asked how he was directly influenced by the Nov. 4 U.S. election as a Canadian.
“The whole Obama thing, obviously it’s on a way bigger scale but it just makes us see that intellect … if you have that certain intellect people will embrace you no matter what your colour is.”
Which is true in both cases. The next day the video was born, using an old 2Pac beat, music from the man who famously wrote, “We ain’t ready to see a black president.”
But Famous, like so many others, was.
“I watched it and I really took it in. I didn’t really understand how all the numbers worked, but just to hear that speech … I don’t know if he had a teleprompter, I don’t know if he had something in his ear but to just speak so flawlessly, he just said it so well, everything everybody wanted to hear,” Bishop relates.
“The next day I woke up, I shaved, showered, put my fresh gear on and I walked the streets like nobody could stop me.”
Whether anyone can remains to be seen, but believing as much – as history has shown us of late – is a pretty good place to start.
To watch the President Too video, click here. ( Clip contains language some may find offensive).
More Music:
Hold Steady, Drive-By Truckers Play Rock’s Good Guys As Joint Tour Rolls Through T.O.
Hamilton’s Arkells Head Promisingly Down Canada’s Long Rock And Roll Road
Cali Rockers The Bronx Take T.O. On U.S. Election Night
Local Songsmith Shawn Hewitt Makes Heartfelt Impression With Long-Awaited Debut
