Maestro Fresh Wes Celebrates 30-Year Career - In Vancouver March 7-11

Maestro Fresh Wes Toasts 30 Year Career with NEW Album, Champagne Campaign

Multi-JUNO Award-winning Artist & Mr. D Actor Releases Two New Singles — ”Minor Chords” and “Waste Yute” — Available TODAY!

2019 Marks Anniversary of the Iconic Artist’s Industry-Pioneering Release — Symphony in Effect & “Let Your Backbone Slide”

Pearls may be the traditional go-to when celebrating a 30th anniversary, but Canada’s veritable hip hop hero Maestro Fresh Wes is toasting the world with a new album — Champagne Campaign — instead.

It’s hard to believe three decades have passed since Maestro’s debut album — 1989’s Symphony in Effect — dropped…

Its success blazed a fiery fresh trail, becoming the first hip hop release to receive a JUNO Award for Best Rap Recording of the Year, and first Canadian hip hop album to reach Platinum status.

Even more, his legendary track “Let Your Backbone Slide” made Williams the first Canadian hip hop artist to have a single reach Gold status; he was also the first Canadian hip hop artist to have a stronghold on Billboard’s Top 20 Rap Singles chart.

With 14 JUNO nominations (plus a second win, this time for Best Video in ’91), real estate on the Scarborough Walk of Fame, anthems on repeat for both ’14 and ’16 Olympics — to say the least — Williams is easily considered one of Canada’s premier and most notable multi-media personalities. His previous 2017 LP Coach Fresh was also nominated last year for another JUNO Award, and he just wrapped up eight seasons playing the role of Vice Principal Paul Dwyer on the CBC hit sitcom, Mr. D.

Now, the Toronto-based iconic, multi-award winning recording artist, actor, and author is back in the studio, once again moving sound forward and set to release his ninth album this March.

Following the album’s first-served single, “Somewhere Down The Line (feat. Adam Bomb)” — are new singles “Minor Chords” and “Waste Yute” — available today!

Fresh off a cross-country tour with Classified and Choclair, and ahead of Champagne Campaign’s release, he says of the new tracks:

“‘Minor Chords” is about me tapping into the realm of a Maestro who’s a world class pianist on an award tour with his team of major players.

“The title was inspired by my good friend who passed away, King Reign. He said those words in a song we did years ago called “Look For Me in the Whirlwind.” That’s why I sampled his voice at the end of the track…”

The song also features West Coast lyrical king, Planet Asia, and was produced — along with “Waste Yute” — by Toronto’s Lord Quest.

“Been cool with Planet Asia for years,” Williams details . “I met him at the UMAC Awards in Toronto close to 15 years ago, and I’m glad I got the chance to work with him.

“I was introduced to Dusty Wallace by my bredren Chris Jackson,” he continues, speaking on the up-and-coming Toronto artist Dusty Wallace featured on “Waste Yute.” “When Lord Quest gave me this beat, I knew Dusty and I would kill it. I was inspired by The Weeknd to stretch my vocal range” .

“It’s simply about us dissing a punk for being whutless… I wanted to have fun on the song by singing to the young punk as I question his mother’s poor choices of family planning. A mild undertone of social commentary on the song, but mostly comedic relief over a dope trap beat.”

WAVs

YouTube — ”Somewhere Down The Line”

Soundcloud — ”Minor Chords” (Multiple Versions)

Soundcloud — ”Minor Chords” — Main

Spotify — ”Minor Chords” (Multiple Versions)

Spotify — ”Minor Chords” — Main

Soundcloud — ”Waste Yute”

Soundcloud — ”Waste Yute” — Main

Spotify — ”Waste Yute” (Multiple Versions)

Spotify — ”Waste Yute” — Main

ABOUT MAESTRO FRESH WES

Maestro Fresh Wes (Wes Williams) is a multi-award winning recording artist, and the first Canadian Hip Hop artist to have a single — “Let Your Backbone Slide” — hit Gold status on the charts. His iconic 1989 album Symphony In Effect was the first to receive a JUNO Award for Best Rap Recording of the Year, as well as the first Canadian Hip Hop album to go Platinum. A true pioneer, he was also the first Canadian hip hop artist to have a song rank on Billboard’s Top 20 Rap Singles chart.

Maestro’s songs “Reach For The Sky (feat. Classified and Blue Rodeo)” and “The Distance (feat. Saukrates)” were featured throughout the Olympics, 2014 Winter and 2016 Summer, respectively.

As an actor, Williams has appeared on numerous film and television projects, including The Line — for which he was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series — and as the character of Paul Dwyer in the CBC hit sitcom, Mr. D.

He has been inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame, received the 2003 Reel World Film Festival Trailblazer Award, and was a guest speaker for the Governor General of Canada’s Summit on Urban Arts.

Williams’ paths as both an author and motivational speaker merged with the release of his motivational book, Stick To Your Vision. With its foreword written by Public Enemy’s Chuck D, and content long-credited for inspiring fellow Canadian hip hop star Drake, the book has been incorporated by multiple school curriculums as required reading. His 2017 TED Talks on the subject of Self – Revision has been inspiring to many who have watched him evolve for over three decades.

“Minor Chords” and “Waste Yute” are available Friday, February 8, 2019.

Champagne Campaign is coming March15, 2019.

Media release and image provided by Eric Alper, Eric Alper PR.

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