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FYI

Essentials… with Classified

Each week, Essentials allows Canadian music industry figures to share the things that have helped get them through the pandemic, and why they still can’t live without them. Here are the choices of an East Coast hip-hop luminary.

Essentials… with Classified

By Jason Schneider

Each week, Essentials allows Canadian music industry figures to share the things that have helped get them through the pandemic, and why they still can’t live without them. Here are the choices of an East Coast hip-hop luminary.


 

Regarded as one of Canada’s most respected and successful rap artists, producers and songwriters, Classified led the charge for East Coast hip-hop in the 1990s, racking up multi-platinum sales and Juno Awards, while collaborating with some of the biggest artists in the field, including Snoop Dogg, Raekwon and Royce 5’9.

In 2021, he decided the time was right to tell the full story of how the music transformed him from Luke Boyd of Enfield, Nova Scotia into a top-selling rapper with the book Off The Beat ’N Path. The candid memoir explores every step of Classified’s rise, while emphasizing the work ethic that allowed him to remain in Canada rather than relocate to hip-hop hotbeds in New York or Los Angeles.

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As a follow up to the book’s success, Classified is preparing to release Retrospected, an album that will present much of his best-loved material in an acoustic setting. The first single, All About You, is available now through Half Life/Universal and features Nova Scotia singer/songwriters Breagh Isabel and Brett Matthews.

For more information on Classified, go here 

Essential Album: Cordae, From A Bird’s Eye View (Art@War/Atlantic, 2022)

I’m loving the old-school-style beats, and the fact he’s a young guy dropping some knowledge. There are great vibes on this album.

Essential Book: Classified, Off The Beat ’N Path (MacIntyre Purcell Publishing, 2021)

I had to choose my own book because it was the main thing I was reading last year as it got ready for publication! But I just finished reading Slash’s biography, [Slash, HarperCollins, 2007]. I love reading musicians’ bios and hearing the tour stories and the different problems they had on the come up. I’m interested in hearing about the human side of these old-school rock stars. 

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Essential TV: Yellowstone (Paramount, 2018-present)

My wife wanted to watch it, so I gave it a try. The first season was pretty damn slow, but the second season has been pretty awesome. I didn’t expect to get into cowboy life in the States and all the problems they have trying to keep the tradition alive in a world that’s moving away from all of it. 

Essential Movie: Don’t Look Up (2021)

I loved this movie! First off, I loved the thought process behind it. It talks about how we are not paying attention to the big picture. Instead, we’re focused and worried about the small issues in this world, when we should be addressing the things that are really going to dictate our kids’ future and generations beyond. I really enjoyed the way the movie kept poking fun at today’s society and, hopefully, it wakes some of us up!

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Kneecap Blasts Norwegian Government at Oslo Festival, Accusing It of Funding ‘Genocide’ Against Palestinians
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Mo Chara, DJ Provaí and Móglaí Bap of Kneecap performs on the West Holts Stage during during day four of Glastonbury Festival 2025 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 28, 2025 in Glastonbury, England.

Music News

Kneecap Blasts Norwegian Government at Oslo Festival, Accusing It of Funding ‘Genocide’ Against Palestinians

The Irish rap trio went after the Norwegian government over its investments, which are currently under scrutiny, at Øyafestivalen.

Irish rap group Kneecap – which has drawn a storm of criticism, support, attention and legal action over the past half-year – continued to speak out about the war in Gaza during an afternoon set at the Øyafestivalen in Oslo, Norway, on Friday (Aug. 8).

Right before the trio of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí took the stage, an English-language white-text-on-black-background message played on a video screen, accusing the Norwegian government of “enabling” the “genocide” against the Palestinian people via investments held in the county’s sovereign wealth fund (referenced as “oil pension fund” in the message). “Over 80,000 people have been murdered by Israel in 21 months,” the band’s message continued. “Free Palestine.” The message was greeted readily by a cheering audience. Most estimates (including those from health officials in the area) place the Palestinian death toll at more than 60,000. That number does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas militants. An estimated 18,500 of those killed were children.

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