By Atkilt Geleta

Spek Who?

Although born and raised in Toronto, Benjamin Nii Kpani Addy, better known as Spek Won is steeped in the culture and ethos of his native Ghana.  Make no mistake, his music is in many ways purist, boom-bap hip-hop in the most traditional East-Coast sense.  The content, however, features his afrocentric leanings with acute social commentary and hip-hop culture analysis.

Like many peers in Toronto’s hip-hop scene, he is a product of a diverse environment that composes his identity.  “I was raised in different areas around Toronto, mainly Willowridge which is at the corner of Martingrove and Eglinton.  It was predominantly Jamaican, Ghanaian and Indian.  So I got to grow up in a Ghanaian community, I had the Ghanaian upbringing, and the latter part of my teen years [I grew up in] Rexdale. “

Student of the game.

As the title Preemo Donna suggests, his mix-album boasts mostly DJ Premiere beats, minus the sound beds for his buzz-worthy singles “Hip-Life” and “2^nd Chances”.  Both have been on regular rotation on OTA Live.

As a pupil of the elders of rap’s golden era, he interprets classics easily recognizable to any ‘90s hip-hop fan.  He gracefully flips choruses and expressions of the originals all into his own.  Paying homage creatively – it’s a rite of passage in this art form.

Biggie’s “10 Crack Commandments” and “Unbelievable” get the treatment (“10 Black Commandments” and “So Believable”), as does the profane classroom interlude from Snoop’s debut Doggystyle, which Spek interpolates into a mild mannered skit featuring his young nephew.

The energy and intense delivery on the disc are reminiscent of his live show, which we’ll arrive at shortly.

Why won’t Much Music play his Video?

Although “Hip-Life” had been garnering its own buzz on the internet with 10,000 plus views, he was confounded when our nation’s original music channel refused to air the video sans explanation.

Rather than moping about it, he transformed the experience into a searing punch line, which he performed as part of a freestyle at this summer’s Manifesto Festival – a huge day-long hip-hop concert and arts fair at Yonge and Dundas.  The crowd responded with a collective “oooh”, like toddlers transfixed by some shiny object.  His was one of the breakthrough performances.

“Oh yeah, I wanted that bad.  I don’t like to toot my own horn but I know how bad I wanted that show [laughs]. I got to that one stage where I knew I was going to have the attention of the people.  I remember [my friend and collaborator] KJ afterwards came up to me and was like, “yo man, it was almost like you blacked out!”

Frequent collaborators?

Malcolm X and Huey P. Newton make several appearances on Preemo Donna, either through sampled vocals, references, or on the album artwork.  When pressed about how he developed an interest in reading black consciousness  material, Spek offered the following.

“I guess I could say that the dose of reality that I was hit with one I got out of high-school made me want to research and start digging into books and start educating myself with things I wanted to know. I was in the real world and I was faced with real situations and real problems, [so] I developed this hunger for knowledge.  I started researching.”

Who are the Zongo Boys?

Spek surrounds himself with a creative ensemble, a collective of artists that he has draped with the title Zongo Boys.

“In Jamaica they call it the gully, in North-America they call it the hood, out in Ghana they call it the zongo.”

And what’s the aim of said Zongo Boys, and the larger movement that Spek has defined as the Zongo Nation?

“Overall I just want to represent my nation.  The aim or the development, which I’m 100% sure [I will arrive at], is for me and like minded people in a position to be able to rally others to come together, so that we can work towards several different uplifting causes and movements for the continent of Africa.  For our families and our loved ones.”

Click here for a free download of Spek Won’s Preemo Donna mix-album.