*Canadas Next Top Emcee*
The Emsee is the humblest rapper that you can’t touch on the mic. He’s the unassuming white guy in the corner who jumps on stage and drops jaws. The Emsee, whose name is a play on his legal name’s initials (Mathew Cathcart), dismantles stereotypes and makes his claim as one of a kind in a game full of replicas. With a deep respect for the elite lyricists of the genre, he’s a natural story teller with an affinity for concepts. And beyond his skills, he carries an all or nothing confidence in his art, one that doesn’t depend on co-signs or chart success. With little help, encouragement or resources, The Emsee prefers the company of two things; his mind and his mic.
In grade school, some kids performed well in sports, others excelled in math, but Emsee was always clever and quick witted with words. He started putting words together as a way of getting attention early on. By middle school he was known for his intricate wordplay, which far exceeded the normal skills of a twelve year old. And in high school, he’d found a place to record in the bedroom of a classmate and recorded his first freestyle, a 20 bar verse over a popular beat February 2006. Music quickly became his best friend. Every week he’d visit the studio and record a new verse over an industry beat. And every week he’d hand out CDs to his classmates.
“I wasn’t that social as a kid,” explains Emsee. “Music was my best friend for a lot of years. I’d rather stay inside and write music or practice rapping than go out and meet up with friends. It’s funny though, because eventually my music put me in very influential positions socially. Teachers used my CDs as rewards to keep the classes calm and they would always call me to perform at school gatherings to get the school’s attention.”
A natural master of ceremonies from this young age, Emsee admits he wasn’t even a rap fan until around the time he started rapping. Growing up hearing predominantly radio top 40 and his parent’s oldies, he caught onto rap around 2002-2003 to the sounds of Eminem, 50 Cent and Jay-z. It wasn’t until later that he reached back and discovered prominent pioneers like KRS One, Gangstarr and others. During this time he also became a fan of Canadian acts like Maestro Fresh Wes, K-os, DL Incognito and Classified.
And after releasing his debut album in January 2009, Emsee won a contest which landed him a single produced by Classified himself. The #1 vote getter in a contest to see who could create the best remake of Classified’s song “Trouble,” he gained his first major piece of recognition. He took another step when his music was accepted by MaxTraxx, a satellite tv radio playlist. Even despite the recognition, Emsee prefers to be the underdog.
“I don’t act like I’m the shit,” explains Emsee, who released The Life I Love produced by Classified soon after. “I stay low key and then when it’s my stage time and people think I’m going to suck, I blow people away. And when they see me on stage, they get that I really want it.”
Riding the inspiration of The Life I Love, Emsee named his second album after the single and released it June 2010. The album achieved modest local recognition with a nomination for the Hamilton Music Awards Best Hip Hop Album of the Year. It also marked Emsee’s first full length project over original production and put him on a path to opening for D12, Royce Da 5’9, Danny Fernandez, The Envy, Jahvon Paris & Peter Jackson.
The Emsee is uniquely no-nonsense in his approach to music. His success rests on his own definitions and reflects an intense sense of self worth. He almost prefers to be counted out, because he knows he’s got the goods to show any doubters he can really spit.
“You got to make it happen if you want something,” he preaches. “You got to go to sleep thinking about it, wake up thinking of it. You got to think of your dream constantly and go get it if you want it. So I’m just being myself. I know what I’m not and I think if more rappers were real with themselves their music would be better. So me, I keep it thorough. I know where I’ve been and what my strengths are and as long as I can continue to find pieces of my story that people like and search out all my soon-to-be fans, I’m confident I’ll make it.
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