Who: Halifax’s self-proclaimed “Multiple Personality Kid” and ex-Hip Club Groove member.
Where: Phone interview from his crib in Truro, NS.
When: 12 November 1995

Boognish: What does the name Sixtoo refer to?

Sixtoo: Uh, it’s just my height.

Boognish: Your last tape you put out was called 4 Elements. Can you explain the four elements of hip hop?

Sixtoo: Uhm, yeah, I don’t know. At the time, it was like, it seemed to me that the four old school elements were DJ and MC and graffiti and breakdancing. But, since I’ve put out that tape, I think I’ve looked at hip hop from a different perspective and I think now there’s five. Cuz, hip hop production, I think, has become an element of hip hop because it’s so commercial now. And I think, if you’re going to be in the game of hip hop, you got to be able to produce some really good stuff, you know.

Boognish:You do everything on your tapes. You rap, write, DJ, produce and make the cover art. Why do you keep it all to yourself?

Sixtoo: Well, I don’t know. I’ve worked with other people. Like, my first tape was produced by Stinkin’ Rich and Jorun. And that was fine, but it was just a step for me. I feel like I’m confident enough in every area that I can do it well by myself. And I like to have the creative control over every process, you know. I just think it represents me more if I’m doing everything instead of, like, leaving it in the hands of other people, you know.

Boognish: Do you ever plan to get a DJ if you tour or whatever?

Sixtoo: Oh, if I toured I’d have a DJ, I think. You know, I think if I was going on the road, I’d probably take Jorun or Rich or whoever wanted to do it for me. I mean, there’s a lot of good DJs that I’m pretty much in with, you know.

Boognish: What is your relationship with Stinkin’ Rich?

Sixtoo: We’re just friends. He produced some tracks on my first tape. I’m producing some stuff on his new stuff. Uhm, we’re just close friends.

Boognish: Alright, who was the original “Multiple Personality Kid”?

Sixtoo: [laughs]

Boognish: I notice both you and Rich talk about having different personalities.

Sixtoo: Well, it’s just, like, I don’t know. Rich has influenced me a lot, right? I mean, that’s quite evident. If you listen to my stuff then you’ll know that we’re close, right? Uhm, I don’t know, he’s always had three personalities, like just producing, Djing and MCing, right? And my stuff is just on some other shit. I don’t know, you know.

Boognish: How did you hook up with Witchdoc Jorun?

Sixtoo: Uhm, just from the Groove. I used to be in Hip Club Groove a long time ago. And I met him through CKDU, like just trying to get our shit played on the radio when he was working up there with Rich a long time ago, like five years ago. And when I went out on my own, he offered to hook me up and, you know, he’s a fly producer, man. He hooks up some wicked shit. And he’s, like, just for hands on DJing skills, he’s the best on the east coast. There’s no question. So, I’d definitely work with him.

Boognish: So, you’d work with him in the future, if possible?

Sixtoo: Maybe. I don’t know. I think at this point right now I’m just content putting out my own stuff. I mean, I’d let him DJ on some of my songs, but his musical production isn’t the same as mine at all. My new stuff especially. Like, I’m going to record my CD in February. It’s definitely going to be a lot different than 4 Elements and even the one before that. I think each one of my tapes has been a step, right. And I think 4 Elements was just another developing step. Because, I mean, I was out of it for a long time, right. And I’m still basically getting back into the stuff, you know. I don’t know, I’m to the point now where I wanted to quit music for so long but I just couldn’t. It’s just one of those things I just wanted to do for myself, basically, get back into the music.

Boognish: Why did you want to get out of music?

Sixtoo: Ah, there’s just too much bullshit, you know. I mean, doing shows and getting fucked-off for loot. Especially when you’re like, paying for everything yourself. Like, right now I’m paying off all my own gear: my turntables, my sampler, everything, right. And when you got shitty promoters scamming you for loot off the door, like at Café Ole, you know, just like all these people that are trying to fuck you, right. I mean, that’s just the way the music business is. Either you gotta fuckin’ throw blows with the best of them, or else you gotta pack, you know. It gets to the point where I wanted to pack for a long time.

Boognish: This CD that you’re working on, is it being put out by yourself?

Sixtoo: I’m not really sure yet. I think if somebody offers to put it out for me then I’ll probably take the offer, right, just because I’m in such a financial bind right now. But, I think [Len’s] Marc Costanzo might put it out, or maybe one of the Halifax labels.

Boognish: So, you haven’t had Murderecords asking to do that yet?

Sixtoo: I don’t think they’d ever ask me.

Boognish: Oh really? Why not?

Sixtoo: I don’t know. Just because I’ve stepped on their toes a few times. Talked some shit about them. I don’t know. They’ve got their own thing going on. I wouldn’t put anything out with them, anyway. But, I mean, it’s just a conflict of interest.

Boognish: Oh, they just seem very helpful. They gave me the 4 Elements tape.

Sixtoo: Really? Wow, that’s cool. Glad to hear that.

Boognish: I’ve heard a rumour that the Big Truck Records compilation was yours.

Sixtoo: Yeah. It was mine and Craig Teebo. He’s a guy I used to be in another band with. The One Inch Punch, actually.

Boognish: What was the idea behind the Big Truck compilation?

Sixtoo: It seemed at that time that, you know, nobody was putting anything out in Halifax. I had some extra loot and so did Craig, and we just wanted to put out some bands that we were friends with. Not all the songs are really great, some of them are really funny, and some of them really suck, right? I mean, it was just, like, a friends kinda thing.

Boognish: You were in Hip Club Groove before Trailer Park Hip Hop. Why’d you leave the group?

Sixtoo: Uh, there was a coflict of interest. There’s too much instability. I mean, one night we’re doing shows with 2000 people, like playing with the Doughboys, and then the next night we’re playing, like, 35 people at Café Ole. It’s just too hard on the head.

Boognish: Is that when you thought about getting out of the game?

Sixtoo: Uhm, yeah, pretty much. And then, you know, I’ve tried something else. It just seems like whatever I do, it’s either too fucked up and people don’t understand it the way that I want them to, or you know, they just sleep on the product completely. I don’t know, it’s cool right now. Things are looking okay right now.

Boognish: What east coast Canadian groups do you think deserve some attention?

Sixtoo: I think the new Groove is fuckin’ dope, man. For sure, it’s really, really good. Rich’s new stuff is gonna be fly. Uhm, Ruffneck, he’s got it going on for sure. He can work a crowd just like puppets, man. And uh, Flex, he’s working with Jorun. And I think this kid Tyrone from Dartmouth, he’s fucking bad for sure. And Gordo. All them guys. I mean, each one of them’s on their own shit and they don’t give a fuck what everybody else is saying. I don’t know, it’s kinda like a group of punk rock MCs, I suppose. Yeah, I mean, nobody out here is trying to imitate. They’re all innovators. They’re each on their own shit, too, so it’s cool.

Boognish: What about anything from Toronto?

Sixtoo: I like Saukrates’ stuff. I just saw his video. It’s pretty cool. The thing about Toronto is I like the DJs a lot more than the MCs. Like, a lot of their DJs are so on point: DJ Power, DJ X. I mean, I lived in Toronto before I moved here, right, so I grew up listening to CKLN, like the DJ X and Mastermind Show, all that stuff. I think if I was ever to pay, like really pay tribute to the Toronto scene, I think it would be working with DJs there, or the producers there. I think Thrust is a really dope MC. And a lot of the older MCs that have kind of dropped out of the scene, like K-4ce, he was so on point, and uh, Sweet Ebony, all those guys. I like the Dream Warriors, too. I like the stuff that they do.

Boognish: Who’s been a musical influence on you?

Sixtoo: Musical influence? Well, I listen to a lot of jazz. Uhm, I love Tom Waits. Uhm. Hip hop production, I’d say, shit I don’t know. I don’t buy any new hip hop just because I don’t wanna fall into the SP 1200 thing. I mean, I’d love to have an SP 1200 so I could make dope beats, but I mean, I get by with the stuff I’ve got. Oh yeah, except for the new KRS-One album, I bought that. He’s a big influence, for sure. I suppose because, you know, he’s a writer, produces, DJs, all that shit, which is kinda along the same line as me. And he pays a lot of tribute to the old school. In terms of mainstream hip hop influences I’ve been directly influenced by, I’d say the old school; you know, like Cold Crush, Phantom, like, Five.

Boognish: You put out numerous tapes in a short time. How do you manage to put out so many tapes?

Sixtoo: Well, I do everything myself, right? And I just record off a 4-track in my room. So, I mean, you know, I buy a lot of records. I spend all my loot on jazz records, as you can probably tell, right? Like, I have my own sampler and stuff, so pretty much as soon as I write lyrics… That’s why a lot of times on my tapes the lyrics sound so sketchy and choppy. It’s because I’ll write the lyrics, or make a beat and then write lyrics to it, and then record the song right away. I don’t take time to practice them or anything, right. I just lay them down to tape and that’s it. So I mean, the CD is going to be a big step for me cuz there is the pre-production involved, but most the time there isn’t any pre-production of any sort, you know. It’s just whatever comes into my head goes down on tapes. I dub off my tapes myself. Well, my friends have been dubbing the tapes lately – Ant Records. The Motes, have you heard of them? They played in the Pop Explosion this year. The reason that I’ve done stuff with them is just because they have a very similar musical ethic to mine. So, I don’t mind working with them at all. Jay, when I didn’t have a 4-track, let me borrow his.

Boognish: What kind of equipment do you have?

Sixtoo: I had two turntables but I had to sell them cuz I was in deep debt, so I gotta get another set of turntables. Right now I’m working with a shitty Quanta 900 or some shit. I just have a shitty Realistic mixer and a Roland digital sampler MS-1. It’s like a four hundred dollar sampler. I work with bullshit. All my gear sucks. I mean, if I could have good gear… Like, when I go to do my CD I’m gonna rent some good gear so I can make shit sound the way that I want it to instead of just compromising.

Boognish: How does this compare with what Stinkin’ Rich is using?

Sixtoo: Well, Rich is now using Gordo’s gear, like when he does his stuff, so Gordo’s gear is a lot better than mine. He’s got a drum machine. I don’t even have a drum machine.

Boognish: You have a cleaner sound so I would have thought you had better equipment.

Sixtoo: Well, I mean, the thing is, when I make my music I basically just sample acoustic basses so I get a natural sounding bass. Uhm, drums, I don’t add anything to [it], I just take straight break loops and add some high end. So, like, sonically it’s correct, right? I have low end, high end, and middle. And that’s all I have. I don’t add any other stuff, except for maybe natural sounds, like rain or, you know, thunder. Whatever, right? I don’t know. Rich likes to sample from really weird places and he likes to pitch shift his samples quite a bit so the sound quality breaks down a bit. Plus, the 4-tracks they record on aren’t always as good as the one I’m using.

Boognish: What’s in the future for Sixtoo?

Sixtoo: I don’t know. I’m gonna put out my CD. You know, if somebody picks it up and wants to put it out, fine; if not, that’s fine, too, cuz it’s coming out regardless. And I’m hoping to tour this summer, and then I’m going to school. I think I’m gonna put music on hold if nothing happens. It’d be cool if something happened.

Boognish: How far are you planning to go on tour?

Sixtoo: I don’t know. Probably all the way out west and back, and then come back and go to school. Take graphic design. I suppose that’s what you do if you’re a graffiti artist.

Boognish: Who’s your favourite 90210 character?

Sixtoo: Dylan cuz he drinks a lot.

[Sixtoo later sent the following message to be printed:]

“my beats speak as loudly, if not louder, and with more emotion, than my lyrics, so listen to the beats. The Seeker. Sixtoo.”