Nyiam (Interview)

 I can't exactly remember how or when I first heard Nyiam, but it was round about the time we were looking for bands to put on the 0605 Records '#W06ld Dominati05' compilation, and as soon as we heard his flows we knew we needed him on the comp. An extremely talented Canadian, not just a rapper, but also highly skilled at production and beat making, and not only that, but he actually has a clue about the world around him and opinions on it - he's not just another dull MC rhyming about himself or bitches & guns. Sure, a lot of his rhymes are about weed, and we love that, but dig a little deeper and you'll find a whole world of conspiracies, ethics and opinions rarely touched by other rappers. He has plenty of albums, all for free download, over at his Bandcamp page (Nyiam Bandcamp), so go show our boy some love...




1: How did you first start to get involved with hip hop? What came first, making your beats or starting to rhyme?
I was always involved with music as a youngster, heavily influenced by my fathers music tastes of Jazz, Soul ,R&B and HipHop (LL Cool J, Pac, Mariah Carey,Black street, Boys 2 Men, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Chi Lites ) I was in and out of piano classes, played saxophone in school band and kept a journal for writing poetry throughout junior/high school years. I never really put together the rhyming and musical aspects till I started messing with digital music production when I was 17 (after the arrival of broadband internet and now influenced by my own music tastes which I picked up over the years) which allowed me to pull off a "one man band" situation and resulted in my first Album as a emcee and beatmaker "D.O.P.E" in 2010. So really I would say I started the beats and rhymes around the same time but never put them together till my late teens.

2: A lot of your lyrics, Tweets & posts on Facebook deal with waking people up, and getting people to look for the truth, and are heavily influenced by conspiracy theories. Do you think its hard to get people to look into things because of the negative connotations connected to conspiracies, or just because people don’t want to know? Do you think its important, as an MC, to carry a message in your lyrics?
They say there are only 2 mistakes you can make on the path to truth a) Not starting and b) Not going all way For those who allow the negative connotations attached to conspiracy theories to stop them from further investigation are no different then a young child who is afraid to go down stairs to take a wee wee at night because hes scared of what he may see. As for the major "conspiracy theories" concerning our governments and monetary systems ITS NOT A THEORY ANYMORE, ITS BEEN PROVEN. So I would call those who refuse to look COINCIDENCE THEORISTS, and they should come up with a workable model that proves all these happening are coincidence. If they can get over the fear of seeing what is currently unknown to them. Knowledge is the element of hiphop which has been there from the beginning, but unfortunately doesn't show its face in most mainstream hiphop. I believe the MESSAGE element of hiphop is the most important part, and without it you end up with what we have today as the mainstream "hiphop" scene, for the most part a whole lot of non sense.

3: You’re very outspoken when it comes to consuming animals, how long have you been vegi/vegan? What was the deciding factor in it? Is it hard to eat cruelty free in Canada?

I stopped consuming the dead flesh of other beings in 2011 after my body began to reject the idea on its own, I felt like I was forcing myself to finish the meat portions of meals, and soon after I decided to omit meat from my diet . In the following years I began an intense information synthesis on nutrition and the workings of the human body, mind, and spirit which confirmed my earlier dietary changes and prompted another change to a mostly raw , completely vegan diet (which by the way will change your entire life , something that must be experienced and cannot be shared through conversation only). Eating cruelty free in Canada (Toronto at least) is easy enough, there is a large community of health conscience people, organic farmers markets, and vegan/vegi dining locations through out the city. Its pretty awesome.

4: Whats the hip hop scene like in Canada? Is there any bands we should be looking out for?
I can't really say i know how the whole scene is in Canada but I can tell you that within the area I reside (The Greater Toronto Area) there is a huge scene which is overflowing with stellar artists from all walks be it DJ's Emcees Beatmakers Graff Artists and b-boys/girls. Some artists to look out for CLASS OF 93 (producer Astro Mega and Emcee Kzaraw) , ATEN TUT (emcee ) , CROOKLIN (emcee producer) , Anzola (producer) JOSH GRANT (Producer), just to name a few.

5: Where do you see Nyiam in the next couple of years, and how do you want your music to evolve?

I see Nyiam in next couple of years doing more abstract music, instrumental sound scape collages with spoken word . I want to integrate more information pertaining to raising human awareness back into hiphop and distance myself from the musical norms. I want to make people think for themselves instead of being told what to think.

6: The classic ‘My God Can Beat Up Your God’ question: With which people would you like to drink, fight & fuck?

I would love to burn a joint with Charles Darwin and chat about his theory of evolution ( like question 2 he was just forming a theory which is necessary to find truth) , but then I'd fight him after for writing the theory based on NO FACTUAL EVIDENCE IN THE FOSSIL RECORD TO SUPPORT IT. (which still hasn't been found to this day) 

 7: Any last words, shout out, death threats or final words of wisdom? Where can people check out your music?
Truth Reigns Supreme As Above so Below
As within So without.
peace and love www.thestoner.info

You can get a hold of, and check this awesome motherfucker out at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/irapsick
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nyiam
Bandcamp: http://nyiam.bandcamp.com/music