By Will McGuirk
Canadian Métis rapper Troy Junker has released a new track “4U” featuring LUVR, from the July 20, 2020 release ‘The Path’. Although Troy is originally from Saskatchewan he took a winding musical journey via Florida and arrived in Oshawa, signing up for Durham College’s Music Business Management program. While commuting to school he would pass Parkwood, home of GM Canada founder, which has a rich history but for Troy it was where the movie “Billy Madison” was filmed. That was the inspiration for his mix tape project, “Trilly Madison”. He has since graduated but we at slowcity.ca like to check in with our fellow alumni so we asked Troy some questions on whats been going on with the tunes and stuff.
Slowcity.ca: How was your time at Durham College and in Oshawa?
Troy Junker: “Even though Oshawa gets a bad rap, studying Music Business Management at Durham College was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. It was liberating studying something you really are interested in versus something easy or that pays well but you hate. I moved there only knowing one person (Fetchy) and I met a lot of my best friends at Durham. When I was younger, I dropped out of high school and didn’t care to study much but since I was interested in the music business, I didn’t miss any classes. I even made the honour roll because I enjoyed what I was learning. It was litty, the professors even let me do the assignments on myself to prepare for upcoming releases. I still speak to so many people today from the program.”
SC: What was the hip hop scene in Oshawa like during your time in the city - where did you hang, perform, create?
TJ: “We threw a few shows on campus but our program found a venue called The Moustache Club (RIP). They put on for a lot of local acts and they had a nice sound system. My roommate at the time Mike, was a big fan of throwing house shows on the college block, Dalhousie Crescent. That’s where we mostly hung, just around the college. I’d commute to Toronto often though to get involved in the music scene and get away for day/night trips.
“Durham College has a studio called, Push Play but I found it tough to book so I would create tracks in my room with my own equipment. I had this really big bedroom with a walk-in closet and I’d set up my gear in. When I’d do collaborations, I’d prefer to record in Push Play and then mix at home so there is a different vibe for the artists.
SC: How did the single “4U” come about, and why did you want LUVR involved?
TJ: “LUVR and I studied together at Durham College but for the time we studied together we never collaborated. We just hung out and became great friends. He recently moved to The Netherlands but came back to Toronto for a visit. While he was here, we spent a couple days cooking up beats and shortly after that, 4U was made. I wanted him involved because he’s so talented and has his own style. Once I heard his chorus, I was hooked and he was excited for me to lay down my raps so we made it happen. I feel like some songs are good and other songs are great and “4U “is one of the great songs.”
SC: I dig the Trilly Madison and Parkwood reference, you didn't shoot the video there however - tell me about the creation of the video for the song “4U”?
TJ: “The Trilly Madison EP was done a while back and “4U” is on the upcoming project, ‘The Path’. I didn’t shoot it at Parkwood because it’s really tough to book and gets to be too corporate when I tried to do stuff there in the past. Instead, we found a few locations in Toronto that suit the vibe better.
“I messaged my buddy The King Diverse to take care of the video. We never met until this year but both studied at Durham and have a few mutual friends. He’s been killing it lately shooting a lot of big videos in LA and I saw on his Instagram that he was back to Toronto for a month and I jumped on the opportunity to shoot with him. We did my parts here in Toronto and then LUVR sent footage from The Netherlands where him and his team filmed. After that, we shot the couples and I edited the video myself. It’s one of my favourite videos I’ve ever worked on.”
SC: Where does your heritage as Metis from SASK intersect in your music with your love of HipHop? Where did you hear HipHop first and why did it impact you so?
TJ: “It wasn’t until I started playing shows and dealing with adults that it started intersecting with my music. At the time, I was just in the streets doing wild shit. Being Metis really didn’t mean much to me when I was younger, I didn’t really think about it. We started playing more shows, travelling and meeting more people and I remember playing on a reserve and a promoter told me, “I wish you guys had cleaner content. There’s so many kids listening to you and the messages you’re putting out aren’t good”. After that, I started to make music with a little bit more of a positive spin to it. A few years later, I was shown a lot of support from Gabriel Dumont Employment and Retraining for my music and when we’d talk a lot, we spoke about how the kids back home go through so much shit. I started to think how my lyrics are very powerful on young kids and I need to make music to uplift people and not damage them.
“The storytelling of hip hop is what drew me in. The first rap song I remember hearing was “How Long Will They Mourn Me” by Tupac Shakur. The song was just so deep it made me go ‘Holy —’. As I kept listening to more hip-hop music, I was understanding how the artists I looked up to were expressing themselves and as a frustrated kid who just liked music, I started making my own. It gave me something to pass the time, create community, stay out of trouble, a way to make money, etc.”
SC: How have you been managing since Covid-19 hit?
TJ: “Since COVID-19 hit, I’m still giviner. I’m trying my hardest to video chat and talk to my friends and family more and passing time with making more demos from home. Right now, I’m living in Toronto and it’s kind of fucked up to be honest. Most of my friends dipped on the city and I’m right in the heart where things are weird. Things are getting a little better but it’s a weird time.
“On a positive note, I’m busier than ever with the release of, The Path. The only thing I wish I could do is go to Saskatchewan for a bit to visit my family and friends. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to do that soon.”
