If you’ve been following the Toronto hip hop scene before it started getting the attention it’s getting now, you’ll definitely know about Brishop Brigante. He’s recorded several tracks with Drake, before the fame and collaborated with the late Nate Dogg, MC Lyte, Sticky Fingaz and more. He recently dropped his new album “Legacy” and this is legendary for the local music scene. It’s been a long time coming and it’s finally here. We caught up with Bishop Brigante to catch up with him on what he’s been up to and what he has going on. Check it out below.
Tell us about any accomplishments or what you’ve been doing while you took a break from music.
Usually if I’m not doing music, I’m either busy with my acting stuff or helping run King of the Dot with my team over there. I actually made my return to the battle rap ring last February and since then have had a couple fire match ups that you can see on YouTube. I would say that returning to the ring and doing well would be one of my bigger accomplishments since I’ve released music.
Your album is fire. What’s your favourite track off it?
Thank you so much. That might be the toughest thing to narrow down because just picking out those eight songs out of the hundreds I have was hard enough. But every last one of those songs on Legacy have a certain place in my heart as a favourite.
What do you think of the Toronto hip hop scene?
As far as a scene, I feel like it used to be a lot bigger when we didn’t have as much exposure as we do now. It’s tough to recreate the vibes we had in the early 2000’s because there was a different energy and almost a stronger support from clubs, radio and shows in general. Now that everyone lives on social media, people don’t really need to be anywhere networking or building relationships because you can do all of that digitally. It’s a gift and a curse because on one hand it’s amazing how fast you can get your stuff out there and meet people, but on the other hand, actual relationships and that sense of real legwork with your music is gone. So that feeling of a “scene” is a lot smaller than it used to be.
Who are you top 5 favourite rappers in Toronto right now?
My top five that I listen to and check for would be Big Lean, Re Up Rexx, Gilla from Reps Up, Tona and P Reign. I still have Lean and P Reign on rotation in the whip from their last mixtapes. The Re Up Rexx stuff I have is unreleased to the public so I’m giving y’all some exclusive info lol
What are your next steps? What do you have coming up?
Musically I’m working on a new album called Kennedy Rd and so far it’s some of the best stuff I’ve ever written. I’ve been really inspired lately so I’m taking advantage of that moment. I’m also developing a couple of foundations right now that helps give back to the kids in my community. In the next couple of months you’ll hear about those in more detail but there’s going to be some great things I put into place for the kids. It’s always been a dream of mine to put some extra action behind some of the things I say in my music. These foundations will be great for that.
Any final words or shout outs?
Shout out to my real supporters for sticking with me this whole time, I appreciate all of you. If you’re new to my music and you like what you’re hearing, look for me on social under @BishopBrigante. Thank you guys so much for taking the time to have me on your site.
