Sep. 09, 2009 - Issue #725: Sex in the City 2009

The Joe

Rap sheet: Local workaholic rapper pushes his limits

Local Edmonton rapper The Joe is just one side of Joe Gurba's creative schizophrenia. He's also an illustrator, record collector, youth worker and runs the artist label Old Ugly. In a word, the kid's creativity is relentless.

"I need to be busy," he concedes with a grin, as if it weren't apparent. He's putting up two CD release parties for his latest record, Ut Oh, and although his prolificacy could easily fill both shows, he's opted to invite several artists from the Old Ugly crew to share the stage with him. "[That's] the best thing about a rap crew: the voice keeps changing," he alludes. "There's something really hip hop about this 'pass-the-mic' mentality, you keep hearing a new voice with new flow, something completely fresh."

For a rapper who admits to being "fed up with rap," the pursuit of something fresh speaks more to his appetite as an artist than anything else. Ut Oh is a sprawling collection of hyper-literate rhymes, tongue-in-cheek criticisms of post-modern culture, experimental hip-hop, "personal prayers" and even a Belle & Sebastian cover.

"It's my first record in three years, so it's like I'm a different artist. I'd been writing poetry the year before, so I hadn't really focused on rap at all," he explains. "About the same time, I booked an opening for GZA, so I tried to gear at least some of the songs towards a hip-hop thing, but ... it just came off as really pretentious—which it is—so that's why the record's very polarized. Some of it's really heart-rendering and some of it's really cheeky."

This polarization creates tension on the recording. It's the conflict of an artist seeking to shape culture and gain legitimacy while dismissing the superficial rites of passage in maintaining a hipster stance. "It's more like a defense mechanism, where if it doesn't go well, you just say, 'It was a joke.' And if it does go well, you can say, 'It started off as a joke.' It's like a built-in way for never feeling bad about yourself."

Gurba need not worry. His legitimacy stems from the integrity and scope of his creativity. And besides, Ut Oh is really good. Gurba's appetite for mile-a-minute lyricism can leave your head spinning if you're not prepared to keep up with how smart he is, and how much weight he can pack in a rhyme, whether he's "re-thinking the 'battle rap' problem" or calling out the absurdities of a white-Canadian, middle-class upbringing. His collective creativity results in an infectious, hilarious examination of a post-Facebook existence, candidly (w)rapped in his sincerest geek-rap sensibilities. While hip hop and Old Ugly may provide a safety-in-numbers for Joe the rapper, Gurba the artist possesses all the talent and skill to go it alone. V

The Joe
Fri, Sep 11 (9 pm)
With Doug Hoyer, Warrior Music
New City, by donation

Sat, Sep 12 (8 pm)
With Mikey Maybe, Mitchmatic, Rappers Are People, CBT, Rap Club
The Hydeaway, $5
All ages

New comments for this entry have been turned off and any existing ones are hidden. We apologize for any inconvenience.