Brockway Biggs

What music are you listening to / art are you checking out these  days?

Mostly Canadian hip-hop, I just had Edmonton's Ira Lee send me a neat project.  Off the top of my head, a few tracks I'm really feeling right now are Boz Faramone's "BBQ", Phat Kat's "Cold Steel", T.I.'s "You Know What It Is."

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

If you give up your vote, you're giving up your freedom.  There is unfortunately a lot of corruption and greed in this world.  We're fortunate to live in a country where the people can stand up for change if the government they elect doesn't represent the stance of the majority.  For every person who doesn't stand up for their beliefs by voting, that gives an advantage to someone else's views. As a youth, understanding politics can be daunting.  If youth at least get out to the poll and make a choice, it gives them a chance to better understand the process and be aware of the candidates in their riding. 

What music are you listening to / art are you checking out these  days?

Mostly Canadian hip-hop, I just had Edmonton's Ira Lee send me a neat project.  Off the top of my head, a few tracks I'm really feeling right now are Boz Faramone's "BBQ", Phat Kat's "Cold Steel", T.I.'s "You Know What It Is."

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

If you give up your vote, you're giving up your freedom.  There is unfortunately a lot of corruption and greed in this world.  We're fortunate to live in a country where the people can stand up for change if the government they elect doesn't represent the stance of the majority.  For every person who doesn't stand up for their beliefs by voting, that gives an advantage to someone else's views. As a youth, understanding politics can be daunting.  If youth at least get out to the poll and make a choice, it gives them a chance to better understand the process and be aware of the candidates in their riding. 

What music are you listening to / art are you checking out these  days?

Mostly Canadian hip-hop, I just had Edmonton's Ira Lee send me a neat project.  Off the top of my head, a few tracks I'm really feeling right now are Boz Faramone's "BBQ", Phat Kat's "Cold Steel", T.I.'s "You Know What It Is."

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

If you give up your vote, you're giving up your freedom.  There is unfortunately a lot of corruption and greed in this world.  We're fortunate to live in a country where the people can stand up for change if the government they elect doesn't represent the stance of the majority.  For every person who doesn't stand up for their beliefs by voting, that gives an advantage to someone else's views. As a youth, understanding politics can be daunting.  If youth at least get out to the poll and make a choice, it gives them a chance to better understand the process and be aware of the candidates in their riding.  

For you, is there a connection between art and democracy? What is it?

Art is the right-brained thought of a nation. Democracy is the left-brained thought of a nation.  The combination makes a nation more balanced and complete.  Without art, the government can become too rigid.  Art plays a strong role in making people aware and can force the democracy to be more accountable.  In the US, take Kanye West speaking out against George Bush as an example. We are lucky that we live in a democracy that embraces and provides funding for the arts community. 

Why do you care about community when it is so easy not to?

Without community, you're alone.  As an artist I've endured a lot of struggles. I see so much talent and potential in the Canadian hip-hop scenes, that I can't help but feel compassionate for their struggles.  So I like to share what I've learned to try and build up a strong support network.  However over time, I've realized there are negative and bitter people who want nothing more than to break others down.  So I tend to be a bit selective in who I support nowadays. It's an unfortunate reality of the world today.  So it can be hard to care about community those days when a person tries to sabotage your efforts to help others.

What do you look for in a politician? What do you expect from your MP?

I think compassion, experience and a sense of reality are important.  I like giving new people chances, but at the end of the day, I have to give the benefit of the doubt to an experienced person who has mostly done a good job.  Important platform aspects I value include the environment, education and community.