DNA6

What music are you listening to these days?

MC Dosia: I’ve been listening to a lot of Talib Kweli and Mos Def, Mack 10, WC and A Tribe Called Quest. But mostly, I am writing so much that I don’t have time to listen to a lot of other people’s music. I spend a lot of time listening to beats that I myself, or someone that I’m affiliated with have made. I think that has helped me find my own voice in hip hop and assisted me in achieving my unique sound.

m.prime: Today it's Sufjan Stevens, David Axelrod, Danny Elfman, Shad, Prefuse 73...

Alex: Any music that has meaning and inspires.

What music are you listening to these days?

MC Dosia: I’ve been listening to a lot of Talib Kweli and Mos Def, Mack 10, WC and A Tribe Called Quest. But mostly, I am writing so much that I don’t have time to listen to a lot of other people’s music. I spend a lot of time listening to beats that I myself, or someone that I’m affiliated with have made. I think that has helped me find my own voice in hip hop and assisted me in achieving my unique sound.

m.prime: Today it's Sufjan Stevens, David Axelrod, Danny Elfman, Shad, Prefuse 73...

Alex: Any music that has meaning and inspires.

What music are you listening to these days?

MC Dosia: I’ve been listening to a lot of Talib Kweli and Mos Def, Mack 10, WC and A Tribe Called Quest. But mostly, I am writing so much that I don’t have time to listen to a lot of other people’s music. I spend a lot of time listening to beats that I myself, or someone that I’m affiliated with have made. I think that has helped me find my own voice in hip hop and assisted me in achieving my unique sound.

m.prime: Today it's Sufjan Stevens, David Axelrod, Danny Elfman, Shad, Prefuse 73...

Alex: Any music that has meaning and inspires.

Why should people, especially youth, vote? 

Alex: Youth should vote because it is a right that has been earned by men and women generations ago to provide a voice for the people.

m.prime: I think the act of voting is as important as the vote itself - it's this moment where you are asked to make a careful choice as part of a collective, and one that you know will affect the people around you; it may be one vote in a million, but it's what you have to say, and that's an important statement. Once you start considering your place as a member of a community, local or global, you start seeing how some of the other choices you make in life affect more than just the life you live.

MC Dosia: Our fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, great grandfathers and great grandmothers fought and died for that right. If you don’t vote, then they died in vain. We should all feel privileged to live in a society where everyone has a say in what kind of future their country is going to have. I think democracy still has a long way to go, but it’s US who make it what it is. So VOTE!!!!

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

MC Dosia: Music IS a democracy. It allows people to speak their views without being censored. It’s an unstoppable force because people want to hear the truth. Musicians can relate to the “average joe” because they…for the most part, ARE “average joes”, and unlike the government and the news, they’re not solely driven by the almighty dollar. That’s why us musicians and song writers need to be more conscious of what message we’re sending across, because people are listening!

Alex: There has always been such a connection. It is the ability of music to unite people in a common goal that has enabled this relationship.

m.prime: Both are connected by choice. Choice is a powerful connection between people, and we react emotionally over the choices we make. People should want to make choices for themselves, from who our leaders are, to what we're reading and listening to, down to what we're wearing and eating. A lot of times we don't. A lot of times we should.

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

Alex: Without community, a sense of cold, futile emptiness can often inhibit certain aspects of life that are fundamentally necessary. In a way, community is a broader concept of family.

m. prime: Because looking back on my life up to this point, I know for certain that I wouldn't be where I am today without the communities I've lived and grown in. That's not to say that I'm anything special because of where I grew up, but I know that people around me have directly and indirectly had a huge impact on who I am today as a person and an artist. I know then, that I've had an impact on those people in turn - I can only hope that my role has been and will continue to be a positive one.

MC Dosia: I think a lot of people have lost sight of the big picture….WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. We all need each other working together to make this world a more enjoyable place to live. Giving back to the community that you live in is important. Say hi to your neighbor, pick up a piece of litter, volunteer, conserve water, reduce the amount of waste one produces. Those are all very easy-to-do things that make a huge difference in any community. The sooner we realize our actions or inactions greatly affect other people and vice versa, the better off we are.

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

m.prime: Someone who tells the truth, who makes decisions that help instead of placate, who remembers that they represent the people who elected them. Someone who balances the wants and needs of that community. Someone who steps up, who likes kids, and who has seen more of Canada than the province they came from. Someone who listens. Someone who acts.

MC Dosia: I expect an honest person who follows through with his/her promises. Too many politicians have other people writing their speeches and speaking for them. I would like to see some of them speak their own mind so we can hear what they believe to be worthy obstacles for us as citizens to overcome. I have a hard time buying into the sincerity of a politician who only reads what is put in front of him instead of getting involved in the lives and struggles of the people he/she represents.

Alex: I look for a well-spoken MP that remembers the basic principles that made this country the great land that it is. I expect someone in office to remember Tommy Douglas.