Toronto Love: Jason Bad Newz Taylor

Jason "Bad Newz" Taylor is the youngest of five siblings, and from a Jamaican and Grenadian background. "Bad Newz" was a childhood nickname derived from Taylor's skills in basketball that "just stuck" over the years. The 29 year old North York resident was soft spoken and polite when we met back in March. We were able to meet with an interview for the blog after I saw him perform as a part of the cypher, opening for Gza of Wu Tang at the Opera House in Toronto. A memorable and one of those you-had-to-be-there times of the year.

Taylor, myself, and all of the other attendees at the concert had this sort of collective effervescence, if you will. Durkheim will tell you, this can't be experienced in its exact form by those who were absent.
During our convo about the specific details of the concert, Taylor filled me in on his past dabblings with music and what he wants to pursue in the future.

Currently, Taylor is a part of band of MCs in Toronto called the Winner's Circle. He had nothing but good things to say about the current members of the group, citing that fellow artists, L The Twelfth Letter, has a promising future. Taylor spoke highly of all the members saying, "We're definitely something. We're going to do something major".

In the future, Taylor would like to venture off to work with artists like Melanie Durant, Lights and Nelly Furtado. I found it impressive that he refuses to confine himself into a little tiny box of strictly hip hop, or strictly ... whatever. The question of authenticity always lies in hip hop with how hip hop you are, and how much you are not. This all seems to be based on minor details that stray away from music. Taylor recognizes this and simply states, "I like what I like".

The topic of credibility and "going commercial" was an interesting one. My past interview with Aion Clarke divided the terms "successful" and "famous" into two different career paths. Taylor chooses to be successful over famous and definitely respected. He says, "I want people to see me. You can be famous for the wrong reasons... [clears throat] Kim Kardashian. It's not my dream to become the next Jay-Z and be a zillionaire".
Contrary to what a lot of underground artists may believe, Taylor claims that going commercial isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would be if you were modifying your goals to suit "the money". In other words, the dedication to music is definitely redefined to suit each individual, yet the goals should remain the same-- to pursue music, for the music, not for the money.

Taylor's first CD was Queen Latifah's Black Rain, and he remembers ripping the plastic wrapper and saving his lunch money to buy it. Growing up with music constantly played at home, who is surprised that Taylor has an extensive collection of music?

So what is this rapper/cd collector/ambivalent thinker up to next? He talked about a possibility of the first EP with the Winner's Circle, and his first solo project called Dirty English.

Taylor says, there are a lot of rappers in Toronto. Dirty English is "just my entry to the pie".