Cee most definitely isn’t someone you’d expect to see in Canada. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia with a passionate love for all things Hip Hop, he has followed this path for well over a decade. Music journalism, social media and artist management have all been part of the journey but being an MC was the catalyst that caused him, along with his brother Notion, to sell everything he owned and move his life to Toronto (initially) in order to pursue his musical dreams. The crew (now independent record label), The Movement Fam, was signed to blogger Kevin Nottingham’s HiPNOTT Records label in 2009, and this was the main incident that sparked the urge to permanently relocate to the wild north. After spending two years in Toronto, it was time for a change so Montreal was the destination.
Cee has been quite the prolific artist, releasing numerous projects with various groups over the years, including Cee & Bekah (three mixtapes – including one with Mick Boogie & Terry Urban – and a compilation album from 2007 to 2010) and Soul District (‘Da Mixtape’, 2004), but after going solo in late 2011, things have been moving a lot faster. In 2012, he released a three volume series of eclectic mixtapes entitled ‘The Indie Experiment’, rapping over full-length indie rock/alternative/folk/dubstep/metal songs and filling in the gaps with his rhymes, something that has most likely never been done in this fashion – like ever.
Two thousand and thirteen was an incredible year for this industrious MC. In the twelve months spanning the beginning of the year, he has released no less than twelve music videos; his first solo EP ‘Steps To The Peak’, released in September 2013, entirely produced by Montreal staple Dr. MaD (Alaiz) and featuring only artists out of the 514 (except Notion, of course); ‘The Movement Fam Presents Cee & Notion’s #RoadTrippin’ Summer Tour 2013′ – the debut tour for Cee and Notion, which saw them rock 15 shows in six cities across three provinces, including two graffiti festivals, four dates on Winnipeg’s Abstract Artform’s ‘As The Crow Flies Tour’, and opening slots for Hip Hop legends Raekwon, Mos Def and Oddisee. Since then, the two have also opened for Australian superstars Bliss N Eso and Hilltop Hoods, Jeru The Damaja, The Pharcyde, Slum Village and Black Milk, rocked four dates on ‘The Golden Tour’ in February 2014 with Canadian veterans Ghettosocks, Relic and Fresh Kils, did another four dates with Chicago’s The Palmer Squares on their debut Canadian tour, and five dates with Dallas/Atlanta’s The Bodega Brovas over the summer. They even headlined their own mini-tour of regional Ontario in the late winter of 2015, aptly titled ‘Get A Tour Up Ya’.
After ‘Steps To The Peak’ received accolades such as hitting #1 on two occasions on Montreal’s CJLO’s Hip Hop Charts (beating out Shad), and #4 on their overall charts – all before officially submitting the project to the station – alongside a slew of Top 10 spots on radio across Canada, it’s clear the world was ready for Cee’s debut LP.
The album, ‘This Is All I Know’, was extraordinarily well-received – debuting at #6 in Canada and #8 in Australia on the iTunes Hip Hop charts, and #91 in Canada and #66 in Australia on the overall all-genres charts. This is an incredible feat for a debut album from a completely independent artist – and it was achieved with literally $0 budget. The LP features production from the likes of the legendary Illmind (Kanye West, 50 Cent), Hezekiah (Bilal, Musiq Soulchild, Bahamadia) and Styalz Fuego (360, Chamillionaire, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes), and guest vocals from Ras Kass, Emilio Rojas, Hezekiah, Chaundon, Toronto’s Aria Zenua, Montreal pioneer D-Shade and two-time Grammy nominee Jonathan Emile – an extremely impressive line up for the first time off the blocks.
As of 2015, Cee is busier than ever. He has four separate collaborative EPs coming with talented MCs D-Shade (produced by Digital Martyrs), Livin’ Poetry (produced by A-Fos), Notion (who is also producing the project) and SVNTY6, alongside his sophomore full-length album entitled ‘Relentless’, all produced by Montreal’s Clarity using live musicians and no samples.
Alongside all the musical pursuits, Cee is a passionate craft beer drinker, running a popular blog, podcast and YouTube series (‘Beer And Other Shit’) and collaborating with Phoenix-based craft beer clothing company BrewHeads on the world’s first craft beer rap song with custom merchandise. It’s all a work in progress, y’all.
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