Local rapper releases single to coincide with Olympics

Taken from the January 28, 2010 Chronicle Herald online

A gold medal for timing

Local rapper releases single to coincide with Olympics
By JASON TEAKLE
Thu. Jan 28 - 4:53 AM

Classified, an Enfield rapper, shoots a video for his song, Oh Canada, from his 2009 album Self Explanatory in downtown Halifax earlier this month. (ANDREW VAUGHAN / CP)
In what appears to be a gold-plated marketing strategy, local rapper Classified released his new single Oh Canada just in time for the Olympics.
As athletes prepare to head to Vancouver, the single, which glorifies all things Canuck, is sure to be pumping through speakers near you.
"I told them we gotta get this video out before the Olympics," Classified, whose real name is Luke Boyd, recalled telling his production team.
"With the vibe of the Olympics, people are very proud to be from Canada."
Since the release of the song’s video on Jan. 17, a mere week after it was shot in downtown Halifax, sales of the song at the iTunes online music store have risen by 350 per cent, Classified said.
The iTunes Canada music store lists Oh Canada as the 37th most popular audio download from the site.
In Oh Canada, the Enfield rapper makes references to Canadians loving their beaver — not the kind on the nickel — and smoking marijuana because we consider it legal, while borrowing notes from the national anthem in the chorus.
The video even features Mr. Lahey, the character from the Trailer Park Boys television series played by John Dunsworth, swilling liquor right next to Classified while he raps in a crowd of fans dressed in red and white and flying the Maple Leaf everywhere, including a painted version on a pregnant woman’s belly.



The rapper said he wrote the song as a result of travelling outside the country and seeing different perceptions of Canada.
"We’re Canadians and we’re proud of where we’re from, so let it be known," he said.
He said he wrote the beat for Oh Canada about two years ago, then messed around with lyrics and decided he was on to something good.
Classified said Canadian musicians don’t think people take them seriously.
"It’s tough to be a Canadian musician," he said. "Most of us don’t make a lot of money."
Ed McHugh, who teaches marketing at Mount Saint Vincent and Dalhousie universities, said the decision to make Oh Canada a single just prior to the Olympics was a smart one.
"It’s brilliant from a business standpoint," said Mr. McHugh. "I can’t think of a better time for him to release the song."
Mr. McHugh said Classified’s level of success in reaping the financial benefits of a patriotic song during Olympic fever will depend on how well Canada does initially in Vancouver.
"A lot of the success of his song will come down to how well the teams do in the early going, and with that, television coverage will pick it up, people will get on board and then things like this can grow," he said.
Mr. McHugh said Canadians will be drawn to their own artists during the Olympics, though he isn’t positive the rapper will have quite the same audience as the Games.
"I’m not sure that the target audience for hip hop is the same audience that will follow the Olympics that closely, so there is the possibility of a miss here," he said.
"I don’t know if younger people, who would be more inclined to gravitate toward this song, will actually be watching the Olympics as much as the older generation."
Radio host R$ $mooth, also known as Ryan Somers, at 101.3 the Bounce in Halifax, said the target audience for the song doesn’t matter, only that it’s Canadian. Mr. Somers, who knows Classified personally, said the rapper’s timing of the song’s release as a single was intentional.
"The way the video worked out with the Olympics, that was definitely timed," said the radio host. "It’s a go-to song for those who may not be familiar with Canada. It introduces them to the stereotypes and pokes a lot of fun at them, and it shows Canadians have a lot of fun with who they are."

( jteakle@herald.ca)