It’s a busy time for Toronto rhyme spitter Set2. Known by his peers as a humble, chilled out cat that can rock the mic, the emcee recently dropped his Under Promised, Over Delivered mixtape on the same day that Beyoncé unexpectedly released a full-length video album. Not one to be overshadowed, Set2 made sure the 21-track, all original, all Canadian product would catch people’s attention by taking it back a bit, and focusing on physical copy distribution versus the typical online route. Now he is ready to rock one of the city’s most respectable monthly hip-hop shows, The Big Ticket, on the same night that he drops a new single called “Just Friends” featuring Oriana and produced by the Juno-nominated Rich Kidd, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
HOW DID YOU GET CONNECTED WITH THE BIG TICKET? I was just aware of the showcase. Its online presence is definitely heavy. On top of that I’m an industry type of guy, I’m a fan of this music first, so I seen that they were putting on some of my favourite artists to listen to as a fan. I like to watch them perform so it just seemed like something an artist of my caliber should be involved with as well. I just ended up going out there, more so as a fan and ended up getting on a few of their showcases.
WHY DO YOU THINK SOMETHING LIKE THE BIG TICKET IS IMPORTANT FOR TORONTO? Quality control, there’s a lot of showcases out there that tend to just load up on artists, and talented artists tend to get lost amongst not so talented artists, so a stage like the Big Ticket, you know you’re getting quality with the artists that are touching the stage. They’re the heads that the powers at be at the Big Ticket, you know they’re fans of this music as well, I feel they have good ears in terms of what can propel this Canadian hip-hop culture forward.
WHAT DO YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR YOUR SHOW THIS FRIDAY? Well I just want to show them the consistency and the stage presence to show that Set2, everybody who sees me, they think a humble, chilled out person, but at the same time when I touch that stage the music is serious and it speaks volumes. When I hold the mic, and when I command the crowd, it shows I’m not playing basically… Big up Chris and the whole Big Ticket for lighting a fire under a lot of artists in Toronto, every artist in Toronto has to take that challenge and strive for better.
“There’s a lot of showcases out there that tend to just load up on artists, and talented artists tend to get lost amongst not so talented artists, so a stage like the Big Ticket, you know you’re getting quality with the artists that are touching the stage.”
HOW DO YOU GET READY FOR YOUR LIVE SHOWS? Me personally, I really don’t even think about it because for me being on stage is so comforting, so I don’t really prepare for it, but I’m always in my head so that would be my preparation.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT THIS MONTH’S BIG TICKET? Basically the Big Ticket energy, seeing the crowd, the response from the crowd, and just the spotlight. That crowd and the stage is what I feel like really represents Toronto and just being on that stage is a blessing. I’m just blessed to be a part of it.
Interview By. Priya Ramanujam
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