DORIAN GEIGER
Sports Editor

If Canada’s hip-hop spectrum had its own Dr. Dre he would most surely be found in Vancouver rap artist Kanabliss Tha Supaspliff.

The Fijian-Canadian rapper started making waves after his first solo LP Adventures of tha Supaspliff dropped in 2007 but first got his name out with the collaborative hip-hop group Brown N Proud. Pairing up with producer Audio Ninja, the two have solidified Canada’s part of the west coast North American hip-hop movement. Unlike most hip-hop, Audio Ninja utilizes all organic beats as opposed to sampling on Kanabliss’s tracks. Their style is a cornucopia of funk and soul.

Along with Kanabliss’s Cypress Hill-esque flow and lyrics touching on the urban lifestyle of Vancouver, Kanabliss’s demeanour is purely west coast. And like a true west coast rapper, Kanabliss even owns a real low-rider: a 1960 green Ford Thunderbird.

Since coming up, Kanabliss has embraced his coastal identity and has even reached out to prominent U.S. west coast artists to help build upon the G-funk movement in the north. Working with rappers Daz Dillinger and Kurrupt — both of whom were featured extensively on Dr. Dre’s Chronic 2001 album and have recorded songs with 2pac — Kanabliss has managed to raise the profile of west coast rap in Canada considerably. Kanabliss has also recorded and performed with legendary west coast hip-hop heavy weight, Too Short.

Rather than just labelling it west-coast Canadian hip-hop, Kanabliss likes to term what he’s pioneering as the “Vanstadam” movement — but the descriptor encompasses more than just music. The 35-year old east-side Vancouverite claims it’s a lifestyle.

And being from Vancouver, Kanabliss doesn’t shy away from the topic of marijuana and is very adamant in including a verse here and there about the potency of “B.C. bud,” often referring to Vancouver as Vanstadam in many of his rhymes.

“Vanstadam be the home of the stinky / resin in my rhymes make your fingers get sticky,” rhymes Kanabliss on his track “Hurt Somebody.” And on another track, “Chronickles,” Kanabliss spits, “I’m thinking of a minor plan / it ain’t nothing but the ganja inside my hand.”

Kanabliss reiterated that when U.S. artists roll through Vancouver to perform or record for the first time, they are always awed by the superior quality of west coast chronic.

“A lot of the U.S. cats come down here they know don’t about the weed (in Vancouver) until they smoke it,” said Kanabliss over the phone from Vancouver last week.

Since Kanabliss has been working with Daz Dillinger and Kurupt, the three have become friends with each other but Kanabliss couldn’t help but be surprised by the copious amount of marijuana Daz and Kurupt consumed.

“But when Daz and Kurupt came down — those motherfuckers can smoke dog,” said Kanabliss of the prominent west coast rappers.

“We gave them like maybe about three ounces and they were done in three or four hours. And they were like, ‘Yo man we need some more.’ They’re funny cats. Daz is a little bit more quiet. Kurrupt is a little bit more social.”

Kanabliss’s clothing store Eastside Urban Wear boasts its own line of Vanstadam clothing and merchandise and in the near future Kanabliss hopes to be marketing a Vanstadam energy drink along with rolling papers too.

Kanabliss will be bringing his west coast vibes to the prairies when the MC plays at Alleykatz on July 23 with DJ 151 and at Hip-t.r.o.n.i.c. night at Vangellis in Saskatoon with The Gaff, Jiddles, the Intelligentlemen and DJ RamaDan on July 24.