Hip Hop Icon Maestro Fresh Wes & Veteran Music Producer Dub J Talk New Single “Wish I Could”

The Canada music scene is better than ever!

The new single “Wish I Could” with with a Toronto A-List roster of JRDN, Maestro Fresh Wes, JD Era, Bizz Loc, Turk, Roney and Jelleestone has been hitting the charts as soon as it released, a #1 chart single.

The popular single just recieved three UPN6XT Hip Hop Awards nominations. The song has been nominated for “Song of the Year,” Collaboration of the Year & “Producer of the year” Voting closes June 30. Click link to vote https://www.upn6xt.com/upn6xt-hip-hop-awards

We had the honor of asking the two on the basis of the single, their personal music goals, and more.

Q: If you could work with any artist in the future, who would it be and why?

Dub J – “For me… I’ve had the pleasure to work with a ton of artists. One that really stands out to get a song with is Nas. I’ve been a fan from the beginning. I love his writing and storytelling. I prefer making timeless records over trendy records so Nas would for sure deliver a classic.”

Maestro – “King Dapz. He’s lyrically dope. He’s a lyrically skilled emcee I’d love to work with.”

Q: Tell us about your new charity single, “Wish I Could”

Dub J – “Wish I Could” is constructed and produced by me, Canadian producer Dub J. The song features seven prominent Toronto artists Maestro Fresh Wes, JRDN, JD Era, Bizz Loc, Turk, Roney and Jelleestone using their voices to bring awareness to the gun violence plaguing the city.

This record marks an extremely important milestone in Canadian Hip-Hop. It’s a bold statement made alongside intergenerational voices to convey a powerful unified message to the people of Toronto at a time when many lives continue to be lost to senseless gun violence. 

We are proud to say that “Wish I Could” went #1 on iTunes Hip Hop and All Genres charts, has been covered by more than 200 media publications including CBC, CBC Q, CTV, CP24, City News, eTalk, ET Canada, RX Music, iHeart Radio, Yahoo News and more importantly has accomplished our goal of bringing national awareness to the gun pandemic plaguing the city of Toronto.”

Q: What has been your reaction to seeing the single being nominated for 3 awards?

Dub J – “I think it’s fantastic. It’s one thing to be nominated for industry awards. It means something a little different when it’s the fans and your peers behind an award nomination or victory. Upn3xt is doing amazing things for the city of Toronto, so I’m personally honored to have these nominations in the first of what will be many years of Upn3xt Awards.”

Q: Tell us about the powerful “Enough is Enough” movement?

Dub J – “The ENOUGH IS ENOUGH movement was founded while making “Wish I Could”. We wanted to have something that lives longer than the song. We felt with our collective fan bases and contacts we could come together with a unified team to help bring awareness to the issue of gun violence in Toronto. We’ve already done some amazing things. We held an amazing resume writing and job readiness workshop with Maestro Fresh Wes and industry leaders. We’ve had JD Era and Roney join youth sessions with various organizations. We released an app to allow users to be notified in real time when there are shootings and respond with positivity.  https://enoughisenoughto.com/app We’re just getting started.”

Q: What is the rap-scene like in Canada?

Maestro Fresh Wes – “Diverse. Influencers come from different generations and different regions. We’ve developed our own slang… our own style.”

Dub J – “My opinion is that it’s massive… but lacks business sense. There is no shortage of talent. The talent really hasn’t found the right ways to conduct business though. Everyone is too caught up in clout and social status when they should be focusing on making good music and building a real fan base.”

Q: Where can we vote for your single for the UPN6XT Hip Hop Awards?

“We’d appreciate any votes we can get. Voting ends on June 30th.  Visit https://upn6xt.com/ and vote for “Wish I Could” for Song of the Year, Collaboration of the year and vote for “Dub J” for Producer of the Year.”

Q: Where can we follow both of your amazing journeys as artists?

@TheRealDubJ on Instagram and https://dubjmusic.com on the web

@MaestroFreshWes on Instagram and https://maestrofreshwes.net on the web