Where my Canadians at??

. . . because you’re likely the only population who might recognize this gentleman.

There’s truly a massive amount of music released every year and it’s hard enough to keep up with what your own country’s artists are doing, let alone every other country, even if it’s your neighbor. Sure, there’s plenty of crossover, but unless you’ve got Swiftian star power (Taylor, not Jonathan*) it’s entirely possible to attain critical acclaim and win awards at home and remain unheard of across the border.

Robert Terfry (nom de disque Buck 65) spent the 1990’s in Nova Scotia working under a variety of stage names, and with a variety of collectives, making avant-garde hip-hop on tapes he self-released and, later, under the auspices of a number of different indie labels. In 2003, he changed tack, making shorter, more commercial songs, rapping with a rootsy country and blues influence over his self-produced beats — and dividends were paid. As a result of his experiments with the less avant-garde, his album, Talkin’ Honky Blues (featuring “Wicked and Weird”), won the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year.

Terfry continued to make critically acclaimed music over the ensuing decades, but in recent years has focused on his radio programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He also wrote a book about his life as a musician, appropriately titled, “Wicked And Weird.”

Get to know your neighbor! Check out Buck 65:

* Just a tip for any writers out there who want to attract a younger demographic: along with mentions of Taylor Swift, kids love references to 300 year old Irish satirists who make ironic proposals about how to cure famine. Love ’em. Seriously, all over TikTok.