BRITISH COLUMBIA - LOCAL ARTISIT SPOTLIGHT
TIMOTHY WISDOM
Dropping Knowledge in the Form of Beats
A
nyone who has seen a Timothy Wisdom show can attest to the fact that this guy
truly brings a form of wisdom to his shows. In a frenzy of DJing, rhymes, singing
and energy, Timothy Wisdom brings the house down every time he plays.
It’s not uncommon to hear five, six, even seven genres fused together in a set. This
guy was a master of “partyrocking” before we even had a name for that type of super
genre bending fun time partying. If you’ve ever been to a festival in Western Canada,
chances are you’ve had a chance to see this guy drop a set, a lyric, or perhaps even
just some a quick hyping on the mic. Timothy Wisdom has been dropping his brand
of knowledge across the Canadian festival circuit for years.
We had a chance to catch up with Tim about ABBA vs. gangster rap, his bests of 2013,
and what the next calendar year has in store for this Canadian talent.
You’ve chosen Wisdom as your surname. What does “wisdom” mean to you?
Oh I didn’t choose the name “Wisdom”. It was given to me. My Dad always said, “A
wise many knows a little about everything and a lot about one thing”. So I strive to
learn something new every day, and right now my focus is on music production.
When you perform, are you trying to impart some form of this to the crowd?
When I perform, I try to be very “in-the-present”. By that I mean, I don’t focus on the
past or future - just what’s happening right now. My freestyle is focused on people in
the room, making each performance completely unique. And my shows aren’t very
serious - I’m far more into loosening people up and giving everyone a good time.
What makes you feel like you’ve had a good show?
A show is going off when the audience is just as excited as I am - people are cheering,
high fives are a plenty and you can feel a sense of careless abandon through the air.
024 djmag.com
On that same tip, have you ever thought of collaborating with the Fungineers?
Totally - we’ve been friends since I moved out West and I’ve visited their amazing
laboratories a few times. We’ve shared the same stage a bunch of times and, of course,
we’ve worked on music together. I have a lot of love for the Fungineers crew and their
super fresh take on the party scene.
When this interview is released, we will have collectively ringed in 2014.
That means it’s time for “best of” lists. We want to know some of your
bests! What was your:
You obviously have a deep-rooted musical history. What was the first act
that you remember being a fan of?
My parents introduced me to ABBA when I very young and I remember singing Super
Trouper around the house. When I was old enough to make musical decisions myself,
I heard gangster rap for the first time and was amazed at the ‘raw-ness’ compared to
all the pop I’d heard on television and radio. I began to seek more rap and found DJ
Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince, whose album “He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper”, made me want
to start making rap music. In grade 9, I bought turntables and started crafting juvenile
hip-hop songs for my friends. By the time I got to University, I was raving.
Word on the street is you’re quite the Burner. If you could see any act there,
who would it be and why?
Daft Punk - ha! There’s a very funny Burning Man joke that comes up every year at the
Burn. Someone starts a rumor that Daft Punk is playing at some random camp at some
random time. Every year some virgin burners fall for it and spend all night looking for
a party that never happens. But wouldn’t it be cool if they actually showed up one year?
It’s been talked about down there for years so eventually it has to happen.
I read in another interview, that you plan to incorporate costumes into your
performances, as well as audience interaction, singing and dancing. I’m
dying to know what these costumes might be?
Oh we’re already full steam into set designs for shows! For 2014’s New Year’s Eve, I’m
playing the role of Zeus in a play that happens throughout the party. Long Walk Short
Dock will be there too - playing my arch nemesis - the Cyclops, and we’re going to
battle it out on stage (and over the sound system).
Favourite track of 2013 –
Lewd Behaviour’s remix of “Ready, Set, Party”, a tune that Busta and I originally did
was absolutely ͵