Mastermind

Sometimes life comes full circle ⭕️ In 1987 when I was in Grade 9, a friend on my street suggested I follow him to York University because the campus radio station was looking for someone to do a HipHop show. By this time I was already (in my mind) mentoring under @djronnelson and his groundbreaking/legendary #FantasticVoyage show on 88.1…He nicknamed me ‘Mastermind’ because of (back then) my nerdy knowledge of HipHop…When I got to York I was introduced to the PD @kyigit34 who told me he heard this kid on 88.1 the week earlier asked me if ‘I knew who Mastermind was??!’ And I said ‘that’s me!!’ and that’s how I got my first radio show (in the 2nd pic, my show is the one in the top left corner) and the start of a long career…CHRY, 1987 is where/when it began (that 3rd pic is in, the then lobby of CHRY, probably 1990) and now 34 years later, thanks to @imanifest4purpose (someone who has the same vision, respect and commitment to Black Music/Culture as I do) I get to return as the new Program Director/Content Manager of @vibe105to I couldn’t be more excited! There’s a misconception as to how a radio station like this is “supposed” to sound and I’m here to change that perception…It’s a work in progress but I encourage you to listen to it, in your car or by downloading the app to your devices or listen via the online player…If you love HipHop, R&B and Reggae/Soca/Afrobeat (aka The Culture) I promise, you won’t find a better station in Toronto (or maybe anywhere)!! This is the re-start of what I’m hoping is something special 🙏🏽

If someone told me that being a part of SiriusXM would be something I’d be doing, I probably would have rolled my eyes…Just never thought about, if that makes sense?! Well, not only am I a part of the SiriusXM team but I helped build & develop, program & launch a brand new channel (Mixtape: North - Channel 164) and now I’m super excited to announce that my brand new show “The Jump Off” will start airing THIS Monday August 7th!! Super wild that MY voice will be on the same SiriusXM platform as @realsway @djpremier @djwhookid @llcoolj @champagnepapi @kevinhart4real and so many other giants!! 🤯 IF you got @siriusxm - you can catch me on Mixtape: North - Channel 164 - Monday’s at 7 EST, Wednesday’s at 8 EST, and Friday’s at 6 EST… IF you don’t have it - get it and tune in!! “The Jump Off - hosted by Toronto Hip-Hop pioneer, Mastermind…Whether current superstars like Drake and The Weeknd or legends like Kardinal Offishall and Choclair…He’s been there and done that!! Music, news, interviews and more with that Northern Touch”

M A S T E R M I N D by @raisedwithfilm

Airwave & Mixtape Icon: Mastermind. 📸 by @raisedwithfilm

I AM MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, but not all of my brothers start off that way. Sometimes you think you have ZERO in common with someone, maybe because they look different then you, think differently then you do, come from a different neighbourhood or have a different culture…then you may be blessed to get to know them and realize that you’re closer to them, sometimes even more than your own blood relatives. @mastermindlive is an icon and one of the longest running DJs/radio personalities who’s been holding down the culture of hip-hop in Canada for well over 30 years🙌🏾🙌🏾He was a kid when he was on 105.5 way back, and over the years, he has many times been one of the ONLY representatives for hip-hop on commercial and satellite radio in the North. He has been cool and has photos with probably all of your favourite emcees, deejays and superstars and has held it down for us through his mixtapes, record deals, and radio shows-but that’s not why he’s my brother… Mastermind is someone who I can call at any time of day or night and would be at my crib in minutes if I needed him to be. We’ve helped raise each other’s children, we’ve travelled, WE HAVE ARGUED, we built furniture, we painted, we have celebrated each other, we have argued😂🥳, we offer each other important perspectives on life and he is my real brother who I can depend on and who I know checks for me all the time, as much as I check on him. My ninja who ain’t a ninja but is my ninja. 🥷 Sometimes people who deserve it the most never get their flowers while they are here. I am not over-exaggerating when I tell you that hip hop in this country would not be where it is today, without the contributions of my brother, Paul. I wouldn't be who I am also. Today I thank him on behalf of everybody who has ever got the opportunity to rock with him. I thank you for being a great friend and having my back (loose). Tek your forward yout. You’ve earned it many times over. I AM MY BROTHER’S KEEPER. New song dropping on Monday.

NY State Of Mind @jonjonramos

Last month, rap fell out of the Billboard Hot 100’s top 40 for the first time in 35 years, which is absolutely bananas. Though it’s back now (thank you @theestallion ), it got @elamin thinking: what’s the state of rap right now? Experts @michellesfresh @jsmooth995 and @mastermindlive came on to tell him what rappers are thinking about the industry and how on Earth they fell off the charts - even if just for a brief moment. Link in bio for the whole fascinating conversation 🎧 #rap #rapmusic

Today we celebrate the 25th anniversary of my official major record label release “Mastermind Presents Volume 50: Street Legal” You didn’t know I put out albums??Well I did…And along with being a DJ, I was also a radio mixshow host…I actually had the first ever hiphop mixshow on commercial radio here in Canada…I was also a pretty popular mixtape DJ and both of those things led me to getting signed by Virgin/EMI Records back in the year 2000 (sounds wild to even say it like that) and on October 31st 2000 my album was released….The concept was to contiue my mixtape legacy but also create new and original music as well…A big part of the concept was artist collabs (con’t in comments)

Back in 1999 there was a mixtape raid in Toronto/GTA which ultimately ended my mixtape series…Last tape to drop was #48…it was a great run! However, my great friends @big_c1 and @duanewatson had other plans…They both had been working in the music biz on the record label side for at least half a decade at this point and were now at Virgin/EMI…They proposed an idea…Sign a record deal and keep putting out mixtapes, legitimately via the record label…By this point I had already released one commercial mix CD through an independent label but this was bigger…Not just licensing music but getting a budget to make original music and shoot videos, like a real artist…Take those original tracks and combine them with licensed tracks to make a legit label released mixtape…I never went looking for this, but I loved the idea and said yes…We immediately started brainstorming ideas…And we landed on ‘how about we keep the mixtape series going?! We’ll do a promotional tape to set up the album mixtape release…” So the concept of “Vol:49 The Setup” leading into “Vol: 50 Street Legal” was born…But what do we do for 49?!? Collectively we came up with the idea of doing our version of Tony Touch’s classic 50 MC’s mixtape…Get the best MC’s from Toronto and Canada and have them ‘freestyle’ over licensed beats to help promote the upcoming Vol:50 Album… Continues in comments

@mastermindlive - From turning up my nose to licking the plate clean — curry was a slow burn that became a lifelong love. As a kid, I couldn’t stand the spices… now, I chase them. 🌶️🔥 🎥 by @directedbyfarid #MasterMindEats #CurryConversion #FromHateToHeat . . . #fyp #explorepage #love #instagram #photooftheday #travel #food #reelstrending #trendingnow #viralcontent #foodreels #cookingathome #tastyrecipes #easyrecipes #recipe #travelreels #wanderlust #roadtrip #Fibermaxxing #chef2k #2ktravels #motivation

When he’s not running two of the hottest Hip-Hop & R&B shows — one on the FM dial, the other on SiriusXM — @mastermindlive is in the lab (aka the kitchen) cooking up something just as fire: butter chicken with that @the_chef2k twist. 👨🏾‍🍳📻 Music, flavor, culture — all in one pot. Stay tuned. Big vibes on every dial. #MastermindRadio #Chef2kCollab #ButterChickenBoss #SiriusXM #FMFlow #HipHopAndRNB #FromTheStudioToTheStove #TorontoEats #FoodAndFrequency . . . #fyp #explorepage #love #instagram #photooftheday #travel #food #reelstrending #trendingnow #viralcontent #foodreels #cookingathome #tastyrecipes #easyrecipes #recipe #travelreels #wanderlust #roadtrip #fibermaxxing

“The Jump Off” 100 Episodes!! That’s wild to even type…Never in my wildest thoughts did I think I would have been asked to build and create from scratch, launch, program and curate a channel and host a show on @SiriusXM 🤯 Mixtape: North - Channel 164 debuted Oct 11, 2022 and The Jump Off started Aug 7 2023…And here we are, 100 episodes deep! Thank you to anyone and everyone who’s tuned in, listened and supported me and the channel, it means a lot…And you’re welcome to all the artists that have been played/heard exclusively on Mixtape: North…It’s an extremely important platform for HipHop/R&B artists from Canada…A big thank you to the entire team at SiriusXM for trusting and believing in a guy who loves the culture…Catch the 100th episode of The Jump Off 6 times this week…Mon 7am and 7pm / Wed 8am and 8pm / Fri 6am and 6pm 🙌🏾👊🏾