Ghettosocks strikes chords in Halifax

photo: Kelly Clark

My girl Kool Krys blessed a gawd with her pen for the Dal Gazette. Read the whole truth after the jump.

source: Dal Gazette
by Christina Stefanski (Staff Contributor)

Ghettosocks smiles coyly and glances down at his feet. “I have a problem, I won’t get rid of them,” he says, looking down at his socks. “Even if there are holes in them, I will wear them.”

When Darren Pyper first came to Halifax four years ago, his outfit was comprised of a sarong, a Chinese hat, a sweater, beat up shoes and tattered socks. During his visit, someone jokingly called him “Ghettosocks.” The name stuck.

Ghettosocks forged a reputation in the city, frequently appearing on CKDU-FM’s hip-hop program Maple Mothership and hosting local break dancing battles. His eccentricity was soon revealed, as he often arrived at events eating a banana or holding an umbrella.

In the fall of 2002, Ghettosocks co-founded Public Rap Distribution (PRD), a weekly outdoor free-styling circle for rappers, beat boxers and break dancers. From there, Ghettosocks, along with his hip-hop group Alpha Flight, moved on to host “Droppin’ Science,” a weekly hip-hop night at the Khyber Arts Centre.

Droppin’ Science featured local DJs and rappers and an open mic, which gave aspiring rappers an opportunity to interact with other artists. “We moved indoors, which was a big enough thing for us, especially after PRD,” he says.

Today, PRD remains the same, though its participants have changed. “It has passed on to another generation,” says Ghettosocks. “Last time I went, I hardly knew any of the people there. I was looking at these people that have been rapping for a year, and in comparison, they are better than I was when I was their age.”

Local artists say they appreciate Ghettosocks’ contributions to the local hip-hop scene.

“[Ghettosocks holds] the foundation of the whole city stage so others have a platform to be inspired by,” says DJ, producer and recording artist, Jorun Bombay. “He’s a foundation layer. That’s in most cases more important than being just a rapper in Halifax.”

Jesse Dangerously (a.k.a. Jesse MacDonald), local rapper and host of CKDU-FM’s hip-hop show The Pavement, agrees. “I think Ghettosocks is a strong and positive contributor to the Halifax hip-hop scene,” he says. “As a rapper and as a beat-maker he has sophisticated styles that are accessible to a broad portion of the diverse palette of hip-hop listeners.”

Understanding musical production has allowed Ghettosocks’ persona to evolve. His two solo albums, Colors and Zoo School, weren’t mastered and he considers all his music projects before Alpha Flight’s Battle Royale to be demos. “I now respect a lot of things to do with post-production, like mastering,” he says.

Ghettosocks follows a specific method to create beats. He picks out unused or peculiar sounds and creates a sample to build on. “Searching for samples is part of my whole creative process,” he says. “I search for unique sounds that strike a chord.”

When selecting samples for his beats, Ghettosocks incorporates themes and sounds from various genres. He remembers the excitement he felt when he first recognized samples of other genres of music in rap music. “The bass line, for instance, would get me,” he says. “I was realizing that all my favourite songs were sampled from source materials.

“There are different influences for me in terms of music,” says Ghettosocks. “I’m trying to do my own thing. I listen to all types of music, jazz, South American, Italian funk and soul.”

“Music has different flavours and it reminds me of different things,” he says. “So it’s good to listen to various genres.”