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Harper is a deep well of knowledge, himself a piece of an institution.
Harper is now a producer at the CBC, working on the public broadcasters flagship arts magazine showQ.
HenceThis Is Not a Drake Podcast.
What were the origins of this podcast?
On paper, theres absolutely nothing wrong with that, except I felt it was ten years too late.
Drake has been a known factor in the Canadian hip-hop scene from the very beginning.
I probably went on a really long rant with Josh Bloch, the showrunner.
This was probably a year before I actually came onboard.
He had a sense that the CBC wanted to do this doc with me.
And they were open to my treatment.
Do you see the project as a way of correcting the record?Yeah …
I mean, I cant lie and act as if there werent other ideas in play.
They are, after all, shareholders, who pay for the CBC through their tax dollars.
I remember when we first embarked on this thing.
That first episode literally wouldnt have happened if I didnt have these relationships.
So, the series itself is a dive into hip-hop history.
And the larger Toronto and Canadian hip-hop communities, as well.
That was the very first thing.
Then there were the things I wanted to talk about.
Its what Ive covered as someone doing a hip-hop variety show back in the day.
And then there is the whole relationship between hip-hop and R&B.
I mean, of course, this is Drake.
Im an 80s dude, I came up at a time whenRakim hopped on Jody Watleys song.
That was a big fucking deal.
And look where we are now: a rapper is basically an R&B singer.
I just wanted to chart that journey.
The series is much shorter than most podcast documentaries.
Thats such a rarity in Toronto.
I dont know a lot of Black producers, specifically that would work in radio.
They do exist, but most of them wouldve come from something else.
Ive always had my focus be on storytelling through the lens of audio and radio.
Thats still the case.
It can be a lonely space, particularly when youre dealing with anti-Black racism within that system.
Because who do you talk to?
Artists will get it, but they have their own community.
They can deal with trauma and stuff like that.
So, yeah, its been pretty lonely.
