If you’ve paid any attention to the Alberta hip-hop scene over the past few years, you’re likely more than familiar with Evrlove Blake and his burgeoning squad, Evrlove Music.
The 7-man unit has put the scene on their shoulders and have been working hard to expose their sound to the rest of the country. And Blake’s plans for 2018 should definitely have a positive impact on that campaign.
The 28-year-old artist – who spends time between Calgary and Edmonton – is currently gearing up for the release of his new project, Love & Chaos. It’s an 8-track mixtape that Blake has been working on for the last while, and is now expected to come out in July.
“I’m ready to drop the material I’ve been working on since I was 25. At the time, I didn’t feel like I had all the necessary parts on the team to push through, but I feel confident we have all the pieces at the right time to make this happen now.”
To wrap up the month of April, Blake teamed up with seasoned director Steve Van Diest to release new visual support for the project. They chose to work with the Manny Made-produced single, “Ghetto Love,” which is already available on streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify.
“Ghetto Love” was the basis for me reaching out to Blake to find out more about his overall game plan, that and the fact that he had just appeared on another big video coming out of the Prairies.
Calgary artist Eazy Mac released the “Save Me” video in support of his new album, Music for the Lyrically Impaired, and Blake is featured on the single. To date the video has been received over 80K views.
Blake is expected to release more video support for the project in advance of the its July release.
“I wanna be able to take listeners on a ride through my mind with my next couple of visuals.”
Check out the Q&A with Blake below where we talk about the video, Love & Chaos and more.
“Ghetto Love” is HipHopCanada’s Song of the Day.
Q&A: Evrlove Blake
HipHopCanada: Who or what was the inspiration for Ghetto Love?
Evrlove Blake: I would not say it was inspired by a who, because the record was also a reflection of my self. Kind of like a collaboration of things I was experiencing. It was a chance for me to shed light on my circumstances.
HipHopCanada: How would you describe the video’s concept? Why did you choose Steve Van Diest to direct it?
Evrlove Blake: The concept was to keep it as creativitly simple as possible. It was a moment for me to show viewers that one emotion that inspired the energy of the record. And Shoota Steve is my guy! He gets my crazy mind and takes the time to grow this vision with my team.
HipHopCanada: “Ghetto Love” is your latest, but you’ve been on the scene for a good minute now. What song are you the proudest of? Why?
Evrlove Blake: That’s tough to answer only because I feel I have not shared enough music yet. They all resonated differently with me based on the energy I was feeling.
HipHopCanada: What can people expect from your new project Love & Chaos?
Evrlove Blake: Diversity. I have been working on my sounds for the last two years and kept my releases to a minimum. I feel now I’m at a point where I will be able to showcase my creativity and diverse sounds to an audience, and have them understand it.
HipHopCanada: Which producers and artists did you work with to get it done?
Evrlove Blake: A lot of the project was done by my producer, Evrlove Artafacts. It was nice to be able to sit down with him and explore pushing the limits of our sounds. As for artists for this project, I kept it limited just because I felt I was locked in a basement working on my sound for so long. I wanted to be able to share all the progress my team has made.
HipHopCanada: Will you be releasing any more videos in support of the project?
Evrlove Blake: I have alot of material to share prior to Love & Chaos. I wanna be able to take listeners on a ride through my mind with my next couple of visuals.
HipHopCanada: Will you be touring in support of the project?
Evrlove Blake: We have a couple things in the works. It Will be nice to finally get out there and be heard this year. Came at a good time for me.
HipHopCanada: What’s the latest with the Evrlove crew? Do you guys have any collaborative projects in the works?
Evrlove Blake: We have been really focused on developing sound and having enough material to keep following up with new projects. I am actually working on a project with a couple dope local artist that I feel definitely needs to be heard as well, I’m excited about it.
HipHopCanada: How do you feel about the growth of the Alberta scene over the past few years?
Evrlove Blake: I love it. I feel there is a lot of talent out here developing an attractive sound that will force it’s self to be heard.
HipHopCanada: What’s your take on the latest Kanye controversy surrounding his views on Trump and comments he’s made in recent days?
Evrlove Blake: Kanye is a G! (Laughing) And I say that because I can always respect a man who is not scared to be himself and express his crazy mind. I mean, it’s only crazy till someone deems it genius.
Follow @EvrloveBlake on Instagram.
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Written by Jesse Plunkett for HipHopCanada
