It is with deep sorrow that we report on the loss of yet another budding talented member of the Canadian hip-hop community. 33-year-old Medicine Hat, Alberta-native Jamie “SixFire” Dexter sadly passed away in Edmonton on May 5 after an accidental overdose. Certainly a huge loss for Canadian hip-hop, the Alberta hip-hop community and most of all, his family.
As can be seen in the family’s obituary listing for their son, they were highly supportive of his passion for hip-hop and overall love for music. Along with working on his craft as a producer, SixFire was also an Apprentice Electrician at Edmonton’s Pronghorn Controls and was quite the athlete. He inspired his younger brother Reece “YoungAspect” Zazulak’s love for hip-hop and the BAXWAR-member now produces for a gang of great artists including Madchild, Snak The Ripper and Merkules, to name a few.
“The quality I liked most about him was he was real, he was protective of his little brother,” Aspect recalled. “His artistic quality is the root of what inspired me to kill beats too.”
SixFire played a role in introducing hip-hop to Aspect at quite an early age – “I found a Wu-Tang Forever CD (Disc 2) in Jamie’s room in 1996, I was 6 and SixFire was 15. Jamie had to boot for me to buy the Marshall Mathers LP because I was underage.” [Laughing]
But it wasn’t until SixFire had discovered Aspect’s new found talents that he decided to try his own hand at production. Being musically inclined, he learned the craft quickly and it wasn’t long before he was sending out beats to artists and looking for placements on projects. He teamed up with Ill Roc Records and did work with Diggy, Danny Diablo, and the rest of the Ill Roc crew. He also formed another group called Fire Giant with Denver’s Morbski aka IBIS Giant. His stock as a producer was growing rapidly and the world had only heard a piece of what he had to offer creatively before he passed.
“I love every beat he did,” said Aspect. “The Fire Giant (SixFire + Ibis Giant) albums are hard. Fire Giant’s Saucer Men is one of my favorite albums, was refreshing when I first heard it. The stuff with Ill Roc Records are all hard. The joints with Snak are dope, ‘Final Step’ is a classic in my opinion.”
One of the saddest things about his untimely passing is SixFire was just starting to really get his name out there, and his allegiance with Vancouver rising star Snak The Ripper put him in a great position to grow. He was working hard. He produced two dope records on Snak’s Fear of a Snak Planet project (the aforementioned “Final Step” and “The Mirror”) and was already working with the Stealth Bomb general on more projects.
Snak commented on the significance of SixFire’s contributions to the Fear of a Snak Planet mixtape and how the tragedy has affected him.
“The track we did for ‘The Mirror’ has always been my favourite. It’s the most popular track on my F.O.A.S.P. tape. I’ve had numerous fans message me saying that the song changed their life. I listen to it and still get goosebumps. He did an amazing job on the beat and it inspired me to write something deeply personal. I never thought in a million years that either of us would actually pass from an overdose. I still can’t believe it. This song will forever be a reminder to myself of how dangerous substance abuse is. I still struggle with it every day.”
In a strange twist of fate, the last song Snak and Six were working on together was a fictional account of Snak himself passing away at the hands of an overdose.
“About 6 months before his passing we spoke about making ‘The Mirror 2.’ He had recreated the beat with the same sample but added new change ups, harder drums, and an over all cleaner production quality. Here’s a direct quote from Jamie I found in my email about the new song:
‘This Is the rest of the story… at the end of the mirror Scotty flatlines, the beginning of this track is when he has been resuscitated, and tells the story of how he has changed everything, and what he has turned around since. haha that’s how I see it anyway, peep it and let me know if you feel me. either way the tacks coincide..’
Snak will be completing the song in his friends memory and will release it as a single in the next few months.
“All the proceeds and money collected from iTunes sales will go directly to Jamie’s family.”
With a lot of great music already available and material still to be released, SixFire’s memory is sure to live on. Snak is one of several people with a plan to keep his friend’s name alive.
“I loved how driven he was to work. He always stayed on top of emailing me with new beats and always had great ideas for concepts. If I didn’t like the way something sounded, he would change it. He worked super hard on his craft and that’s a quality only the best producers have. He was a great guy and I’m gonna miss him. He is going to live forever through the music we have created and yet to create.”
Aspect revealed plans for a new project on SixFire beats and graffiti murals paying homage across Alberta.
“His Edmonton crew is going to get down with me on a project with all SixFire beats. RAST from YEG just did a big graffiti mural saying RIP SIXFIRE. CRIPL from Voltron Crew did one in Calgary, they are both ill as fuck. Salute to them for that. Diggy from Ill Roc just showed me a preview of a documentary they are working on about SixFire.”
Needless to say, he was incredibly well-respected and appreciated by his peers. Aspect would be the first to tell you.
“He was a solid dude, he did anything for me and his homies. For example, my dude Nomatik told me a story the other night, about when he bought some beats off SixFire. He told Nomatik to get Skype, they talked and SixFire asked him questions like what he was looking for, who he listens to, and wasn’t satisfied until Nomatik was. Not a lot of people put that amount of passion into making money. Even at Tim Horton’s they fuck your order up. So doing what you love in life is important.”
Be sure to keep your eyes open for the SixFire tributes. We’ll make sure to post them on HipHopCanada and if you have one you’d like to share, please let us know.
“SixFire aka Jamie Dexter was an amazing producer, friend, brother and son, and will be GREATLY missed. RIP brother.”
We would like to express our deepest condolences to SixFire’s family and friends during this difficult time.
Rest In Peace, Jamie “SixFire” Dexter.
Written by Jesse Plunkett for HipHopCanada
