Maestro Fresh Wes to receive honorary degree from St. Francis Xavier University

The “Godfather of Canadian Hip-Hop” is set to receive an honorary degree from St. Francis Xavier University next month.

St. FX says Wesley (Wes) Williams – known to many as Maestro Fresh Wes – will be recognized for “changing the course of music history in Canada,” as well as his philanthropy.

Williams, who lives in Saint John, N.B., will be honoured during fall convocation at the Charles V. Keating Centre in Antigonish, N.S., on Dec. 1.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

According to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Williams was born in 1968 and raised in a musical household in Scarborough, Ont. He discovered his passion for rapping at age 11 after listening to his father’s copy of “Rapper’s Delight.”

In addition to rapping, Williams went on to learn breakdancing and became a skilled DJ. His 1989 debut album, Symphony in Effect, became the first Canadian rap album to receive platinum certification.

The album’s lead single, “Let Your Backbone Slide,” is considered one of the most successful and influential Canadian songs of all time. It became the first Canadian hip-hop single to chart in the Top 40 and was recognized for Best Dance Recording at the Juno Awards in 1990. There were no dedicated rap categories at the Junos at that time, but the song’s popularity and growing influence of Black music in Canada prompted the Junos to create a Best Rap Recording category in 1991. Maestro Fresh Wes was the first person to receive the award.

Williams went on to release several more albums in the 1990s and embarked on a successful acting career in the 2000s, landing a prominent role on the popular comedy series “Mr. D,” which was filmed in Halifax.

Williams was inducted into the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2024, he became the first hip-hop/rap recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement. He also became the first hip-hop artist inducted into The Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2024.

In addition to his 40-year music career, St. FX is also honouring Williams for his philanthropy. He is a supporter of the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, Covenant House in Toronto, and the Special Olympics, among other organizations.

Williams moved to the Maritimes in 2020 and established the Maestro Fresh Wes scholarships at the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick community colleges to support Black youth interested in skilled trades.

St. FX will award nearly 250 students with diplomas and degrees at the graduation ceremony next month.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.