Godfather of Canadian hip-hop adds ambassador for Saint John to list of achievements
The iconic musical artist and godfather of Canadian hip-hop, Maestro Fresh Wes, can now add official ambassador for the city of Saint John to his lengthy list of achievements.
This past Friday marked the one-year anniversary of Wesley Williams making the move to the East Coast, more specifically to New Brunswick's port city – a city populated with people he describes as kind, warm, and down-to-earth.
"It means a lot to me that I've made an impact on this community, this city, this province within the little time I've been here," he says. "Saint John is beautiful … my family selected a great place to be."
Maestro has been busy in his new East Coast hometown – these days he's back behind the microphone in a Saint John studio making music for the next generation, as he works on a brand new project.
"I'm working on a new album, a kids' project, so you know I have my book, "Stick to Your Vision: Young Maestro Goes to School, and I thought it would be cool to have a music project inspired by the book."
The book, which was written by Williams and features a foreword by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, follows a young Maestro and his memories of going to school in Toronto.
It was written to highlight the importance of "family structure, mentorship, hip-hop, and the positive impact of inspirational elementary school teachers" – as Maestro uses his time, talent and platform to support and inspire young people in Saint John and beyond.
"We have a small window of opportunity to help these young boys and young girls grow to be young men and young women," he says, "and these opportunities don't always come back, so while we're here right now, let's try to maximize that time."
As for what else is in the works for Maestro, he says there are big projects on the horizon but the details of which we'll have to wait for as this artist continues to keep it fresh, in the Maritimes.
You can check out some of his projects on his Facebook page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
RCMP not investigating possible foreign interference cases related to Chiu, Dong: Duheme
Canada's federal police force is not investigating any possible instances of foreign interference in the cases of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu and Liberal-turned-Independent MP Han Dong, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.