Humble Hellafactz
Beechville rapper leaves successful career in Boston to make a name for himself in N.S.
By STEPHEN COOKE Entertainment Reporter
Wed. Sep 16 - 4:46 AM


Beechville rapper Hellafactz, aka Dennis Wright, is seen in his rehearsal/recording space on Tuesday. Hellafactz is building a buzz for his CD, Hard 2 B Humble, as well as the Halifax Concert For Peace Friday at Alderney Landing. (TIM KROCHAK/Staff)


KANYE WEST could take a few lessons in humility from Beechville rapper Hellafactz the Akdaviss.

Born Dennis Wright in Framingham, Mass., before being raised in Nova Scotia, the African Nova Scotian Music Award-winning musician and producer named his new CD Hard 2 B Humble for a reason. Inspired by his return to the province after making a name for himself in the Boston area with his Illville Entertainment studio and DJ service, Hellafactz was back to square one when he decided to try making it on his home turf.

"I really found myself in a whole new world, all the way back where I started," says Hellafactz, who initially returned home at short notice for a family emergency.

"I had to swallow my pride, throw my ego out the window, and do some stuff I thought I was way past in my career. Hardly anybody outside of my closest friends had known what I’d done in the States, and it wasn’t easy to be humble.

"But I stuck with it, and that’s where the title came from. In Boston I had a company vehicle, a Cadillac Escalade, to drive, and now I often ride Metro Transit, which took a bit of a progression. But that’s why the cover photo is a shot of me taking the bus. An Escalade is a vehicle the same way a Metro Transit bus is; what’s important is where you’re trying to go and what you’re trying to do."

What Hellafactz is trying to do this week is build up a buzz for his recently launched CD as well as the Halifax Concert for Peace at Alderney Landing on Friday at 7:30 p.m., which he’s putting together with some help from ANSMA and Timberlea-Prospect MLA Bill Estabrooks.

Besides being a good opportunity for listeners of all ages to hear some East Coast hip hop and R&B talent — including Kaleb Simmonds, Asia from Nu Gruv, Brothers in Arms from North Preston and Montreal guest Bad News Brown — the concert is also a way to reach out to people from communities across HRM and let them know we’re all suffering from the same problems, maybe it’s time to find some solutions.

"It’s great that we can all get together from these different areas, but unfortunately it’s inspired by a sad thing, the violence going on in the Supercity and around the province," sighs Hellafactz.

"I love this city and hate to see the violence tearing people down and messing things up for everybody else. I wanted to do something to try and change it, or move towards changing it, and be public about the fact there’s a problem going on right now that we should be addressing.

"It’s also about getting together and having a good time with some great music for a good cause, but we’ll be talking about some issues, too.

"I mean, where that 16-year-old got shot just standing on the sidewalk on Creighton Street a few weeks ago, I was around the corner the day before working in the studio, and it really hit home that someone just hanging out with his buddies could get caught up in something like that."

Hard 2 B Humble is also a community gathering of sorts, with a roster of collaborators like Spryfield actor/singer/dancer Lamar Ashe (now in Vancouver), Enfield and Halifax hip-hop and R&B heroes Classified and Jordan Croucher, and Cole Harbour’s Chad Hatcher coming together to help Hellafactz spread his message.

"I’ve definitely got a lot of respect for the Nova Scotia R&B and hip-hop performers," he says.

"Even after spending time on the road in Boston, New York and California, we really have a lot of talent with R&B singers and players. I think it’s just a matter of time before a lot more of those cats get discovered.

"Cindy Cain, Asia & Nu Gruv, R$ Smooth, Jordan Croucher, Chad Hatcher, all of these folks have a unique sound and style, and I love it. I really want to take advantage of that.

"When I was in the States, I was trying to find someone with the sound I wanted for a vocal or something, and I’d think, ‘Man, if I was home, I could just get Smooth to do it’ but instead, I had to keep looking.

"I can’t wait to take this back to Boston and show it to people and let them hear some of the talent I’ve been telling them about all of this time."

Ultimately the message Hellafactz wants to get across, and the local artists he encounters are on his side, is that music doesn’t have to pretend to be tough or promote a self-defeating attitude to be enjoyable.

He wants listeners to like his music, but he’s not going to get anywhere pretending to be something he’s not.

"I really wanted to do something positive that the kids could really take to," explains Hellafactz.

"I wanted to put out something that was clean, but still up to date and hip, that you can bang your head to or shake your thing out on the dance floor to.

"Sometimes I think we get caught up in this illusion in the hip-hop world that the famous rappers aren’t even human; they get put up on a pedestal that’s so high, and I wanted to bring it back down to earth for people.

"I wrote the whole album and produced it here in Halifax, which means a lot to me, so the kids in my neighbourhood and around this city can be proud of it and identify with the fact that they can do it, too."

Tickets for the Hip-Hop/R&B Concert for Peace at Alderney Landing are $19.99 each at all Ticketpro outlets ( www.ticketpro.ca or 1-888-311-9090) and the Alderney Landing Theatre box office.

( scooke@herald.ca)