One Shott

ALTHOUGH it has produced major pop acts like, The Guess Who, Shania Twain and Nelly Feurtado, Canada has yet to produce a genuine dancehall or hip-hop artiste. Toronto deejay/rapper One Shott is gearing up to carry the Maple Leaf banner into the urban arena.

Recently, One Shott performed as opening act for Capleton at The Cool House club in his hometown. He said dancehall is steadily gathering steam in major Canadian cities.

"There's definitely a Jamaican vibe here but Canada is a multi-cultural country, people listen to all different kinds of music," One Shott said.

Big names

In recent months, Toronto has hosted some of the big names in dancehall, including Mavado, Munga Honourable and Elephant Man. Last year, One Shott traveled to Jamaica where he recorded, Can't Stop My Flow, with Capleton.

To break into the competitive Jamaican market, the 19-year-old has stepped up his recording schedule and cut songs with Munga (Side to Side) and singer Anthony Cruz (She's a Wifey). Both were produced by, Donovan 'Don Corleon' Bennett, whose impressive résumé contains hits by Grammy-winning deejay Sean Paul and emerging singer Pressure from the British Virgin Islands.

One Shott's management hopes the songs, which he describes as reggae-hop, will be released on an album later this year. Haldane Blake (One Shott's given name) was born in Toronto to Jamaican parents.

Fondness for hip hop

He has developed a fondness for hip-hop stars like Jay Z and the 'King of Pop', Michael Jackson, but says a certain reggae legend has had most bearing on his music.

"I love Bob Marley. He's old school but you can relate to him because he did all types of music," One Shott said.

Canada has had a laid-back reggae scene for some time. Leroy Sibbles of The Heptones and Jackie Mittoo, the former Studio One producer/arranger, lived there for many years. In the 1990s, deejay/singer Snow out of Toronto made a major mark in the United States and Jamaica with songs like Informer and Anything For You.

His homeboy One Shott is keen to follow in his footsteps.