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Buck 65

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Buck 65


Richard Terfry, better known as Buck 65, is a Canadian Hip Hop artist, MC and Turntablist. He has recently moved away from Hip Hop somewhat and now focuses his style on Blues, Country, Rock, Folk and Avant Garde genres. That said, his new direction is still underpinned through his musical background in Hip Hop. He was born in 1972 and raised in Mount Uniacke, Nova Scotia, a rural community outside of Halifax.

Biography

Early career and influences

Terfry has said his influences include MC Shan, David Lynch, J.V.C. FORCE, John Galliano, Gitche Manitou, and Kool Keith. He was first exposed to rap music in the mid-1980s while listening to Halifax campus community radio station CKDU. CKDU broadcasts at only 33 watts, and he had to climb a tree in his yard to hear the station's hip hop show on his cheap transistor radio. Fascinated by hip hop, Richard taught himself how to rap, DJ, and produce records. Using the moniker DJ Critical, he later hosted a hip-hop show on CKDU called "The Bassment" (later renamed "The Treatment"), which aired for several years.

Early releases

In 1993, he released his first cassette of hip hop songs while performing under the alias Stinkin' Rich on the Halifax label No Records. The five song cassette was titled Chin Music, which was a reference to his past interest in baseball. A rumour, spread in part by Terfry, is that he had been scouted to play for the Yankees but the talent scout had a heart attack and died before a contract could be signed [2]. The release brought Stinkin' Rich to the attention of members of Halifax alternative rock band Sloan. Sloan signed him to their independent record label Murderecords and released a 7" single and a full length cassette called Game Tight, again featuring a reference to baseball.

After a brief break, Richard returned reconstituted as Buck 65. He recorded Sebutonedef (released in 1996 by Funtrip Records) as a collaboration with fellow Halifax artist Sixtoo. Other releases by the duo, known as the Sebutones, are Psoriasis and 50/50 Where It Counts'.

Man Overboard

Man Overboard, originally released on the Anticon label, was a significant turning point in his career. The record, and the entire Anticon collective (of which Sixtoo was also a part), were considered hallmarks of a new avant-garde movement in underground hip hop. It was at this time that Buck met Cincinnati DJ Mr. Dibbs who inducted him into the 1200 Hobos, a loosely-knit hip-hop collective named for their proficiency and skill in manipulating the Technics 1200 turntable.[citation needed]

Critical acclaim

Many of his early projects attracted attention after they were re-released, first on the independent Metaforensics label and subsequently by Warner Music Canada [3]. While Buck 65 has gained critical acclaim [4] and worldwide exposure through his major label deal, commercial success has escaped him. Although Warner's worldwide affiliates distribute his records, Warner USA does not. A recent deal with V2 USA has allowed his latest release to be generally available in the USA [5].

Buck's most recent albums have gradually moved away from his original pure hip-hop sound into territory influenced by folk, blues and electronica, with some even comparing elements of his sound to Tom Waits [6]. His most recent record is Secret House Against The World. Some of Buck 65's music is used on the Canadian show Trailer Park Boys, frequently in the character Julian's car. He gained additional recognition in 2006 when he appeared at the national Juno Awards with sex symbol Pamela Anderson [7].

Kerrang! Controversy

In August 2004, he sparked controversy in the underground hip-hop world over comments he made to an interviewer in Kerrang! magazine. Buck was quoted as saying that he had "grown to hate" hip hop as he had educated himself about music, and charging that "people behind hip hop don’t know anything about music theory." In response, former Anticon label-mate Sage Francis (in a post on his website) stated that "Buck has had his head up his arse for many years now." [8] Buck later apologized, saying he had gone overboard after being provoked by the interviewer and that he didn't really believe what he had said. [citation needed]

Aliases

Buck 65 has also used a number of other aliases including Johnny Rockwell, DJ Critical, Jesus Murphy, Stinkin' Rich, Haslam, and Uncle Climax. These pseudonyms typically represent different characters in his raps (as in Uncle Climax, Johnny Rockwell and Stinkin' Rich) or different aspects of Buck's creativity (as noted above, DJ Critical was his DJ name on CKDU.) Rumours abound that Buck 65's alias comes from his childhood nickname of Buck and his weight of 165 pounds; possibly the pseudonym comes from the $1.65 standard bus fare for Halifax Regional Municipality riders for a certain time in the 1990s and early 2000s. Recently Buck 65 has recorded an EP under the name of Dirk Thornton alongside Irishman DJ Flip, it is schedlued for release late 2006 but a date has not yet been set.

Partial discography

Albums


NOTE:All Language Arts records prior to his major label signing were repackaged with new artwork, remastered, and re-released by Warner Music in 2002.

Singles

  1. "The Centaur" (1999) from Vertex (12" vinyl only)
  2. "Pants On Fire" (2001) from Man Overboard (video only)
  3. "Phil" (2003) from Square (video only)
  4. "Wicked & Weird" (6 October 2003) from Talkin' Honky Blues
  5. "4-6-3" (5 April 2004) from Talkin' Honky Blues
  6. "Sore" (4 October 2004) from Talkin' Honky Blues
  7. "Kennedy Killed The Hat" (Summer 2005) from Secret House Against the World
  8. "Devil's Eyes" (Autumn 2005) from Secret House Against the World

Videos

  1. "Pants On Fire" (2001) from Man Overboard
  2. "Phil" (2003) from Square
  3. "Wicked & Weird" (6 October 2003) from Talkin' Honky Blues
  4. "4-6-3" (5 April 2004) from Talkin' Honky Blues
  5. "Kennedy Killed The Hat" (Summer 2005) from Secret House Against the World
  6. "Devil's Eyes" (Autumn 2005) from Secret House Against the World

Trivia

See also

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