CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. —
A P.E.I. hip-hop artist has combined his two passions on his latest album — rapping and wrestling.
Adam Robbins, 35, of Crapaud recently released his fifth album, Hip Hop’s Heel, a title meant to be a tribute to the wrestling he grew up watching in the 1980s and ’90s.
The word heel refers to the villains in wrestling.
On the eight-track album, Robbins assumes the persona of an actual wrestler with his rough, gravelly voice.
“For this album, I wanted to put a fun little spin on it,” said Robbins, who also goes by the stage name of AR. “It’s kind of a tribute via hip-hop to professional wrestling. The album consists of a good majority of old wrestling references. I wanted the album to sound like I’m playing (a wrestler’s) role. I’m just playing a character.”
The album features a big guest appearance from Kowboy Mike Hughes of Red Rock Wrestling fame (the Maritime’s premiere wrestling organization). Robbins contacted Hughes to do a quick voiceover on the album and got much more.
“Mike has been more than gracious and welcoming. He opened his arms and let me into the wrestling side of the Island, and I got to work with a lot of members from his roster. It’s been a really great experience. He did a few vocal pieces throughout the album. He’s met up with me multiple times for photo shoots and he’s helping me promote the album. He has gone above and beyond.”
Hughes said Red Rock Wrestling has teamed up with performers in the past, such as P.E.I.’s Death Valley Driver. The band supplied music for the organization’s TV show, something he said Robbins noticed and then pursued.
“He sent us a demo for one of our wrestler’s entrance music,” Hughes said of his first contact with Robbins. “When I heard it, I knew Adam understood the importance of matching music to the wrestler’s persona. This album does a great job of mixing his love for wrestling and hip-hop.”
The album also features DJ IV, who has worked with Canadian rapper Classified.
“I used to work and volunteer at the Charlottetown Boys and Girls Club and I got Classified and his DJ to come in and play a few shows,” Robbins said. “I’ve been playing shows alongside Classified for some time, and that kind of just evolved into me and (DJ IV) becoming friends.”
Robbins grew up playing bass in community churches and in a metal band. He took to rap and hip-hop music during his teenage years.
“I feel like I was always very inspired and very motivated by the words in (rap) songs. When I found out there was a genre based solely around words and how clever you can be, it grabbed me right away. I was probably 13 years old when I started writing poems and trying to turn them into songs and rapping along with the songs.”
Robbins has been involved in music production for the past 20 years, putting out his first album when he was 16 years old.
The first single from the album, Big Boss Man, is out as is the video.
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Robbins, who also plays with Ugly As Sin, said he plans on focusing mostly on his solo material in 2021 with the goal of producing a demo for his sixth album, which he said will be released in 2022.
To hear songs from the album Hip Hop’s Heel, click here.
Top 5
The following is a list of the top five musical influences for P.E.I. hip-hop artist Adam Robbins:
- Beastie Boys
- Gangstarr
- Rakim
- Sean Price
- Onyx
Dave Stewart is The Guardian’s culture reporter.
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