Four-time Juno Award-winning rapper Prevail has always been known for cryptic lyrical references that, once decoded, send fans straight to the literature section of their local bookstore. And he and co-collaborator Mad Child have long been admired as some of the most innovative artists in Canadian hip hop (Swollen Members owned the genre for the early part of the last decade).
But as expansive as Prevail’s vocabulary is, and despite the heights his band has achieved, it’s his empire outside of the music – growing like an arachnid in the cool shadows of spring – that drew our attention.
In fact, what elevates Prevail, 38, from cover story fodder to guest editor status is more than his 20-year career on stage – it’s his varied pursuits off it as well.
Tapped as the host of this year’s Vancouver Craft Beer Week, it’s no surprise to see him taking up the mic for events and causes close to his heart; Prevail has been steadily writing his decades of entertainment experience into the resumé for the next phase of his career.
And while the sun isn’t setting on Swollen Members (the band just released its 11th studio album, Brand New Day, and are currently on tour), it’s time for the dawn of PrevailPrevail.com.
Summed up simply as a “guide to the good life”, the website is a curated resource for the finer things in life. Filled to the fedora brim with style tips, recipes, travelogues and interviews with likeminded savants, it’s the best of what the West Coast has to offer through the eyes of a man who, musically, helped put it on the map.
Raised just across the Strait of Georgia in Victoria, Prevail was one of the few African-Canadian children in his neighbourhood. Dealing with the usual childhood skirmishes sprinkled with the pixie dust of ignorance, he says he learned at a young age to use words to his advantage. His thirst for the word was further aided by his mother, who worked in a bookstore and made sure to keep him in good supply. A conversation with him is like having life explained to you by a literature professor while Charles Mingus rips on the bass in the background, and it’s because, as he grew older, Prevail never let a moment to learn idle by.
Prevail admits that, when he first entered the F&B industry as a young server at the award-winning Beachside Cafe, he “couldn’t tell a malbec from a rosé.”
So it was under the tutelage of sommelier Mark Davidson and executive chef Carol Chow that the palate resting above the rapid-fire tongue would emerge.
And it was on tour through some of the world’s most historied civilizations with the band that the rapper would keep adding to his mental catalogue, while putting it all in the context of home.
“I’ve been in the fortunate position to be able to travel to quite a few countries with the music,” says the soft-spoken artist, sitting in the quiet back corner of Beaucoup Bakery. “Some of those places are countries where, for thousands of years, they’ve had fine-dining, they’ve had wine, they’ve had great spirits and great clothing and great culture. So I try to embed myself as deeply as I can with the short amount of time we have and bring that back.”
As we sit and chat, patrons swirling about in the busy coffee shop on Fir don’t approach the likeable local celebrity. And it’s possibly because, as part of his transformation to lifestyle encyclopedia, Prevail has started shedding his baggy T-shirts and ball caps for Boss jackets, Ermenegildo Zegna shirts, Canali ties, vintage brooches and Grenson shoes, rendering him virtually unrecognizable.
He was sporting one of these signature looks – less “baseball bat and nails” more tie clips and Omega seamasters – in deference to one of the twice-weekly staff meetings that he was en route to next.
Based out of a brick-and-beam shared office space in Yaletown, Prevail has attracted a small but dedicated team of writers, videographers and photographers to help him document Vancouver’s elite. He tells me that they are currently in the final planning stages of Dynamic Duos, a series that sees Prevail and butcher Dave Ritzer travelling around BC to wineries, distilleries and breweries to pair local beasts with local brews.
He also recently teamed up with Central City Brewing to launch PrevAle – the Craft Beer Week charity beer whose sales benefit Music Heals, the music therapy organization for which Prevail serves as an ambassador. It wasn’t the first time he had lent his name to a beer for a good cause either, having worked with Red Truck Beer on a smaller run PrevAle two years prior.
And he’ll be flying in from tour to perform for the opening night of Craft Beer Week, May 30 at Gossip Night Club, at which you wouldn’t expect any less than 22 of the craft brewing industry’s finest to be backing him up with unlimited samples of their wares.
Tickets are $49; available at VancouverCraftBeerWeek.com
A message from the guest editor
Ecstatic. Exuberant. Overwhelmed. Wait I’ve got it… honoured! We at PrevailPrevail.com are extremely honoured to be in the rare and unique position of co-editors for this issue of WE Vancouver! As a young, upstart publication, my PrevailPrevail.com team and I have been working on making sure we utilize this opportunity and shine both entities in the most illuminating light possible.
We have been able to offer a range of amazing prize packages the past few weeks leading up to the premiere of this issue. From vacation getaways to shopping sprees, WE Vancouver has been the perfect partner and more accommodating than I could ever imagine. When I asked what the chances were of them hooking up an interview for me with the legendary Bramwell Tovey, Conductor of the VSO, they said, “Yes, we can make a few calls!” And voila, or is it viola, a few weeks later I was sitting down with one of my personal heroes chatting about everything from the symphony and the power of music to the lessons of life and the importance of community.
As a lifelong independent musician, I have long heralded the ideology of hard work and focus. I’m not saying it comes easily every day, but if you have drive and vision it does manifest itself. Taking a step back in my life and assessing where my passions lie, I came back full circle to the arena of the spoken and written word. I believe in the power of creativity. I champion thought process that combines fanaticism and wonderment. Poetry, painting, music, playwriting, literature. The refined fine arts. A rejuvenation of the renaissance state of mind.
I spent my young adulthood in the hospitality industry and I loved every minute of it. Blessed enough to work with talented chefs, gifted sommeliers, and enthusiastic owners, this issue reflects my life experiences. An appreciation for food and beverage, an ever developing eye for style and fashion, a great desire for travel, and a true lust for life (thank you Iggy Pop). In the lead up to and including this exclusive issue, we highlighted people like Mike Graziano, a Canadian gent who is primed to become the youngest North American to travel to all the U.N. approved countries; Jacob Sweetapple, World Champion Bartender and Western Canadian Ambassador for Absolut Elyx; famous punk rocker, humanitarian, cancer survivor and inspiration to many, Bif Naked; and the guru of sustainable whole animal butchery, Dave Ritzer.
Round up all these dynamic characters, add a dash of young enthusiastic writers and a family of highly respected media protagonists and you have the WE Vancouver/PrevailPrevail.com one-off, exclusive, never to be seen again, issue of awesomeness! I wholeheartedly hope you enjoy it as much as we revelled in the collaborative experience of creating it.
Sincerely,
Prevail
