Hermitofthewoods

At 25, Hermitofthewoods aka Mike McGuire, ginger bearded giant of a man, decided he wanted to pursue a rap career. He didn’t want to be that guy at 50 who looked back at his life and said what if.

Now at 30, he has rapped at protests with Michael Franti, freestyled for the President of the World Health Organization, battled his way to a 2nd place finish at the 2008 DJOs, toured eastern Canada, made the Halifax Slam team, co-founded hip hop crew IMF (the I is for intelligent, you can figure out the rest), and on Thursday is releasing his second album, Love’s Dark Season.

Love’s Dark Season is a deeply personal concept album that follows Hermit through the aftermath of his failed marriage. The story is a survivor’s tale, as Hermit fights through depression, guilt, self hatred, false reunions, regrets and, finally, if not finding redemption, at very least the realization that “you can say what you like, I still love this broken life”.

Using a varied cadence, from speed raps to spoken word, intensely honest lyrics over classical inspired composition, Hermit adds a new chapter to Halifax’s deeply creative underground hip hop history. Few songs are as touching as The Paint, where Hermit’s four year old son, the self-named Shooty Boo, sings, beatboxes, and cuts records, as Hermit raps about the pain of their separation. Not since Buck 65’s Man Overboard, has Halifax produced such a deeply personal work. Following the advice of hip hop legend KRS-1, McGuire has made a Halifax album, the story of a man surviving in our haunted city set to bagpipes, guitars, and military drums.

Come celebrate the passing of Love’s Dark Season at the Elephant & Castle, with performances by Hermit accompanied by up and coming vocalist Kayla Layes, the rowdy beatbox driven lounge rap of Three Sheet and more than a few surprises from the IMF gang.

by Michael Kimber - The Coast

I have to say, if you were looking for a lifestyle choice that was diametrically opposed to that of an MC, being a hermit is an appropriate choice. After all, in the beginning, an MC's job was to move the crowd, and hermits don't want anything to do with crowds, but rather move very far away from them. I suppose this doesn't matter much to the hermit in question though, Hermitofthewoods, because if his new album, Love's Dark Season, is any indication, he's a man who MC's not out of a desire to rock a party, but more out of a desire to chase away demons and ponder existential-style questions.

Which is fine by me, because this Hermit happens to make indie hip hop of a rather industrial/electro bent, but it also happens to be very impassioned and rather polished. Honestly, if you told me this record was affiliated with Strange Famous, Def Jux, or any other label that is associated with this kind of sound, I wouldn't have been phased. Which isn't surprising when you consider that Halifax produced folks like Buck 65 and Sixtoo, who played a major role in the emergence of this kind of hip hop in the 90's.

As far as I know, the Hermit himself handled the production on this album, and so credit is due to him, because no matter if it's the heavy electro sound The Book of Leaving, the more traditional, almost jazzy sound of The Paint, or even the guitar screech of Pig Iron, the music makes an impact.

Lyrically, this record is heavy as you might expect a hip hop album named Love's Dark Season to be, but you're certainly getting lyrical bang for your buck - the album is packed with plenty of deep ruminations on painful loves and the general failings of society. Being perfectly honest, I'd normally like to spend more time with an album like this in order to really absorb the songs and have more of an idea of where the Hermit is coming from, but my usual procrastination and the fact that there's an album release party for this record tonight in Halifax forced my hand.

So while the heavy subject matter on Love's Dark Season might not make it the first thing you reach for on a scorcher like today, there's no denying this is some quality underground hip hop that deserves to be heard. If you're in Halifax, you can hear it live tonight at Elephant & Castle.

http://www.herohill.com/2009/06/quick-hitters-hermitofthewoods-loves.htm - herohill.com

Josh Martinez / Hermitofthewoods / Something Good
Paragon Theare, Halifax, NS September 3
By Alison Lang

The old cliché "If you love something, set it free" seemed particularly apt on this night at the Paragon Theatre, when former Haligonian Josh Martinez returned to play a back-to-school set for family, friends and fans in the hip-hop community that bred him. Since his flight from Halifax, Martinez's career has flourished: he's travelled the world and produced great work since leaving the city. But the electricity in the air made it clear that there is still hometown love for one of the city's favourite native sons.

The night started off with Slam team member Hermitofthewoods, accompanied by vocalist Kayla Layes and DJ Y-Rush handling his beats. Hermit is considered a bit of a rising star and seeing him live, it all became clear: he's completely magnetic. While many of Halifax's more popular hip-hop exports have gone for a slightly cartoonish, party-rap vibe, the tall, lanky Hermit seems as if he's dropped straight off the Def Jux wagon — his words stutter out with rapid-fire intensity, ruminative and gritty, but never despairing. His set was capped with the acoustic guitar-driven, surprisingly feel-good number "Rabbit in the Cabbage," leaving you wondering when this guy is going to break already.

After a peppy but bland set from Something Good, Martinez took the stage. The rapper now resides in Portland, OR, and was clearly chomping at the bit to perform for a Halifax crowd; he was a fount of endless energy, bouncing up and down, popping and locking, with his famed raspy machine-gun patter and diverse vocal acrobatics remaining front and centre.

He dropped crowd favourites like "Fight or Fuck" and "Another Day," interspersed a few sweet doo-wop ditties, and performed the entirety of "Cheers" with a beer bottle balanced on his head — "This is just a dumb thing I do," he said apologetically as the crowd roared. A full-throated karaoke rendition of "Eye of the Tiger" then led into his most recent single "Goin' Back to Hali." Martinez's love for his old city was reflected back: clearly this weird, wild bird can always return home forgiven for his flight, fluttering into open arms. - Exclaim