Introduce yourself to our readers online and around the world.

My name is Bad News Brown. I’m a Hip-Hop harmonica player based out of Montreal, Canada, internationally known as the Hypnotic – Tiptronic – Electronic – Funkadelic Harmonica player.

Tell me a bit about your background. I’m aware you are of Haitian decent but grew up in Montreal.

I was born in Haiti and adopted by a Canadian family when I was very young. During my teenage years I moved to Montreal. I was simply rapping at first before I picked up the harp. I quickly started busking the streets and subways and shortly after half the city knew who I was. I quickly went from busking to traveling the world, doing shows alone and with international acts.

At what age did you realize you had the talent to play the harmonica?

I was about 20-21 waiting for a bus late at night and I just happened to have a harmonica in my pocket. I started playing to kill time and an old lady approached me and said that she was emotionally touched by what I had been playing. It made me realize that there were no social, demographic, or age boundaries with this harp and that no one had reinvented the usage of it yet.

Where does the name “Bad News Brown” originate from?

My name originally comes from the original WWF wrestler and judo World Medalist Bad News Allan aka Bad News Brown but it was officially given to me by Misery (another Mtl artist) in a time in my life when I would take the rush the stage before other artists to steal the spot light when I wasn’t even booked to perform lol. As the crowd was always impressed and the artistic approach different, they would never try to kick me off stage. It would be ‘bad news’ for follow up acts and in most cases I stole the show.

Was there a specific moment in time where you can remember feeling like you had mastered your craft or were headed in the right direction in your career?

Yes, when I was sharing a dressing room with Aerosmith & the Eagles at a private event in NYC!

Tell me a bit about your album “Born 2 Sin”. I’m aware it was released this year in Canada, US & Mexico and will also be released in Europe later this fall.

The album is an accumulation of all the sounds and vibes collected from my travels around the world. I put something out that would cater to all those different environments.

Who are some of the producers you worked with on the project and what goes into recording an album with a harmonica compared to vocals?

Dirtwork, C4, Made By Monkeys, and a couple other producers hooked it up. Recording is almost exactly the same thing, its in between rapping and singing. There’s a mic and you get up on it to do your thing. I approach it like I am going to rap on a track.
 
Who are some of the musicians that have inspired you musically throughout you career?

Jimi Hendrix, Little Walter, Cee Lo (Gnarles Barkley), 36 Mafia, Andre 3000 and Missy Elliot.

Tell me a bit about the new video you filmed for the song “Reign” off your album.

It was the 1st video that properly captured the essence of my harmonica. Our team made sure that we kept it simple so the audience be able to get the full BNB harmonica experience. There’s no real story line to it. We just wanted visually captivating scenes to accompany the music.

In a recent interview you speak about Lee Oskar, tell me a bit about your relationship and how he has impacted your career.

Lee Oskar and I are really good friends. He is my one and only sponsor for my harmonicas. His encouragement and support is very influential. I appreciate all the time he takes; keeping in touch, tuning in and giving me good advice for future projects.

 I’m aware you are currently on tour, how is that going?

So far so good! I get to travel, meet a lot of people and make new business relationships. I have a very organized team, so I really have no complaints.

How does it feel to have graced the same stage with artists such as Snoop Dogg, Kanye West and Aerosmith?

It definitely was my ambition to live off my music and rub shoulders with the industry heavyweights. So to actually have it happen – it’s like a dream come true.

Being that you are one of the first Hip-Hop Harmonica players out and the spotlight is on you, what long lasting effect do you want to  leave as the one of the first artists of  your genre?

I want people to trust their intuition, step outside the box and not take the same generic path.

And what would you tell a young harmonica player who sees you and is inspired to follow in your steps but won’t pursue it because of the lack of  Hip-Hop musicians in your field of music.

Being the only person in your genre, you don’t have to compete with anyone else (aside from me lol). You have the freedom to create what you want. You can get paid and not played!

Before we conclude this interview, tell your current fans and newly found ones where they check out more of your music and videos and stay on top of everything BAD NEWS BROWN!

Anything you want to know and see about Bad News Brown you just log onto my website: www.badnewsbrown.com

www.myspace.com/brizbrown
twitter: Brizbrown
Facebook: Bad News Brown
www.youtube.com/stuntin888.

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwamK3lneQg
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt4SZB8ioaM
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwamK3lneQgh
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcxJ58EHLd4