The musical dreams of a young Drumheller man are becoming a reality. Local hip-hop artist Jason McLean, also known by his stage name Sleezy, has released his first music video and will soon release his first album.
For McLean, who has been performing and writing hip-hop songs since he was 16, the releases are a dream come true.
“It’s amazing. There were a couple times where it was stressful to the point of wanting to give up, because I’d be working and things weren’t happening as fast as I wanted,” said McLean. “I’m just waiting for a few features from other artists and I’ve got a bit more to record myself.”
Already one of those songs, Fifteen Minutes, hit the internet in the form of a music video and the numbers of views are steadily climbing.
“When I wrote the song it was one of those moments where I was kind of getting tired and thinking about everything I had done before that. The fifteen minutes of fame is the basis of the song. If my fifteen minutes were up I was going to enjoy it,” said McLean. “The response I’ve got from the video, the stuff people are giving me back about my music, and almost releasing a CD is unbelievable. It’s a good feeling for sure.”
McLean’s first album is expected to come out at the end of September. It contains McLean’s original work, including the songs Gone Crazy, Life I’ve Lived, My Life, Make My Move, You Need Me, and one song that means a lot to McLean.
“There’s a song called You and Me and it’s probably the most personal song I’ve ever written. It’s about the relationship between me and my son’s mother. I’ve been writing it for eight months and still not quite done. It’s hard to tap into those emotions and put it all out there. It’s going to be an amazing song and I’m really proud of it,” said McLean.
McLean, a native to Drumheller, first got into hip-hop 10 years ago after a family friend gave him a tape containing songs by Warren G. and Snoop Dog from the early 1990’s. McLean listened to it non stop, but had to hide it from his parents.
“From the first time I heard it, I decided that was me, that’s what I wanted to do,” said McLean.
He got into hip-hop more and more and lists Eminem, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Bone Thugs, The Rascals, and Classified as the artists who influenced him, but it was local artists like himself he credits the most as defining his style.
In the past five years McLean has taken his love of hip-hop and turned it into a passion. In that time he has been writing, recording, and performing throughout Alberta.
“I mostly have to travel to other places like Calgary and Edmonton to do shows, but I’ve had a few successful shows here,” said McLean. “[Hip-hop is] virtually nonexistent in Drumheller. As far as anyone taking it seriously and trying to make it something there are only one or two people.”
When not recording or on the road performing, McLean works in wire line well servicing, but even then he can’t put down his passion.
“When I’m working by myself I work on rhymes in my head and practice my songs,” said McLean.
His first album hasn’t even been released yet and McLean is already looking forward to the second, which will include a song he wrote about Drumheller.
“I’m definitely planning to do a video and hopefully get a lot of locals involved. It mentions the coal mine and the museums, so I’ll try to incorporate that,” said McLean.
This, promised McLean, is only the beginning.
“Aside from my family it’s the most important thing in my life. I never really grew up in a sense, because I never got to that point where I believed I ever had to stop following my dreams. I’ll hopefully never quit unless I have to. It’s my biggest passion so I’ll never just walk away from it,” said McLean.
“If I were to quit tomorrow I would spend the rest of my life regretting it.”
To see the video, visit www.youtube.com/sleezymuzik. To learn more about McLean, check out www.reverbnation.com/mischiefmusik.