Manafest

Manafest  

Across the last decade and some change, Manafest has steadily
cemented his status as one of the world’s most diverse, envelope-pushing and
all around uplifting artists. His seamless, lightening-like blur between the
spectrums of rap, hip-hop, rock and pop hasn’t just led to 300,000-plus album
sales and four coveted Juno Award nominations (essentially the Grammy
equivalent in his home country of Canada), but also more than 1,000 shows
logged over four continents.

With such a wealth of experience and achievements, anchored by a
rabid, tastemaking fan base, the singer/rapper/songwriter/author/skater could
easily put his feet on the dash and coast through the next career chapter, but
considering he’s never been one to phone in the predictable, Manafest is taking
a completely Reborn approach to his intelligent but ceaselessly
contagious music throughout this fittingly named new album. Perhaps the chief
catalyst in the ambitious leap forward comes from the decision to once again
oversee his affairs, which after six albums within the major label system, has
inspired a full circle season that mirrors the hunger and predominant hip-hop
flavors accompanying this versatile artist’s self-released debut a dozen years
ago.

“The idea of going independent is a big deal, going back to my
hip-hop roots is a big deal, returning to skating a lot more is such an
important outlet for me, and then of course the whole concept of my faith is
always all about being Reborn and starting anew,” muses Manafest of the
factors that helped formulate the title. “I’ve done this for a long time, but
at times I feel Reborn because I’m basically starting over. And I say
that as someone who’s not jaded or broke, but as someone who’s happy and
stoked. I still have lots to say and lots to create.”

Released just over a year after his last studio effort, the
current collection is clearly part of a creative surge that’s been churning in
the performer’s mind for quite awhile. “I’ve always rapped, even on the rock
stuff, but I’ve wanted to do a more hip-hop influenced record for a long time,”
he continues. “I started thinking about that just after Fighter came
out, which was my second kind of more real rock record like The Chase,
and then last year’s The Moment was a bit of a hybrid record. For Reborn,
I decided to go back to hip-hop, but even the way I do hip-hop isn’t the
traditional ‘boom, bap,’ stuff, so I don’t think the fans who like more of the
rock stuff will be disappointed.”

Follower feedback has always been a priority for Manafest (frequently
the very last person to leave one of his concerts) and the Reborn sessions
have brought him even closer to core listeners than ever before thanks to a
PledgeMusic campaign. “It’s allowed me to have direct communication with my
number one supporters,” he verifies. “Just being able to have access to that is
huge and I try to go the extra mile every way I can for them. We talk, they get
access to as much behind the scenes stuff as they are interested in, I give
them a ton of bonus content and we’re building a relationship in the process.”

 And speaking of relationships, a simple scan of the Reborn
track list indicates a slew of guest collaborations, which in keeping with
Manafest’s diverse history thus far, come from literally all walks of life. For
starters, there’s frequent friend Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch fame,
who joins in for the insane hook of “Shine,” a song about living each day to
maximum capacity and beaming your light along the way.