MUSIC

MUSIC What’s in Your Fridge: Vancouver rapper Junk

by Charlie Smith

What’s In Your Fridge is where the Straight asks Vancouverites about life-changing concerts, top albums, and, most importantly, what’s sitting beside the Heinz ketchup in their custom-made Big Chill Retropolitan 20.6-cubic-foot refrigerators.

ON THE GRILL Junk

WHO ARE YOU My name is Junk, which is short for Junkie Juggler. Reason for the name? Ever since I was young, I was an addict at everything I did—whether music, sports, partying, or drawing, I would juggle everything all at the same time and be a fiend for everything I did with no end in sight. This is still true to this day and is why I am heavily invested in my craft of making words rhyme obsessively on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. Whether I am in the studio writing or the stage performing, no matter what, I am an addict. I am born in Germany, to a German mother and an Italian father. I moved between Italy and Germany a lot until my parents separated. Finally I made the leap to B.C. with my mother. In this city I have been rapping for over a decade. I am trilingual and rap in English, German and, of course, Italian. From winning freestyle rap battles, emcee competitions, opening for well-known acts to headlining my own sold-out shows across Canada to signing with local legend Snak The Ripper’s label Stealthbomb Records, life has been hectic, but it’s been a blessing.

FIRST CONCERT The 1993 Binge & Purge Metallica tour in Berlin. I was a wee little guy sitting on my mom’s shoulders with these little binoculars watching the melodic mayhem unfold. AC/ DC was on the bill as well. So it was an iconic and formative experience for the young child that I was. I remember lots of fire and pyrotechnics that day. Fucking eh.

LIFE-CHANGING CONCERT I think it would be watching my father’s band Prozac Piu in Italy. One time, he was rocking an enormous crowd for the Pope in Rome while opening for U2. Pure madness. My father is a very well-respected musician in Italy, so it’s watching him that really made me want to do this music thing as a career.

TOP THREE RECORDS Chef RaekwonOnly Built 4 Cuban Linx The slang, the RZA production, the aesthetics, and the verbal wizardry of that album—the first time I heard it and saw the visuals, it made me go buy Tommy Hilfiger and hush puppies immediately. It was also the first album I ever bought. God bless the Wu.

WHAT’S IN YOUR FRIDGE Two Bottles of El Jimador tequila. I hate tequila with a passion. I can’t even smell it or I’ll puke. That being said, it’s very unclear how it got there. But I’ll keep it in there for the freaks that come by and need it for fuel.

Prewrapped peanut butter–and-jelly sandwiches. I rarely cook for myself so my fridge looks like a squatter’s fridge. That being said, my mother works on movie sets as a crafty, so she always brings me the remnants of whatever they’re serving that day. So let me tell you, I fucking love those PBJ sandwiches.

Soda streams. I always have two bottles of carbonated water in my fridge. I am very Euro when it comes to the water I drink. I won’t drink water unless it’s sparkling. g

Junk has a new album titled Lions Eat Goats, which he recorded with Young Stitch, but when it comes to what’s in his refrigerator, he’s partial to the PBJ sandwiches. Photo by Shae Mcmanus.

Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted

Fantasy I’m convinced this is the greatest album ever made, period. Kanye was really in his bag on this one. From the first note to the last, it’s the perfect sonic masterpiece. Bob Marley and the Wailers Legend I mean, I guess it’s cliché to list this, but it’s such a beautifully happy and melancholic album. How can I not? Bob will be the most timeless artist of all time in my opinion. This album will be digested in 50 to 100 years still with the same efficacy. This is the best album to put on if you’re feeling any type of way.

Hassan Farrow So In Love

From the smash pop of Shelter to the sultry R&B of Crazy Beautiful to the ethereal intensity of the title track So In Love, Hassan delivers an album of amazing maturity, consistency and attention to detail.

Stream it today on