I’m ThatmanDan and This is How I Became Who I Am

I’m the Regina rapper known as ThatmanDan and this is my hip hop journey

The year was 1989.  I was 10 years old and a friend of mine named Simon turned me on to his Run DMC 'Raising Hell' cassette.  That day I wanted to learn how to rap so bad.  These were easily the coolest people I had ever heard – musically or otherwise – and the fusion of drums and vocals was incredibly fascinating. 

It kept me busy until November of the same year when my mom returned from a work trip with a special gift for me in the ways of a Maestro Fresh Wes cassette. That was the day I wrote my first rhyme. I don't know what I wrote but I remember it was by a bright moon in my bedroom. But I wanted to hear more and soon did.  There were classmates who would share their tapes at recess, or we would trade.  I would take these tapes and listen intently.  I was becoming very aware of how integral the beat is to the song and how equally important the vocals are in the expression of message. I soon learned there was an entire world of hip hop I didn't know about.  I literally used to buy Word Up magazine to learn about the regional groups and artists I had never heard of.  

In the 8th grade I was introduced to Markus Rubrecht who, between his brother, Dominic, and himself, became my unofficial hip hop guides.  They had an extensive inventory of their own material, which was complemented by their extensive knowledge of the genre. Older and wiser than me, I benefitted greatly from their influence. They would spend time with me going over different artists and introducing me to many more through car rides, house stereos and bootleg videos of DJs and concerts.  I am grateful for that guidance that continues to be one of the ties that bind our friendship today.

Fast forward to 1994, and the hip hop was good. It was good in almost every direction.  There were new groups coming out and new sounds emerging as I watched and listened to the evolution.  I made friends in high school who had a similar passion for the culture. We began the rightful passage of creating a plethora of mix tapes.  This included the novel dub mixes we created using a dual cassette deck to ensure no skips between the songs or samples we recorded off the radio for the sole purpose of these mixes.  

Hip hop continued to change and grow with new sounds, new flows and a creative expansion. By 1995 I thought I would try my hand at painting some trains and a wall in Winnipeg.  I have limited artistic talent, but it was a rite of passage – graffiti forms an integral part of the hip hop experience. In my best 16-year-old voice I was declaring: 'I am so hip hop!," all while stacking my resume quickly.  

At this point something interesting happened.  On 99% of these tapes I was listening to there were really long outros after the third verse.  It's about an extra 8 bars of drums and space before the end of the song.  So I began adding in a little rap at the end of each song.  I wasn't writing, but it was a start.  I'd like to say I started rapping around my friends, but I was not confident enough to do that. 

After high school and in my early 20s, I gained the skill of drinking often.  As a result, I found myself at the Plains Hotel on occasion.  One night they had karaoke and myself and a female friend went up and did 'Ghetto Superstar.'  I knew it was coming and I was ready to give it my best. The outro was coming and when it did, I tagged on a very tiny 8 bar freestyle. I wore a yellow hat and a Molson Canadian shirt I got in a case of beer.  One guy at the bar complimented me and I was on top of the world.  

The year 2000 I was living downtown and was told about an open mic night taking place at Cafe Ultimate (now the Fat Badger) on Sunday nights.  I remember going a few times to watch and see if I could do it.  I remember walking through Victoria Park with my rhyme book and saying, "you just have to do it." I did do it, shaking like a leaf, but it got done.  After a few more weeks of performing at the open mic, another artist asked if I would be interested in collaborating, and I agreed.  I didn't know at that time that Stacy is a Juno award winner and would be another pivotal person in my journey with music who I continue to work with today. 

I recorded one song with Stacy but was so nervous it didn't turn out very well.  It was my first attempt at recording, and it defeated me.  I told myself I couldn't do it a lot after that.  Then I got married.  When I was married I continued to listen to hip hop, but I didn't majorly pursue anything musically.  

That is until I began an open mic at my workplace.  It was open to community, and we had very good response our first few years.  Great audiences to watch me quiver with a page in my hand as I stammered raps. Acapella. Just awful.  But I learned a lot.  I remember preparing a piece on the day of the event just so I could be sure to have the experience of doing something, anything, in front of a crowd.  That was helpful.

Eventually I dropped the paper and began freestyling.  This was great practice and fun. When I was 16, I used to freestyle using the TV listings as inspiration and content.  Doing this in front of people sort of captured that feeling of excitement. 

In 2013 I separated from my former partner and found my passion again.  It was like meeting an old friend who I hadn't seen in a long time.  I was off work due to illness and had all kinds of time to get reacquainted.  I recall telling my friend Tyler that I was going to attempt the music thing as an endeavour and him offering me very affirmative support to go for it.

So I did. I began making videos of me freestyling over beats I would find on Youtube. In turn I would then upload them to a Youtube Channel I created and would go on to tell everyone I could about it. 

Tyler came up with the idea of going to a local bar that has a jukebox that has this really great Aesop Rock instrumental.  So we would go regularly to the patio, put the song on and I would rap and he would video me for a series called "freestyling in uncomfortable places" that never saw the light of day.  This became the norm but that wasn't enough. I was rapping a lot, maybe twice a week at open mics. I would also go to karaoke nights and ask the host if I could rap instead of karaoke and many of them agreed. 

In 2018 I set out with the goal of 'releasing something.'  Maybe not the goal but ultimately, the intention of returning a thank you to the culture that has had such impact in shaping my beliefs, thoughts and actions in this world.  In December of 2018 I released 'Field of Vision'.  That felt really good.  A very big sense of accomplishment and a feeling of victory over those times I told myself I couldn't do it. 

Since then, I have had four other releases totalling 11 songs.  Each release has featured gifted collaborations with extremely talented and creative people.  It has also featured so many precious experiences for me. 

January 14th is a night to enjoy the company of the culture and those who also have embraced hip hop. A night for education as much as celebration. Thank you for the opportunity to share my story and the opportunity to keep writing it🙂