Best of Me (Closing Ceremonies)

I remember camping in Green Valley Campground And Chris Joyce played me Run DMC's "Tricky" It was the first rap song I ever heard And I fell in love with it quick Started writing' some really bad rhymes That I thought were really, really clever with my friends Quincy Brown, Scott Brown, AJ White and Matt McDougall My first manager was Derek Lejeune and that lasted one afternoon But he got me my first show at a place called Café Au Lait That was May 12th, 1995 I met Jorun at that show And he introduced me to the hip-hop scene in Halifax From Universal Soul, Nathan C, Flexman Papa Grand, Skillz, Hip Club Grove, Shy Love and Buck 65 Jo also taught me how to make beats on the sampler I bought from SIXTOO and around '99 I started producin' for different people J-Bizzy, J-Bru, Spesh K, Bonshah and anyone lookin' for beats Eventually I started to group with Who I thought were some of the best in the city White Mic, Nathan C, Marvin Upshaw, Short Shane (rest in peace) Dean Lucas, Dj LooneyTunes, Mark Mirage, and Knucklehead Who you might know as Tyrone from Trailer Park Boys We even had a manager, this guy named Martin Finch While I was doing this group thing I was still always doing my solo stuff And around 2000 Brian Cane from Ottawa, who was helping manage me Got me a small independent deal with this label called UrbNet Records Which is ran by Darryl Rodway, It was the first time I had my music out on the national level Around that time I started doing my first real tour, Played a lotta smaller venues, pits and legions, some grimy venues I remember this place called the Embassy Hotel in London Had some great shows there Jason Bruce, a.k.a. J-Bru was on tour with me back then And he toured with me for almost 10 years after that Eventually my brother Mike Boyd came on tour too 'Cause I was producing for him and he was rhymin' We had a few different DJs, CandyMan, Tech12 But I eventually hooked up with this guy named Brian Pelrine AKA Dj IV, who was a young DJ on the come up Had some good times back then And all these people from my past brought out the best of me now The best of me now The best of me now Best of me now Around 2005, a guy named Craig McMillan was bookin' up shows for me I was back to managin' myself so he started Helpin' me out with that a bit I was also workin' with this guy named Chad Hatcher and Jordan Croucher Who you might know as JRD They did a lotta tourin' with us back then I was doing a lot of music and producing for them I even started my own label and signed them both 'Cause I just loved the music we were makin' and wanted to get it out Around 2006, I met my fifth and final manager, Jason Murray He was really the first real manager I had and everything changed And became 100 percent easier to focus on my music He got me my first major label deal through Sony Music Shout out to Dave Harris, Shawn Corner and Shane The tours got bigger, thanks to Jason Furmen and Tom Canton And after Sony I started working with J.P. and Randy Lennox From Universal Also added a couple more people to my tour crew My youngest brother Jake Boyd started playing guitar for me Shawn Thunder started playing drums But Shawn was in couple bands So after about a year I had to get another drummer, Marc Shinski I got my own sound guy and tour manager, Elijah Walsh Made sure these shows were all gonna sound good I was also blessed over the years to work With some of the best directors in the country Like Harve, Ar T (?), Cazh (?), and the MacDonald brothers Luke and Nick Around 2010, I started working with a guy by the name of David Myles Who's actually playing guitar on this Dave, say what's up man Hey, hey, hey I produced some stuff for him And he did a few songs on my album Like "Day Doesn't Die" and "Inner Ninja" Which became my biggest song I ever did There's actually a lotta guys over the years That helped me out with my music I always made my beats But I always needed someone who could play guitar or bass Or even just give me some advice and helpin' me out Guys like Jim Mullen, Glen MacDonnell, Neil Danning, Mark Pellizzer Who went on to have the #1 single in the world "Rude" with his band MAGIC! Dan Weston, Hi Huyhn, Playboy and Quake, Josh Van Tastle Ria Mae, David Christensen, Mark Hamilton, Billy Parks Matt Joyce, Scott Bradley, Nick Horn, Mark Perry Greg Munden, Ian Stainger, Julie Hoffman and my break dancers Tony McCool, Bernie Bermunda, and B. Solo All these people from my past bring out the best of me now The best of me now The best of me now Best of me now Now I'm on my fifteenth album, which could be my last But I do say that after every album I'm sittin' here back in Enfield I been workin' on this thing for like nine months now I barely left my home, stopped tourin' And stopped doing shows and just stayed here And worked on this album in the garage of my place So I could be close to my kids I wear the same jogging pants everyday I haven't shaved, my computer only works right sometimes But I'm gettin' there. I gotta thank all the unofficial executive producers of this album That would help me out when I got confused And couldn't decide what beat to rhyme on or which verses I liked My brother Mike, Simon Benell, Dj IV, Jason Murray, White Mic K.I., J-Bru and Elijah. Big thanks to my family My parents Mike and Cathy Boyd My parents-in-law, Ron and Lynn Gallant, Chris Gallant My sister Leah and Craig Hopewell Mike's wife Sarah and all of my nephews and nieces and cousins And of course, my wife Kim, and three daughters Kayla, Taylor and Emma, you all bring out the best of me Thank you The best of me now The best of me now Best of me now