Cale Sampson (born January 11 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada) is a Canadian hip hop artist.

Biography

Sampson first emerged in the early 2000s as a member of the group Rhythmicru, who released several independent albums which were popular in the Toronto hip hop scene. Their biggest hit was a song called "The Facts of War" about

George Bush George Bush most commonly refers to: * George H. W. Bush (1924–2018), 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd president * George W. Bush (born 1946), 43rd president of the United States and son of the 41st president Georg ...

and the war in Iraq. It also appears as a track on Sampson's self-titled debut. After Rhythmicru split up, Sampson started a solo career. He then joined forces with some of Canada's most prominent hip hop producers, including Classified and DJ Kemo of The Rascalz and opened for such acts as Guru from Gang Starr,

Maestro Fresh-Wes Wesley "Wes" Williams (born March 31, 1968) is a Canadian rapper, record producer, actor, and author. He is known professionally by his stage names Maestro Fresh Wes (formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes) or Maestro as a musician, and is credited by his ...

, The Hilltop Hoods,

Eyedea & Abilities Eyedea & Abilities (often abbreviated as E&A) was an American hip hop duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of rapper Eyedea and DJ Abilities. The duo was founded in 1999 and became a prominent figure of the underground hip hop scene, bec ...

, and Scratch from

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

. He has also performed on the

Van's Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

, as well as at NXNE. Sampson released his first full-length album, ''Cale Sampson'' in 2009 and his second album ''The Big Picture'' in 2013.

Critical acclaim

Sampson's debut solo album, ''Cale Sampson'' received highly positive reviews from the critics and peaked on both the Earshot and ChartAttack charts as the #3 most played hip hop album on Canadian college radio. In 2009, Cale Sampson was also named "Best Songwriter of the Year" by ''

Now Magazine ''Now'' (styled as ''NOW''), also known as ''NOW Magazine'' is an online publication based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Throughout most of its existence, ''Now'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper. Physical publication of ''Now'' was suspen ...

'' for their annual "Best of T.O." edition. Sampson's second album, ''The Big Picture'' which focused primarily on global issues such as war, technology and economics, was also very well received. Writing for The Caper Times in September 2013, George Pink responded positively to the album stating that "the lyrics are nothing short of spectacular" and calling ''The Big Picture'' "a very brave, bold and fantastically written hip hop album. It is a gift to the ears as well as the mind".

Work outside of music

In his youth, Sampson had a small acting role opposite

Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...

in the feature film ''

A Cool, Dry Place ''A Cool, Dry Place'' is a 1998 American drama film directed by John N. Smith and written by Matthew McDuffie, based on the 1996 novel ''Dance Real Slow'' by Michael Grant Jaffe. The film stars Vince Vaughn, Monica Potter, Joey Lauren Adams and Bo ...

''. He had no acting experience prior to taking this role. Sampson tried out as an extra after being handed a flyer in his school. Despite his lack of previous experience, he was given the role of a high school basketball player named "Peter".

Discography

* ''Cale Sampson'' – 2009 * ''The Big Picture'' – 2013

References

External links

Cale Sampson Official Website

AUX TV - Interview with Alan Cross

MuchMusic – Music Video for “Never Had A Choice”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Cale Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian male rappers 21st-century Canadian rappers Musicians from Toronto 21st-century Canadian male musicians