Introducing Halifax’s history-making prince of hip-hop

Throughout history, hip-hop music has seen more than a few rappers who are under the age of consent. But only Halifax can boast it is home of a hip-hop recording act that has just started elementary school.

At just six-years-old, Levon Myette-Bruce has just released a six-track album of pre-pubescent hip-hop under the moniker Levon the Prince. Entitled Future King, the accomplishment has entered Myette-Bruce into contention as the youngest artist to ever release a hip-hop album in Canada.

“(Probably) in the world actually,” corrects local hip-hop pioneer J-Bru (Jay Bruce), who is Levon’s father and the album’s producer. “Previously the youngest was Bow Wow — and he was 11.”

In 2000, the Ohio-born youngster, then known as Li’l Bow Wow, released the hit album Beware of Dog and scored a hit with the song “Bounce With Me”. 

Of course, there have been young artists recording hip-hop since then (including French-born Jordy Claude Daniel Lemoine, who released a single at just four-years-old) but Levon is likely the youngest to ever release an album of songs, says J-Bru.

“We were sitting in my home studio and I was actually just writing some music,” he recalls about when the idea to record an album originally arose. “Usually when I get into that, he’d take an electronic device and just go in his room or go play, but he sat with me the whole time and said, ‘Daddy, can I make a song?’”

Inspired by his son’s sudden interest, J-Bru and Levon wrote a track called “See Me at Playground” right on the spot and his father recognized that he was a natural right away.

It shouldn’t be surprising necessarily. As an artist himself, J-Bru has released plenty of his own hip-hop on his Bru-Print label, earned East Coast Music Awards and even been honoured by the African Nova Scotian Music Association (ANSMA).

In fact, Levon comes from a long lineage of talent. His grandfather Ross Bruce was inducted into the ANSMA Hall of Fame for tap dancing, and his great-great grandfather Merrill Bruce was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and his tap shoes are on display in the Hank Snow Home Town Museum.

“Even when I was a child and his age, my dad was always playing me Motown and James Brown-type stuff so music was a big influence,” says J-Bru, who adds he wanted to impart the importance of music upon Levon at an early age as well. “Even if we wouldn’t have made this album, music is part of what we do, and he’s been to some of my shows, and he’s been in the studio, so he was sort of born and raised in the environment.”

That environment has included J-Bru’s former music facility TMG Studios, where Levon would gain exposure to some of Halifax’s top talent before he even turned 2 years old.

“He spent probably four or sometime five days a week there with me, just kind of soaking in the atmosphere,” says J-Bru, whose studio often hosted such acts as Neon Dreams and Kin Crew. “So he got to be a part of recording sessions (and) he just kind of grew up in it.”

By the time Levon showed an interest in releasing an album, the youngster had already showcased that he had a talent for rapping. In fact, “See Me at the Playground” was released as a single and quickly found its way to the number two spot on music website Reverb Nation's Halifax Hip-Hop Charts.

“It’s fun!” encapsulates Levon when asked what he likes most about hip-hop. While he says he particularly enjoys performing for friends and family, he is looking forward to showcasing some of his rap skills in public this summer.

“He hasn’t really performed too much,” adds J-Bru. “We’re thinking about playing at a few outdoor events where we just sort of pop-up a little shop with merch and CDs and get him to rap and play his album for the public.”

That said, J-Bru is quick to note — although he was happy to encourage his son’s musical ambitions, he certainly won’t force the youngster into performing live or doing anything he decides he doesn’t want to do.

“Now that (the album’s) done, if he doesn’t want to continue it, I’m not going to push it,” says J-Bru. “If this is a one time thing, that’s cool. He’ll be a part of history and he’ll have this for the rest of his life to look back on.”

For more information on Levon the Prince, visit his website.