{"id":12016,"date":"2021-03-08T14:08:22","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T20:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/?p=12016"},"modified":"2026-05-07T16:04:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T21:04:39","slug":"winnipeg-state-of-mind-caid-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/2021\/03\/08\/winnipeg-state-of-mind-caid-jones\/","title":{"rendered":"Winnipeg State of Mind :: Caid Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

by Nigel Webber<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author\u2019s Prelude\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the October\/November 2020 issue of Stylus, \u201cWinnipeg State of Mind\u201d\u00a0 brought you the Top 100 Winnipeg Rap Songs, part of my attempts to\u00a0 document Winnipeg rap history in my forthcoming book \u201cGritty City.\u201d In\u00a0 2021, the focus of \u201cWinnipeg State of Mind\u201d will be to examine the current\u00a0 slate of young, up and coming rappers and artists that populate the\u00a0 landscape of Winnipeg hip-hop. Some of the artists that will be featured are\u00a0 already reaching huge numbers of people, some are just finding their feet\u00a0 artistically. But all of them are talented, driven, and dedicated to making\u00a0 Winnipeg hip-hop the best it can be in 2021 and beyond.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe just and justify your actions\u201d – Big KRIT\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Caid Jones is a product of Winnipeg and he\u2019s proud of it. The talented young hip-hop artist is passionate about representing the city that raised him. Part of the new generation of local hip-hop artists who are not striving to be lost in the cold shuffle of music industry capitals such as Toronto or New York, Caid Jones is all about building up community within Winnipeg. His community is community in the widest sense of the word, not strictly within hip-hop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a young age, Caid Jones understood that music can be used as a tool to reach a wide segment of humanity, a back door invitation to changing the world one listener at a time. Caid\u2019s journey into hip-hop began young. When visiting his father in The Pas, Manitoba, Caid first heard Eminem\u2019s record The Eminem Show<\/em>. In an instant, a hip-hop fan was born. His father graciously gifted him the Eminem CD and a young Caid Jones was off and running into the vast history of hip-hop music, making stops at Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and many others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time Caid had reached Grade 10 English class, with the push of his teacher, he was making the connection between his interest in Eminem and the poetry he was writing in school. Experimentation and practice quickly led Caid to believe that writing lyrics and rapping was not only possible but so exciting that he found himself doing it every night. Caid Jones had set himself along the proper rap trajectory on his own. But there is one place responsible for catapulting him into the position he is today, on the verge of becoming Winnipeg\u2019s next household name.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studio 393 has become a touchstone in Winnipeg\u2019s hip-hop community. The youth drop-in centre located in the skywalk of Portage Place mall and run through Graffiti Art Programming has employed some of the biggest names in Winnipeg hip-hop history and has hosted as guest programmers prominent names in Canadian rap, from Skratch Bastid to Shad to Odario. But their bread and butter programming is just being a place where youth can go to write and record hip-hop music with professional equipment and  expert guidance, all for free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Caid Jones found Studio 393 between Grades 10 and 11, it was an immediate fit. Initially lured in by the promise of a show at the West End Cultural Centre, 393 has provided countless opportunities to Caid and so many other youth. He cites the leadership of  former 393 staff like Pip Skid and Charlie Fettah and current manager  Nestor Wynrush, whose mere presence in such a humble spot as the Portage Place skywalk impressed a young Caid, only familiar with his rap idols appearing on a screen. It has been through Studio 393 that Caid Jones has had some of the biggest opportunities of his young career, including opening for Madchild in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the most exciting collaboration for Caid has been 393\u2019s continued partnership with Synonym Art Consultation. Through Synonym, Caid and his fellow 393 brethren have performed at many shows and events but none as important as opening up Skratch Bastid\u2019s BBQ in Winnipeg in 2019. All these connections work to not only  establish a relationship with the larger name acts but also with the other artists in the city, working together to build up the local community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caid Jones new EP No Distractions Please<\/em> is a testament to the young artist\u2019s drive and hard work. The EP is the initial release on Pay Attention Records, the imprint that Caid and long-time friend and collaborator Josue Davi are getting off the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHigher,\u201d the opening cut and lead video single off No Distractions Please<\/em>, touches on many subjects, but partly is a powerful ode to the authority of artists as community leaders. In the song\u2019s second verse, delivered in an almost impossibly fast flow, Caid  questions the morality of his favourite artists, including Eminem, through their relative silence on the important moral and ethical issues of our time.  While showcasing his musical diversity through the sung chorus, \u201cyour power is higher, let go your desire,\u201d Caid is also urging the powerful artists of our time to take a stand. While speaking on this subject, Caid\u2019s passion is palpable, asking for the same from his idols: \u201cwhere\u2019s all that passion and energy that I had seen when they were standing up for people?\u201d This  circles back to Caid Jones\u2019 goal when making music, using it as a tool to reach the masses with influential messaging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caid describes an epiphany he had while in his early teens about how he knew that music was the way to bring about change and betterment in the struggling communities he had witnessed growing up. While a lot of people talk a big stick about community, Caid is all action. Twice in 2020, he organized and executed donation drives of warm clothes, food, and other supplies that were distributed to frontline organizations and directly to unhoused people. This type of dedication is not often found in someone who is also an incredibly talented artist, someone who can reach you with their lyrics and music but also with their actions. Caid Jones, whose ancestry is Irish from his mother and Swampy Cree from his father, proves that, forget tomorrow, the leaders of today\u2019s communities are Indigenous youth. Caid Jones is a young, visionary leader in Winnipeg\u2019s hip-hop community with the world in front of  him. The revolution will be rapped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caid Jones <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Nigel Webber<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author\u2019s Prelude <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the October\/November 2020 issue of Stylus, \u201cWinnipeg State of Mind\u201d  brought you the Top 100 Winnipeg Rap Songs, part of my attempts to  document Winnipeg rap history in my forthcoming book \u201cGritty City.\u201d In  2021, the focus of \u201cWinnipeg State of Mind\u201d will be to examine the current  slate of young, up and coming rappers and artists that populate the  landscape of Winnipeg hip-hop. Some of the artists that will be featured are  already reaching huge numbers of people, some are just finding their feet  artistically. But all of them are talented, driven, and dedicated to making  Winnipeg hip-hop the best it can be in 2021 and beyond.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe just and justify your actions\u201d – Big KRIT <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caid Jones is a product of Winnipeg and he\u2019s proud of it. The talented young hip-hop artist is passionate about representing the city that raised him. Part of the new generation of local hip-hop artists who are not striving to be lost in the cold shuffle of music industry capitals such as Toronto or New York, Caid Jones is all about building up community within Winnipeg. His community is community in the widest sense of the word, not strictly within hip-hop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a young age, Caid Jones understood that music can be used as a tool to reach a wide segment of humanity, a back door invitation to changing the world one listener at a time. Caid\u2019s journey into hip-hop began young. When visiting his father in The Pas, Manitoba, Caid first heard Eminem\u2019s record The Eminem Show<\/em>. In an instant, a hip-hop fan was born. His father graciously gifted him the Eminem CD and a young Caid Jones was off and running into the vast history of hip-hop music, making stops at Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and many others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time Caid had reached Grade 10 English class, with the push of his teacher, he was making the connection between his interest in Eminem and the poetry he was writing in school. Experimentation and practice quickly led Caid to believe that writing lyrics and rapping was not only possible but so exciting that he found himself doing it every night. Caid Jones had set himself along the proper rap trajectory on his own. But there is one place responsible for catapulting him into the position he is today, on the verge of becoming Winnipeg\u2019s next household name.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studio 393 has become a touchstone in Winnipeg\u2019s hip-hop community. The youth drop-in centre located in the skywalk of Portage Place mall and run through Graffiti Art Programming has employed some of the biggest names in Winnipeg hip-hop history and has hosted as guest programmers prominent names in Canadian rap, from Skratch Bastid to Shad to Odario. But their bread and butter programming is just being a place where youth can go to write and record hip-hop music with professional equipment and  expert guidance, all for free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Caid Jones found Studio 393 between Grades 10 and 11, it was an immediate fit. Initially lured in by the promise of a show at the West End Cultural Centre, 393 has provided countless opportunities to Caid and so many other youth. He cites the leadership of  former 393 staff like Pip Skid and Charlie Fettah and current manager  Nestor Wynrush, whose mere presence in such a humble spot as the Portage Place skywalk impressed a young Caid, only familiar with his rap idols appearing on a screen. It has been through Studio 393 that Caid Jones has had some of the biggest opportunities of his young career, including opening for Madchild in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the most exciting collaboration for Caid has been 393\u2019s continued partnership with Synonym Art Consultation. Through Synonym, Caid and his fellow 393 brethren have performed at many shows and events but none as important as opening up Skratch Bastid\u2019s BBQ in Winnipeg in 2019. All these connections work to not only  establish a relationship with the larger name acts but also with the other artists in the city, working together to build up the local community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caid Jones new EP No Distractions Please<\/em> is a testament to the young artist\u2019s drive and hard work. The EP is the initial release on Pay Attention Records, the imprint that Caid and long-time friend and collaborator Josue Davi are getting off the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHigher,\u201d the opening cut and lead video single off No Distractions Please<\/em>, touches on many subjects, but partly is a powerful ode to the authority of artists as community leaders. In the song\u2019s second verse, delivered in an almost impossibly fast flow, Caid  questions the morality of his favourite artists, including Eminem, through their relative silence on the important moral and ethical issues of our time.  While showcasing his musical diversity through the sung chorus, \u201cyour power is higher, let go your desire,\u201d Caid is also urging the powerful artists of our time to take a stand. While speaking on this subject, Caid\u2019s passion is palpable, asking for the same from his idols: \u201cwhere\u2019s all that passion and energy that I had seen when they were standing up for people?\u201d This  circles back to Caid Jones\u2019 goal when making music, using it as a tool to reach the masses with influential messaging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caid describes an epiphany he had while in his early teens about how he knew that music was the way to bring about change and betterment in the struggling communities he had witnessed growing up. While a lot of people talk a big stick about community, Caid is all action. Twice in 2020, he organized and executed donation drives of warm clothes, food, and other supplies that were distributed to frontline organizations and directly to unhoused people. This type of dedication is not often found in someone who is also an incredibly talented artist, someone who can reach you with their lyrics and music but also with their actions. Caid Jones, whose ancestry is Irish from his mother and Swampy Cree from his father, proves that, forget tomorrow, the leaders of today\u2019s communities are Indigenous youth. Caid Jones is a young, visionary leader in Winnipeg\u2019s hip-hop community with the world in front of  him. The revolution will be rapped. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Nigel Webber Author\u2019s Prelude\u00a0 In the October\/November 2020 issue of Stylus, \u201cWinnipeg State of Mind\u201d\u00a0 brought you the Top 100 Winnipeg Rap Songs, part of my attempts to\u00a0 document Winnipeg rap history in my forthcoming book \u201cGritty City.\u201d In\u00a0 2021, the focus of \u201cWinnipeg State of Mind\u201d will be to examine the current\u00a0 slate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-columns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12018,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12016\/revisions\/12018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}