Hometown

akwesasne

About Me

Rapper Corey Jocko, of Akwesasne, is trying to disspell the stereotypes that all rappers are criminals. While he has his own legal problems to work through, Jocko is recording his first CD. (Staff photo/Harrison MH08042502) Native rapper's life a tapestry for his rhymes Posted By Megan Harrison Updated 1 day ago When meeting local rapper Corey Jocko, the first thing you notice is a tattoo on the side of his neck that reads "death before dishonesty." When asked about its distinctive placement, Jocko, 22, answers with a smirk, saying he likes his tattoos the same way he likes his music: front and centre, where everyone can see them. "I'm a musician," he said. "My entire life is in my songs, so you know, it's not like I've got something to hide." Jocko is one of the newest artists to hit Canada's almost non-existent rap music scene. Originally from Syracuse, N.Y., Jocko moved to Cornwall Island's Mohawk reservation with his mother so that he could get to know his family. And having no siblings of his own, he became very close with many of his cousins. "They became my brothers," he said. "All of us hung out together, grew up together. We were a pretty tight family." At the age of 17, Jocko experienced the first in a string of tragedies to hit his family, when two of his cousins, Jimmy Jocko, 32, and Chris Cook, 26, were killed when their car plunged into an open construction pit at First Street and Amelia on Halloween night, 2003. He would lose another cousin, Eric Cook, 18, just a year later. But the biggest blow wouldn't come until 2005, when another car accident would claim the life of his cousin, Matthew Montgomery. Jocko said he and Montgomery were about the same age, and coupled with the deaths of the other young members of his family, he was at a loss about how to cope. "I was having trouble dealing after Matt was gone, so I wrote this song for him in two days," he said. Advertisement "I showed his mother and she loved it, she said she wanted me to record it, so she got me hooked up with this studio, and I was in there, like, the next day." Jocko said reaction to the song "r.i.p. matt" was so great that he started writing more. He tried to save up to make his own album, but a run-in with the law derailed his plans and he wound up having to spend his savings on a defence lawyer. Luck finally favoured the young rapper when, upon finding out about his music, his lawyer told him a friend owned a recording studio in Ottawa. Eager to record again, and to show the judge that he was doing something positive with his life, Jocko took the offer, and is now doing the final work on his first album. Jocko wouldn't disclose the details of his pending court case, saying he's not proud of his past, and that he doesn't want to get lumped in with the stereotype that all rappers have criminal records. "It's not what I'm about. It happened, and I'm dealing with it, but I'm not a criminal. That's not me, not who I am." Instead, Jocko said his rhymes are really about showing pride in his native routes, and trying to show the youth in his community that there are good stories to tell on native reserves. "Native people are suffering, but we're also prospering, and that doesn't get shown," he said. "I have a story to tell, and this CD is just one chapter of my book. When you listen to the CD, it's not just about that one song that's hot on the radio, because every song is part of the story." Jocko said work on the album should be finished by the end of the month, and though it remains as-yet untitled, he's already had some thoughts on what to call it. "Something like Beginning Again, or The Beginning," he said. "Because this is it for me, you know, writing music, recording. I've got some stuff in my past, but this is where I'm beginning."

Zip Code

13683

Gender

Male

Relationship Status

Single

Orientation

Straight

Ethnicity

Native Amercan

Physical Type

Average

Height

5'9"-5'11"

What do you do

Rap, Act

DJ's - Drop your biggest projects and site URLs

www.myspace.com/eliteworldartist

Favorite 50 Cent song

life's on the line

Website

http://www.myspace.com/upnorthmovement

Favorite Music

tupac,big L,big pun,

Favorite TV Shows

cbc, cnn,