Local hip hop artist Dan Bennett, more commonly recognized as Transit, has recently produced a single with acclaimed Calgarian songwriter Jann Arden. Fittingly, the name of the single is called “Calgary.”
The song represents the music scene in the city of Calgary, showing that “we are not all cowboys” and that this city is more than capable of being major in the music industry. The lyrics portray the undiscovered artistic side of Calgary, where a city known for cowboy hats and polished belt buckles finally reveals itself; a musical unearthing of indie music and inspiration.
Arden interviewed Bennett on her CBC radio show after his “8 Hour Challenge” project on YouTube went viral. And as the talk went on, the topic of a collaboration emerged and things just laid itself out from there. Working with Arden, this song truly recognizes the diversity of the music that comes from Calgary; when would you see a young rapper work with an adult contemporary artist? Yet it has happened. That just goes to show what kind of music Calgary really has to offer.
Though Bennett may be a native of Victoria BC, this song shows where his heart belongs. He has a mission to develop and drive the movement, not only for hip hop but for the entire art scene of Calgary. Let that mission be approved by no other than our mayor Naheed Nenshi. Being the trendy mayor that he is, it was not surprising when Bennett was able to contact Nenshi via Twitter, ultimately leading to a cameo of the mayor in the music video for “Calgary.”
A song made by an indie rapper that features Jann Arden, as well as the mayor of Calgary; that alone is impressive. But more importantly, the music video for the song is comprised of even more cameos made by all of the local bands that Bennett mentions in this track. Eighteen of the 29 bands cleverly incorporated into the lyrics appear in the video. This video purely represents the unification of music in Calgary, the coming together of local artists to show the world that Calgary is ready to and is going to make an impact.
Check out the video below and feel free to stay updated with Transit on Facebook.
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