Canadian up-and-coming rapper Drega collaborated with The Bilz and Kashif before kicking off his solo career. Drega's single "New King" has attracted some attention. DH! caught up with the artist to talk about his musical journey. Check out the interview here.

DH: For our readers who may not be familiar with who you are, tell us a bit about yourself.
Drega: I was born in Mumbai, moved to Toronto when I was two months old. I started rapping when I was nine to impress girls and have been doing it ever since. And if that doesn't work I take my shirt off, though that mostly scares them.

DH: Before we get into the new music, tell us about how you met The Bilz and Kashif.
Drega: I did a remix of "Hot 2 Nite" by New Edition and sent it to literally every DJ in Canada.  DJ Vicious who was just starting with The Bilz got a hold of it and once he found out I was brown, he stayed in contact with me. We did a few unreleased records like "Domino Dancing" which became pretty popular in Europe.

DH: How did "Spanish Fly" come to be?
Drega: It was just another song Vicious wanted me to rap on and I wasn't feeling the beat at all.  Also keep in mind this was before The Bilz & Kashif blew up with "2 Step Bhangra." So being the amateur I was, I wrote my verse to another beat and sent it to them and to my surprise they liked it. I didn't think anything would come of it because we we're both just starting out and about  a year later they hit it big with "2 Step Bhangra" and Vicious calls me and says "Come to Montreal we're doing the video for "Spanish Fly."" I pretty much fainted because I thought nothing would come out of it, so that's why today my thing is to do quality songs with anyone - big or small.

I treat those guys as if they're my skinny-jeans-wearing cousins from Montreal. Oh and for the record I hate Montreal!

DH: What was it like working with the trio?
Drega: They are called brother-in-laws for a reason and it's because they are a family. From the moment I met them they treated me like their brother. Even Kashif who I thought would be a bit of diva 'cause he had all the girls going crazy was very down to earth. I treat those guys as if they're my skinny-jeans-wearing cousins from Montreal. Oh and for the record I hate Montreal!

DH: After working with TBK, you released your mixtape "Spaceships and Ferraris." How would you describe this moment in your musical journey?
Drega: To be honest up until this point I wasn't a really good rapper from a technical stand point, I had great song ideas, personality and most of all heart, but I needed to improve to be taken seriously. "Spaceships & Ferraris" was a chance for me to improve my skills, experiment, make mistakes and most of all learn from them.

DH: It's now 2010 and you are dubbing yourself the "New King." Tell us about the vibe of this single.
Drega: People who know me, know I'm really sarcastic, witty and a bit of an insult comic. "New King" is me bringing this personality into my music, along with an amazing flow, and some fun punch lines. It's not a song that's going to "save the world," I'm saving those for later. I am not saying I'm the king of rap or the new hero, "new king" means I'm a new type of rapper. I actually see myself as The Joker - the guy that's going to mess up the music industry, not for financial gain, just because.

To all the brown girls reading this, don't be afraid to go in the sun and get a tan; forget all that brainwashing your mom tells you about being fair skin - besides the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice.

DH: You are working on the new album and still putting out remixes. Do you have a preference as to what you do?
Drega: The driving force behind everything I do is to say things in music that have never been said but say them in a way that everyone can relate, not just South Asians and not just the hip-hop crowd. I want to add to the culture and not saturate it. Having said that, for original material I set the bar really high whereas for remixes I have fun saying things I can't say on real songs. I find the best remixes I do are the ones that mix substance with fun like my verses over "Run This Town" and "Power."

DH: What can we expect to hear or see from you next?
Drega: I just shot a video for my "Power" remix, so I'm going to re-release that since I love what I did on it. The concept for that is inspired by when I went to India last year and saw commercials on TV for skin whitening cream. I was totally blown away that big companies are pushing this crap on our women and wouldn't dare to sell it in North America. To all the brown girls reading this, don't be afraid to go in the sun and get a tan; forget all that brainwashing your mom tells you about being fair skin - besides the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice.

DH: What can you reveal about "Man of the Year."
Drega: The whole concept of the album is about a man bent on revenge or maybe it's redemption. I'm pretty much going hard on every song, there's nothing radio friendly about it but it's strangely universal. It's "persevere music;" music you listen to when you're working out, driving really fast or right before a big exam.

DH: Any music videos we can expect?
Drega: I'm working on the video for "New King" right now, which I will just say is inspired by my fellow Toronto native Drake.

DH: Final Message to our readers?
Drega: You can talk to me at http://www.facebook.com/princeofgoa. I'm not some big superstar that won't talk to you. Thank you to everyone on this site that has said good or bad things about how I sound, how I look and how I smell. I love you all!