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Excerpt lifted from the forthcoming documentary... 2 Cent – Beyond the Music NARRATOR
2 Cent was born Stefan Fylak in 1973 in a rough suburb of Toronto named Scarborough. It was this very neighbourhood that shaped the aspiring rap and hip hop scene that bled into heart of Canada's largest city. In spite of the poverty, crime and the inevitable violence that comes from living on these mean streets, and knowing there are only a few ways out, most kids in that situation dreamt of becoming athletes or musicians.But 2 Cent did make it out. Less than one year after he was born his parents bought a house in a small town named Ajax. A very nice 2 story home nestled in a street just 1 block from a beautiful waterfront with plenty of places to go and sports and clubs to keep young children occupied and happy. A town with excellent schools and neighbours who would look out for one another in the community. In short, a place where street cred goes to die. 2 CENT
I don't think people really realized how tough I had it growing up in, what was essentially, a Leave it to Beaver type existence. You can look at the in-ground pool we had in the backyard, or the cars without rust in the driveway, or the loving parents and the sister I got along well with and think “What does this kid have to worry about?” I mean, I didn't even know there were people out there who even talked back to their parents or lied for that matter. But kindergarden can be a big wake up call for a kid. I knew that first day I would need to build some street cred or I wasn't going to make it in this place.NARRATOR
But street cred would be hard to come by in a town where people valued honesty and integrity and had no patience for ne're-do-wells. He would have to work on his image. The name Stefan just wouldn't cut it in this new world. To young Stefan's surprise though, he soon found out that nick names pick you and not the other way around.2 CENT
The name 2 Cent was given to me by my best friend because it shows that I'm humble and modest and all that.MARK
I remember that day actually, Stefan's mom was showing us home videos of them from when Stefan was like 3 or 4 or something. Anyway, there was this one video where he was helping the neighbour shovel the snow on his driveway and the guy turns to him and says “How much are you going to charge me to shovel the driveway?” And little Stef looks up and goes “2 cent”. He didn't even know to say cents instead of cent, you know, cause it's plural. What an idiot! Next day at school, I told everyone about this video and his name changed to 2 Cent by recess. It was hilarious! | |||||
