Dalton Higgins – Author, Strategist, Legend

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Whew!

I have to be honest; this is going to be one of the most difficult pieces I have ever written. It is not just that our Classic Man has a laundry list of accolades, has multiple articles that have been written about him, or that he is the author of the critically acclaimed book Far From Over: The Music and Life of Drake. NO! That is not it at all. Actually, it is that and more.

He is currently the co-host of the Black Tea podcast (Rogers Media), and the former TV host for BPM TV (Urban Groove Show). He has enjoyed stints as a regular TV pop culture cognoscenti for MuchMusic, and CTV’s “Talk TV,” and was a long-time news reporter for Toronto’s Now Magazine and leading US youth culture magazines: The Source and Vibe Magazine.

He was handpicked as one of 30 Torontonians – by the Toronto Star to blog about ways to make the great city of Toronto an amazing place to live in. He has contributed his unique brand of writing to many major North American news media outlets including NPR, Billboard Magazine, VICE, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, CTV’s The Social, MTV, TSN, Much Music, CBC Radio’s q Metro Morning, CBC Radio, CBC TV’s The National, CTV’s Canada AM/Your Morning, City-TV’s Breakfast TV, CP24, Global TV, Sportsnet 590, and Vibe.com.

He has been interviewed and profiled on CNN, BET, NPR, 6ixBuzz, Hypebeast, The Shade Room, Complex, NME, Revolt TV, CBC q, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety (Magazine), Globe & Mail, Toronto Life, Toronto Star to Radio Canada (CBC/French), TVO, 680 News, Global News, Hazlitt, Open Book, and SUN TV among many others. He is the Canadian Screen Award Nominated Scriptwriter, and a Senior Facilitator in the award-winning “More Than A Haircut/Voices of the Shop barbershop-meets-Black” fatherhood advocacy group.

He is a PR strategist and publicist, author of six (6) books, festival producer, National Magazine Award-winning print journalist, TV/radio/podcast personality, and Toronto Metropolitan University’s Music-Professional-in-Residence. I’m not done yet, I still have to grow through his list of books; I told you: one of the most difficult pieces I have ever written, but I digress.

His critically acclaimed book “Far From Over: The Music and Life of Drake,” is featured in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame & Museum collection in Cleveland. The book explores the cultural conditions in Toronto and the United States that helped create the phenomenon we know of as Drake. His legendary “Hip Hop World,” book, which is carried in Harvard University’s hip hop archive, led to a 2010 Hip Hop Scholar of the Year award nomination courtesy of Washington DC’s WBLINC. His sixth book Rap N’ Roll: Pop Culture, Darkly Stated (2016) argues that rap music is the new rock n’ roll.

Having sold over 100,000+ books throughout North America, he teaches the popular university course “Deconstructing Drake and The Weeknd,” and continues to contribute chapters and essays to a wide range of anthologies and textbooks that are utilized in high schools and universities. The work is focused on popular culture and technology, including: “iSkills: From Txt To Talk,” “Rhymes to Re-Education,” and the anthology “In This Together” about indigeneity and blackness in hip hop culture.

He is a lead facilitator with the groundbreaking fatherhood advocacy program “More Than A Haircut,” an initiative that influenced his “Fatherhood 4.0,” book that examines the place where parenthood intersects with the worlds of technology, hip hop and hipster culture. It includes candid interviews with author Lawrence Hill (Book of Negroes), Broken Social Scene musician Charles Spearin, pro sports icons Michael “Pinball” Clemons, Dwayne De Rosario, and Damian Abraham (VICE Media, Fucked Up) among many others.

I met Dalton Higgins at an industry giveaway lounge, and what was most surprising was that he noticed who I was.

“You are Simone Jennifer Smith right?”

I was taken aback. “Yes I am.”

“Nice to meet you, Simone. I watched something about your story the other day, and I thought that it was very interesting; different you know.”

“Thank you so much.”

From there we established a vibe, and I knew that I wanted him to be my next Classic Man. We set up a time to talk the next week, and then finally, I had the chance to learn about this man with all the accolades.

“I was born and raised in Toronto,” Dalton began. “My parents came here in the late 60’s from Jamaica. I grew up in a very proud Jamaican household, what they call a Yardcore household, but still very much Canadian. I grew up on Marlee Avenue; it is one of the most fantastic places in Canada because it borders Little Jamaica, and to the East of Marlee Avenue is Forest Hill. Forest Hill is one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in all of Canada, so kids who grew up in that neighbourhood were able to see two sides of the coin. How politicians treat children from each area was fascinating and did leave an impact on how I perceive the world.”

Dalton would describe himself as an affluent businessman, and he attributes this to where he grew up.

“My mother was not afforded the opportunity of going to college, so she always had us reading, pretty much 24/7; it is why I have such a voracious appetite for literature. I went to Oakwood Collegiate; it is such an interesting school. There are a lot of great success stories, especially when it comes to Black students. They were the first school in Toronto to have a Black Student Club.

I remember reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X in grade 11, and that changed my life. The book is about redemption; for me, the relatability levels were crazy. It really resonated. I was an athlete as well, I was shooting guard on our basketball team, and back then Oakwood was killing everyone.”

With all of that reading that Dalton’s mom had made him do, he became proficient with the English language.

“I was getting 90’s in English class, and my teacher was very impressed with me, ‘You are writing on a whole other level,’ I was told. I was getting 98% in all the work that I did.

I went to York University for English Literature and Mass Communication, the study of media. I also did a joint program that allowed me to be part of the Book and Magazine Publishing (Centennial College), and I ended up graduating with two diplomas.”

Naturally, Dalton ended up becoming a writer at the student newspaper Xcaliber. “During my time at Xcaliber, I bumped into a writer at Now Magazine, and he asked me to meet the editor. We had a great meeting, and he encouraged me to write a piece for him and he loved it. Like that, I became a paid journalist, and this was my introduction into the media world. To be honest, it is what paid off most of my tuition. This is not the normal pathway for a journalist, so I see myself as being blessed.”

His next venture was writing for Word Magazine. “I was one of the feature writers there, and still freelancing at Now Magazine. I met a gentleman who worked for Source Magazine. He was looking for writing gigs in Toronto, and I was the editor for Word Magazine, so I assigned him some stories. In turn, he starts to assign me stories to write for The Source. The first story he assigned me was a story about White rappers, and that turned out to be a huge story for me. I was able to interview J Dilla, and this was the first time anyone had heard about him.

I also wrote for Vibe as well; the first story anyone wrote about Dwele was written by me in Vibe Magazine.”

“Incredible Dalton! Really! You have done so much when it comes to your writing career, how did you get into the PR game?”

“As you know Simone, publicists are always pitching journalists, and I was always around a lot of celebrities and super tapped into these people. People knew me as the media guy, I had written for everyone: CBC, Toronto Star, there isn’t any media house that I have not tapped into, so people trusted me, they know I have been there and done that.”

Yes! I agree. Mr. Dalton Higgins has been there and done that. Speaking to him was a motivational experience. He reminded me that my gift was important, and that I must capitalize on it. I appreciate you, Dalton. Thank you for being a beacon for all of us young African-Caribbean writers living here in the diaspora.