Lord Fury – Standing in the face of adversity

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“Because Lord Fury said so, and that’s the bottom line.” Lord Fury

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

I had to laugh. When I thought about who I was going to make our Classic Man this week, I couldn’t be more proud, even though he might seem like an unlikely candidate.

Why, you ask?

Well, this week’s Classic Man is like no one I have ever written about before. He is viewed as streetwise, a tough individual who has grown up in challenging environments and has had to be resilient in the face of extreme adversity. At one point of his life, violence was a part of his lifestyle. His name literally means ANGER, and for good reason. Many times, he had to resort to violence as a means of protecting himself, his reputation, or settling disputes. He developed survival skills out of necessity, which included: stealing, and engaging in risky behaviors to meet his basic needs.

For years, during a time where he should have had people caring for him, he was homeless, and encountered legal issues related to vagrancy and petty crimes associated with survival. This led to a cycle of incarceration and further marginalization.

Yet, there is so much more to this man; a care for people that rivals anything that people may think about who he is. Yes, he is crass! Yes, he will cuss you out and tell you about yourself in a minute. He is also one of the most caring individuals I know, a talented writer and artist, and Toronto’s Supreme Hip Hop promoter of this time.

Himself along with the Supreme Genes team represented by: DJ Mercilless, Asun Eastwood, Jason Frost, and Koolie Hi have brought Hip Hop back to Toronto in a dramatic way. The name Supreme Genes relates to the fact that this group does things on the highest level possible. It is in their DNA. All of them have a love for hip hop, and what they have set their minds to do this year has been nothing but supreme.

He has been responsible for securing live performance opportunities for some of the greatest artists of our time. He works tirelessly to create buzz around any of the artists that he brings down to entertain the Hip Hop heads in Toronto. This involves marketing and promotion efforts such as designing and distributing flyers, posters, and digital advertisements. He uses his influence and social media to not only promote the concerts that he puts on, but to also share his street wisdom, his hood logic, knowledge that only a few can truly innerstand.

I have witnessed him handle logistical aspects of live performances: sound and lighting equipment, stage setup, and ticketing. He is focused on ensuring that everything runs smoothly on the day of his events. He is also in charge of managing the budget for an event, and this involves calculating expenses, projecting revenue, and making financial decisions to ensure that the event is profitable.

I remember sitting down with our Classic Man in January of this year, and him sharing his plan to run the Supreme Genes Series in Toronto. From then, it was concert after sold out concert, people all there to support the work that he is doing. This year he has brought down: Killah Priest, Group Home, Carlton Livingston, Ghostface Killah, and he is bringing Styles P to the Opera House on October 12^th, 2023.

He is cutthroat, in your face, and has one of the biggest hearts I have ever experienced. I want to introduce our controversial Classic Man, the one and only, Lord Fury!

He has had a few monikers in his life, but it is the main part of his name that I was curious about…

“I was named Fury in grade eight. They called me Fury because I had anger issues. When I began to study and learn about who I was, I called myself Major X Fury. This was around the time when I was studying Islam with a group called Bushy Roots. We studied many different religions and would come back and reason about them. Then came the name Majah Fury, which became my moniker when my dreads began to grow past my ears. Next was Jah Fury, due to the rasta ting, and now I am known as Lord Fury. This happened when I moved back to Glendower (Scarborough), and I was part of a group called the Lord Lions. Everyone’s name had Lord in front of it.”

Fury was born in Greenwich Farm, Jamaica. He moved to England when he was six years old, moved to Florida when he was seven years old, and then moved to Canada when he was eight years old.

“Life was good; my grandmother (who lives in England) on my mom’s side was hilarious. She kinda reminded me of me. When I moved to Birmingham, one thing I remember was the racism that I experienced from East Asian people when I went to school there.”

When I moved to Canada, I experienced racism on a whole new level. Interestingly enough, people who at first did not like me ended up liking me. This was around grade two and three. Life was okay until my mom died when I was 12 years old from an aneurysm. She had suffered from high blood pressure for years. Life changed for me after that.

I was homeless, I spent most of my time in group homes, and kiddie jails. My grandmother was supposed to take me to England with her, but instead she took the insurance money and went back to England and left me here. I was staying at people’s houses, and I was not treated well. I was not putting up with it, so I left. My father had remarried, and he tried to take me in, but we did not get along. I was sleeping in staircases, robbing people, taking people’s clothes. In that generation, there were a bunch of us that were homeless. Some of us turned out okay, and some of us didn’t; that is how it goes.”

It is unimaginable for me what life must have been like for young Fury. Living life on the streets as a kid is an incredibly difficult and dangerous experience. It often involves a range of challenges and hardships that can have long-lasting physical and emotional effects on a child. Homeless kids often struggle to meet their basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, and access to clean water.

Life on the streets is fraught with dangers. Homeless children are vulnerable to violence, abuse, and exploitation by adults. They often face harassment from law enforcement, especially if they are of African descent. He did what he had to do to survive.

“I was in a group home with Nazis and every minute I was fighting. My social worker told me if I could find a foster parent, then I wouldn’t have to stay in a group home. I made a deal with one of my friends’ parents to take me in. He was supposed to collect the money, and give me a share, but that didn’t happen.”

Due to him being homeless, he often missed out on his education. The instability of his living situation made it difficult for him to attend school regularly.

“At 16 years old, I went on student welfare, but I also had to hustle, so I sold weed. It was still a struggle, trust me. I couldn’t focus on rent and school at the same time. I was stuck in crime mode, but one thing I remember doing was writing. I used to write a lot and make music.”

The first sound he was a part of was a sound called Bounty Hunter Sound System, the sound that Snow was a part of. This was the genesis of his music career. He was also a part of Vigilante Hit Squad, a hip-hop sound crew.

“Smoking weed impacted my life; it made me write, and read,” Fury shared with me. “I was deep; when I was writing songs, people were like ‘Yo, that is crazy!’ They really respected my work. I started paying for studio time and recording songs; music was the life for me, so I went down that path. I was battle rapping and freestyling, but there was no money in it. I did join a group called Lions of Judah, and that was when I made my first vinyl. We recorded that song at Knia Singh’s studio, Two Crazy Mental Studio.

I wasn’t making money, so I went back to the streets. Yes, I was doing badness, but I was helping out in the community; I would have homework clubs, book drives, chess clubs, all without government assistance. Still, I was getting into a lot of trouble and was in and out of jail.”

Then came the day that his whole life changed…

“I was at home, and my people were telling me to stay home, but I was running down money, and in turn ran into gunshots. I was shot five times: two in my stomach, two in my arm, and once in my leg. I remember getting up out of the hospital bed when I was not supposed to. They told me that I would not be able to walk for a month, and I wasn’t hearing that. They said that I would take a year to rehabilitate, but it took me three months.

I became more grateful after that, but still went back to doing the same shit. My evolution came when I met DJ Mercilless. I remember hearing his beats and I thought to myself, ‘This man is fire!’ I told him I wanted to make music with him, and the rest is history.

I went back to music and began to record more, and more. I started to work with other people in the industry, and that is how my work with Supreme Genes came to be. The first artist I had featured on a track was Junior Cat. Then it was: Killah Priest, Sheek Louch, Ghostface Killah, and Trife the God. I met them all at the same time. More and more artists began to learn about who I was, and then they began to reach out to me.”

Fury’s life can provide valuable life lessons to our young people, especially those growing up in similar environments, and facing similar challenges. He possesses resilience, street smarts, and a unique perspective on life.

Lord Fury, I salute you! Keep doing what you are doing?