With intent to never leave the game again, Contour has proven that he’s dedicated his time to making quality music with his new album, Saffron, which is produced by Saskatoon-based producer, Factor. Contour and Factor have been praised for having great chemistry on the album and with hits like, “Glad” and “I Only Know,” there’s no denying that. Whether you prefer relaxing at home or a night out on the town, this album has something for everyone. Adding to the catchy beats, clever lyrics and perfect melodies, Contour made the conscious decision to keep the album short, ensuring not to lose the attention of his listeners.

In a little over a month of his album release, Ron Contour spoke exclusively to MVRemix about Saffron, why he chose to come back, his personal feelings about the industry and his new projects.

MVRemix: Congrats on the new album, first of all.

Ron Contour: Thank you very much.

MVRemix: Why the name, Saffron?

Ron Contour: I was thinking yellow when I made the album. Usually a title pops into my head and that sparks the theme and then the music follows. It could have been called, Noodles and Soup, you know what I mean? I don’t feel the title is so important; it’s just like a picture.

MVRemix: So, is yellow your favorite colour?

Ron Contour: No, I hate it.

MVRemix: You were introduced almost ten years ago.

Ron Contour: Yeah, my cousin [Moka Only] introduced me to the industry. He brought me in, so, here I am.

MVRemix: How have you changed since then?

Ron Contour: I think it’s more so, lyrically. I use to be a little more out there. I think my stuff is pretty normal now. Lyrically, I used to be pretty out there, painting a fantasy with words, if you will. Nowadays I just rap about reality, you know what I mean? Like, paying a bill. Normal stuff.

MVRemix: And you left the scene for a while, right?

Ron Contour: Yeah, I left the scene just after 2000. After I put out the debut album and stuff, nothing was really shaking, you know? I got a really crummy deal with that first album. The record label actually disbanded and went bankrupt, so I just wanted to focus on personal aspects of my life, like girls and beekeeping and whatever, stuff like that.

MVRemix: What convinced you to come back on the scene?

Ron Contour: My cousin [Moka Only] got me back into it. It always comes back to him; he’s the one that’s always doing everything. I mean, he’s probably the busiest guy in hip-hop as far as releasing albums. I just saw that and it inspired me. I said, “Oh my God, this guy is coming out with another album?” And what have I done? I’m beekeeping, you know? What kind of MC keeps bees? I had three [bee] colonies and I got rid of them and came back out to the coast and started working with Moka again.

MVRemix: I like that you say you don’t care what people think of you and you’d be a proud C-lister. Does that help with making good music?

Ron Contour: Yeah, I really don’t care, I mean, if you’re an artist, you’re gonna do it because you love to do it, not because it pays your mortgage or buys you a lot of Twinkies, you know? People are entitled to have their own opinions, so it’s whatever you want. I know what I want, that’s why I’m gonna keep doing music [and] this time I’m not gonna go away. This time I’m really a problem.

MVRemix: Tell us about the album cover.

Ron Contour: Oh, it’s nothing, that’s just a cell phone shot of me just goofing around. There’s nothing deep to uncover there really.

MVRemix: Who have you worked with on this album? Is it just one other artist on the album?

Ron Contour: Ok, here’s the story with that. Usually with most of the releases I put out, Moka Only has produced them. He seems to be the in-demand beat maker right now, but I wanted to spread my wings [and] he encouraged me to do that. He hooked me up with this cat that he worked with before named Factor. So, Factor actually did all the beats on the album. And there’s only one other guest on it and that’s Def3, he’s from the Canadian prairies.

MVRemix: What was it like working with him? [Def3]

Ron Contour: It was great; he’s a wonderful character. He’s a great dude and again he’s someone I met through my cousin [Moka Only]. My cousin did an album with Def3 in 2006 called, Dog River. I’m telling you man, my cousin don’t sleep. That guy has put out 50 albums.

MVRemix: Yeah, he’s great.

Ron Contour: Yeah, and he’s also handsome.

MVRemix: I’ve read some album reviews and they said you and Factor have really good chemistry, what was it like working on the album with him?

Ron Contour: It was the type of chemistry, basically where we didn’t even have to talk. You know? He’d start to do a beat and he’d say,” Hey, what do you think about it?” And I’d be like, “Shut up! Don’t talk, I’m trying to write.” Then he’d try to say something again and I’d slap him or whatever and then he was cool, you know? Once he accepted the abuse and just quieted down, then I could just focus on writing the rhymes. I’m joking, but really, he doesn’t talk much and I don’t even really like to talk. He’d start to work on a beat and I’d say, “What do you think about going in this direction?” And I like to write pretty random, I think I’m a kind of a random guy, you know? So, we tried to reflect that in both the music production on the album and with the lyrics too.

MVRemix: Why was "Glad" chosen as your first single?

Ron Contour: I thought it was the most commercial and catchiest. And I could probably sucker people into giving me their money. Just to be honest. It just spoke to me, sometimes you just know, when you put together an album, you just know what should be the introductory track that might make people feel a sense of intrigue, or indigestion or whatever.