White emcees have been fighting an uphill battle for quite some time, viewed by many as nothing more than a novelty act (see Vanilla Ice, or Organized Rhyme) no matter what their upbringing was. It wasn’t until an unknown rapper brokeoutof Detroit thatwhiterappers/emceeswere truly taken seriously in the hip-hop community south of the border. Meanwhile, back in the Maritimes a hip-hop scene was just beginning to take shape around a talented emcee who hailed from the most unlikely of places in Enfield, Nova Scotia. Few people realize that Luke “Classified” Boyd has been making music long before “The Maritimes” or “It’s Hard to Be Hip-Hop” began to grace the airwaves at MuchMusic. While You Were Sleeping is a re-introduction of sorts to Classified and his early work (1995 to Present) and it is refreshing to note that the aforementioned singles are rather weak in comparison to tracks such as “Fall From Paradise”, “Shit Can Be Shit” and “Life’s A Bitch”. Unfortunately, the rest of the country is beginning to discover what the Maritimes have known for a few years now, Classified is one of the hottest hip-hop commodities in Canada.