“A whiteboy rapper with an acoustic guitar,” known as Jimi Maze, will hit Golden this weekend on his whirlwind tour of Canada.

Talking on a cell phone from the border of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Maze said he started out as a huge fan of old-school rap music. “My original inspirations were Run DMC, Public Enemy, De La Soul. Listening to those groups on my Walkman I can remember thinking ‘this is the kind of music I want to make.’”

When he was older and started perking his ears to Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, he said he realized the connection between these acoustic storytellers and their gangsta counterparts. “If you listen to a song like Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash, that’s definitely a gangsta song.”

Now, as a solo artist, Maze has melded the attitude and vocal stylings of rap music with the folksy strumming of his acoustic guitar, creating what the London Spectator described as “...much like Hank Williams but with a lot more syllables.” Maze said he likens himself to other Canadian artists like Wax Mannequin and B.A. Johnson who meld doses of humour with their acoustic repertoire.

Maze has been in the music scene in Canada for years, playing in many bands. “I think I’ve played in seven or eight serious projects now.” And some of his bandmates have gone on to big things. Graham Walsh, who played with Maze in their band Moon Karma is now fronting a popular indie-electronic act. Other ex-bandmates of Maze’s have gone on to form psychedelic hipster rock group By Divine Right.

Maze’s latest project, Canary Mine, has been together for four years now, but disbanded for the summer. “Our drummer and his wife were having triplets, so he announced in February that he was backing out of our summer tour.” When that happened, Maze decided to strike out on his own. He had completed a successful solo tour to the east coast last year, so he was determined to head west this time around. “It’s been a lot of work setting up all these shows but it’s all worth it. It’s a great lifestyle.”

Last year his tour was called ‘The Down Homey’ tour because he ended up in Cape Breton Island where his mom lives. This year the purposely campy ‘Far From Homey’ tour will see him playing some 28 shows in six weeks in the western half of the country. “I named the tour as a joke about me being a white rapper. I’m definitely not a homey, but I consider myself a rapper.”

Maze is no stranger to traveling cross-country. According to his calculations, he’s been through every province at least 11 times. He’s also lived in a dizzying number of locations across Canada, including Kitchener/Waterloo, Ottawa, Toronto, and Cape Breton. “I’m settled in Toronto at the moment. I live in what’s called the ‘Jamaican’ neighbourhood, near Oakwood and Vaughn. It’s an interesting place to live. I can afford the rent, which allows me to focus on my art.”

He said his band has been through Golden a few times in the past, always playing at the Roadhouse. “We’ve played a lot of shows at the Roadhouse, which is a strip club. It’s funny watching guys come in and curse us, saying “#%&@! it’s a band tonight!” This year, Maze is set to play at the Moberly Pub. “I was originally in talks with the manager at the Roadhouse but we played phone tag for too long and the Moberly got back to me first.”

After this tour, Maze said he plans to tackle Europe. “It’s a two-year goal at the moment. I have friends whose band have played over there so I’ll have some contacts.” He’s been encouraged to play in Europe since his first trip out to the Rockies with his guitar in hand in 1996. “Europeans with thick accents would tell me, ‘you’d be huge in Europe!’”

Check out the zany and offbeat rap/acoustic stylings of Jimi Maze when he rocks the Moberly Pub Friday, July 11.