Tagged: canadianhiphop

Now this is great. I don't want to go all crazy and proclaim this the greatest Mother/Son rap collabo ever, but it has to be in the mix. I kid of course, Abdominal's wonderful mother is the only Mom I can even recall being on a track outside of Hov's mom, never mind actually rapping. So kudos to her for having the, yes, courage to step up to the mic and trade verses with her vocally-gifted son. It makes for a perfect, rather heartwarming mother's day post. Plus, sidecars rule. If you haven't heard Abdominal's last album, [...]

Last week when I was bellyaching about not having any time to post on the hill (first world problems, etc), I mentioned that there were albums I'd been meaning to post on for a while, and Modern Day Riot from The Antiheroes was certainly one of the ones I was referring to. I've tried to say something similar in my previous posts on this T.O. duo comprised of Flex and Sha Prince, but the simple and plain truth is this: if you actually care about "real" rap [...]

We can do better. When it comes to the state of modern hip hop, I think you'd find more people who believe such a statement to be true, versus the opposite viewpoint. So we can do better, but do we really want to? When it comes right down to it, it's the ignorant, guns+money+swag+drugs+misogyny rap that sells and gets you featured on all the cool blogz (i.e. the ones opposite ours). So what's a guy like Quake Matthews to do? Being the best rapper Fairview ever produced certainly gets you airplay here at the hill, but [...]

Time, we have none of it! As an addendum to the Ack's post from the other day I'm putting up this drive-by of a post to extoll the virtues of Vancouver duo Pigeon Hole and their latest record Chimp Blood . Like everyone else, my workload is ever-increasing and on the homefront we're continuing our quest to spawn our own Naedoo starting 5 with the birth of our 3rd son a couple weeks ago. So yeah, time for reasoned, thought out reviews is non-existent> BUT there are records, songs and videos that deserve to be [...]

Are we the only music site to have reviewed albums from both Muneshine and Hannah Georgas ? After doing exactly zero research on this question, I'm going to go ahead and say yes, yes we are. So a Muneshine remix of a Hannah Georgas song is the kind of thing that fits squarely in our wheelhouse, and truthfully I was prepared to enjoy it even before I heard it. Luckily it's better than I could have expected, with Muneshine outfitting this track from Georgas' last album with an amped up [...]

Ambition. Yes, every modern MC has this in abundance. Just look at all those "Rise & Grind" tweets, I mean they wouldn't tweet such a thing if they weren't getting up and getting after it, right? That's great, but what is it that most modern rappers are striving for? Money? Fame? Many unflattering tattoos? A huge chain with their own face on it? A lucrative vodka and/or energy drink endorsement deal? There's nothing wrong with this really, after all, everyone's got to make a living . But what about the music? When you're looking to get paid, you're gonna [...]

Lists are fun; pretty much everyone loves a good list . But no one loves a list like music sites, who use the things to generate "controversy" and fuel their hit habit, love a list. So it's no surprise to see a site like CBC Music jump into the fray with their recent, completely arbitrary, list of the greatest 25 Canadian rappers evar . On one hand, it's awesome that a site with the visibility and profile of CBC Music is giving coverage to CDN hip hop, [...]

I'm ghost, I'm gone. If you're still hanging around here and reading the hill on a semi-regular basis, you'd be forgiven for thinking that brief quote above, from The Antiheroes latest video I'm Ghost, describes my feelings for current hip hop. This is indeed true from time to time, but not on the whole. Believe me, I try and comb through the submissions we get to find current hip hop that I like, but like pimpin' and being green, it ain't easy. It's much easier going with what you know, and one thing I [...]

UGH, I'm in a weird spot with the hip hop right now my friends. Like any rap-loving oldster I continually lament the quality of the music in the days of yore, but I seem to have a visceral aversion to the current brand of sneering, talentless, trap/tumblr type rap that we're being sent on the regular. So either I'm actually getting old, or modern hip hop has finally gone to a place where I dare not follow. So what to do then? Here's one thing that usually works for me in times of similar trouble: forget about raps [...]

I'll be honest with you, reviewing submissions for a blog-type music site such as ours is simultaneously inspiring and dispiriting as old hell. Don't get me wrong, even with the stuff I absolutely hate, I still mostly feel honoured when someone takes the time to send us the art they've sweated & slaved over with a personal plea to have a listen. But I'm only human. I can only listen to so many blatant Drake/Kanye ripoffs before feeling the urge to go Hulk smash and tear one of Drake's terrible Coogi sweaters into a thousand multi-coloured strands. But this new [...]

Canadian bred. Sick in my head. Yes. Just yes, this all day. Head-slap drums. Victorious horns. Bob James cowbell in the mix. Nasty mic skills. Lyrics. This is the kind of hip hop that still puts me in a trance and gets me nodding my old-ass head at my desk. The Antiheroes debut, This Is FreeDUMB came out of left-field to blow my socks off, and Cloud 9, the newest single from their new album Modern Day Riot (March 25th) is proof that they are picking [...]

Watching this video first thing this AM was great for a couple reasons, firstly, there's something about so relaxing and reassuring about Moka's whole aura that when I watch any one of his more recent videos, I instantly feel better about the state of hip hop. And second, it reminded me of how much I liked Airport 6 and sent me off to listen to it a couple times for the first time in a while. You should do the same! Well that's after you enjoy the video for The Tighten Up, one of the album's stand-out tracks, [...]

Snow. Rain. Gale Force Winds. Slush. None of these things are sexy. Now this new video from The Extremities and Kaleb Simmonds, now that is sexy. It's perfect viewing to take you sexily into your weekend. And you can also forget the Weeknd, this is the kind of Canadian R&B I can get behind. Immaculately produced by Fresh Kils & Uncle Fes and featuring the vocals of the talented and perpetually unsung Kaleb Simmonds, this song was one of the unexpected highlights on the amazing Mint Condition . The video is great, and as the Ack pointed out, it [...]

"But there's so much good hip hop in Canada, why do people listen to this horseshit?!?!" - Me, whining about people who listen to bad rap music. So yeah, of course no one cares what I think, but it's not as if I've been just saying that without giving you alternatives. Case in point, Pigeon Hole . This duo, also members of Vancouver supergroup Sweatshop Union put out the sort of ideal album I'd love to see people get behind. Innovative production, cheese-free production, quality flows from both MC's, and an outlook that embraces [...]

If some mountain-climber-who-plays-an- electric-guitar type A&R dude ( word to the GZA ) were to come to me and say "Shane, I need a young, up & coming group for airplay on Canadian Urban Radio, stat!", who would I recommend? Well, my actual answer would be more along the lines of "Who is this & how did you get this number & never call me again", but were I to answer seriously I'd have include T.O./MTL collective Ain't No Love . They've got everything you need in one group: really good, modern electronic-influenced production that isn't watered-down, cheesy electro, strong [...]

• Ain't No Love - Gone Already

The finest in middle-aged hip-hop. This one sentence disclaimer serves as the entire description on the bandcamp page for Sitting Music , the latest album from charismatic Toronto emcee Abdominal. Strictly speaking, as a 38 year old white dude who's been a lifelong hip hop enthusiast, anything described as "middle-aged hip hop" should be 100% up my alley. However, when I first heard about this album - with Abs stepping back from "traditional" hip hop and exploring a different storytelling style with backing from a two-man live band (The Obliques), [...]

Hype Man. Do the kids even know what a Hype Man is these days? I mean these days it seems like dudes either only perform via a youtube video of their "exclusive freestyle" directed by their friend who is, coincidentally, a hot new filmmaker, or they hit the stage with the 14 dudes they met after they put out that one song that was kind of popular. The notion of having one specific dude tasked with backing up the MC on stage seems almost quaint now, like backup dancers, or actual rapping ability. ANYWAY, enough curmudgeonly whining, this new video [...]

Get your motor runnin'. Which in this case, means crank up your enthusiasm for finely-crafted hip hop, with a conscience, from Saskatchewan. The hip hop in question is Steppenwolf , the new single/video from the MC & Producer team-up of Kay the Aquanaut and Factor. I posted on the duo's introductory EP last year, and this is the warning shot from their promised debut record, Letters From Laika . Kay's in fine form here, his biting voice acting as a clarion call to new recruits looking to join the rest of the wolves who are choosing [...]

I have no idea why I'm only just posting this video now. If you were to try break out the bunson burners and the beakers & such to try and concoct the perfect song for the hill it would likely contain all the elements on display here. Wolves is a five man, Voltron-esque ensemble that features some of the most oft-covered MC's here at the hill. Do a search on any of Ghettosocks, Timbuktu, D-Sisive or Muneshine, and you'd find multiple gushing, damn-near fanboy level posts on each one. Add in talented T.O. producer [...]

Making a good performance video isn't the easiest thing in the world, and it's made even more challenging when you're talking about a hip hop song. But it can certainly be done, and this new video from Toronto/Montreal collective Ain't No Love is a prime example of it. I suppose it certainly helps when you film the video at a sold out show in the band's hometown (well one of their hometowns in ANL's case), as this one was, but director Max Sherman does a great job of mixing the pre-show tension/anticipation with the explosion of energy & [...]