Still can’t believe this dude left us man. Still such a loss for the hip-hop community in the city. RIP King Reign. His legacy will continue on with a posthumous project starting with this joint right here! Dope.
In celebration of King Reign, we are happy to keep his music alive with the release of this video. This video would not be possible without the good people at Solis Animation and MuchFact.
Director: Lou Solis Editor: Greg Zajac Design: Brian Evinou, Kevin Lofton, Lou Solis Key Animators: Brian Evinou, Les Solis, Lou Solis, Sean Janisse Compositors: Greg Zajac, Sean Janisse Backgrounds: Brian Evinou, Lou Solis Background Painting: Michael Linington Production Company: Solis Animation Animation Producer/Production Manager: Leah Solis Producer: CLK Creative Works Executive Producer: David Cox
The King Reign legacy continues with one from the vaults (circa early 2000’s), “Santa Romeo”.
RIP King Reign.
“Santa Romeo” is a humorous story on the romantic highs and lows of a casanova that highlights many aspects of his artistry with storytelling, humour and unequivocal charm. Produced by Darp Malone, with a DJ @SkratchBastid drum edit and featuring @IvanaSantilliMusic on the horn, this track takes the listener on an adventure laden series of events with action packed, visual lyrics with upbeat, horn filled music. It’s a light hearted commentary on the always prevalent narrative of a lothario finding himself caught in a sticky situation with the chorus highlighting his unmistakably soulful voice, questioning “she loves me, she loves me not”. The whimsical yet relatable nature of “Santa Romeo” will be accompanied with a stunning upcoming animated video, to be released soon. One can’t help but visualize Reign’s words, and this special talent of his is remarkably prevalent with Santa Romeo.
And another one. This time courtesy of DJ Grouch! RIP King Reign.
Scion Sessions presents the King Reign Mixdown by DJ Grouch! This air-tight mix contains some of King Reign’s classic joints along with some fresh music off of his debut album Sincere as well as a few bonus exclusives. If you are not familiar with King Reign you’ll be happy you found this, and if your already a fan you’ll want this in your collection!
1. Happylaidback * 2. This Means War 3. Soarin To Heaven 4. Happy Endings 5. I Rap * 6. Killer * 7. Looking For Love 8. Oh No * 9. The Audacity of Hope 10. Represent 11. Money ft. Saukrates 12. Pretty Girl Lost ft. Leila Dey * 13. One More Time ft. Pharoahe Monch 14. Guilty Party ft. Saukrates 15. Don’t Fall In Love ft. Noel Gourdin * 16. Chemical Romance * 17. Promo * 18. Shining (Exclusive) 19. Sincere (Without You Remix)
This played at King Reign’s celebration of life on Sunday afternoon – which was one of the most eye-opening and moving events I’ve ever been to. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and we thank him for his contributions to the community, to the arts and to hip-hop. RIP.
DJ Law pays homage to King Reign proper. Still in shock. Just can’t believe he passed at such a young age man. What a loss for his family and our community. RIP.
One of the most talented/legendary HipHop artists coming from Toronto passed away this week. This ones for u my brother R.I.P.
The first time I heard about you, you were working with Mr. Murr and I came to check you at an event your cousin Wan put together. From that performance alone I knew you were no joke! The next time we connected was when you dropped “Lookin For Love” with Darp Malone (geez!). By that time I was doing O.T.A. Live! on Flow and so I reached out…. you came through, and we put together a nice short piece about the inspiration for that song. You did a guest Cell Therapy feature on the show and told Toronto about the connections between Trinidad’s extempo traditions and freestyle rap.
Then I found out your uncle was MR. MANSWELL?!!
Mr. Manswell was one of many Black-Caribbean men that kept a lot of us Scarborough boys out of trouble through soccer. And I realized then, that your family’s roots run deep in our community (still learning just how deep!).
So your intelligence, demeanor… your energy on the mic….. it all made sense.
All this just to say.. you mattered to me.
My sincerest condolences go out to your family and loved ones.
I’ll do my best to make sure you are remembered… and your children know that their father was respected and admired by many.
Rest in peace, and power, with my love, and the love of your communities.
Ty Harper | Music,Video | Thursday, November 26th, 2015
Toronto’s Ian Kamau is a musician, a poet and an artist; “the goal of art, I believe…” he tells us in this episode of Exclaim! TV Sweet 16s, “…is to communicate with other people.”
Kamau certainly practices what he preaches, using hip-hop to connect with others, whether he is learning from his cousin’s musical methods or sending samples to his grandmother in Trinidad. He also collaborates with fellow artists like Shad, k-os and, most recently, Montreal producer/emcee Jai Nitai Lotus. We asked Kamau to share his art with us, too, and he obliged by performing his favourite 16 bars for our cameras.
Two dope-ass artists from the city chop it up via Exclaim!’s Sweet 16s viral series. Dope!
Hosted by King Reign Filmed + edited by Katherine Kwan
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