Urbanolgy chops it up with one of the city’s nicest.

When Matthew Progress takes the stage, it’s not just about him, it’s about the gang.

Headlining one of Toronto’s monthly hip-hop shows, The Hustle, at the local Drake Hotel, Matthew Progress follows fellow local emcees F.E.L.N. and Prince Rose on the line-up. He jumps on stage in a white beanie and shirt that bleeds to red under the spotlight overhead.

Everyone in the room piles up at the edge of the stage. As he grips the mic, his rough voice cuts through the room in rapid fire verse, with DJ Bambii behind him handling the rhythm.

Progress calls out, “A lot of people I call family are in this room right now, and that’s the gang. Make some noise if you’re in the gang.”

The crowd knows exactly what to do.

The 29-year-old Toronto rapper has gone from freestyling in the corners of his high school and working with the city’s Freedom Writers collective, to landing mentions on popular American websites, but he’s still maintained a genuine connection with other local artists.

“He’s someone that we’ve gotten to know,” says Crossword, one of the organizers behind The Hustle. “He’s out at events; he supports.”

At least a third of the show-goers inside the venue are a familiar face to Matthew Progress.

Before the show, from his seat on a couch in the hall, he either smiles, tilts his chin or stands to greet everyone with a ‘hey, what’s up’ as they walk past; then he directs them downstairs where electro hip-hop beats reverberate.

“I guess it comes from just doing different things in different spaces,” he says, about his popularity.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Previous: NEW VIDEO: MATTHEW PROGRESS – OXYGEN (DIRECTED BY SAMMY RAWAL)

KJ chops it up with Benji B. across the pond at BBC Radio 1 about all things ‘Sauga and also plays some chunes. Bom bom! Don’t ever say to Hazel that Mississauga is a Toronto suburb though haha.

Catching up with the PIQUEd collective’s features on the local scene.

Join us as we visit a l l i e and 2nd Son for a recording session at their Junction studio. They jammed out and we can RED-y. With a propensity for mixing genres and creating an atmosphere that engulfs whoever steps into her music, a l l i e has created a sound all her own.

Catch some of the old and new from a l l i e including ‘Cross My Mind’, ‘Private Island’, and ‘All For You’. Be sure to check our her recent EP entitled ‘Moonlust’. You can listen to it here: https://soundcloud.com/alliemoves

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Previously: VIDEO: CLAIRMONT THE SECOND – PIQUED FEATURE

Two of the city’s brightest chop it up about their art!

Short little CBC blurb on Kardi + some T.O. history. With a title like that though, I thought the article would be much longer. Ah well…

Also, it’s a bit misleading when it says, “The first notable rapper to be signed to a major deal in Toronto…”, as they’re forgetting to mention the likes of Michie Mee, Maestro, Dream Warriors, etc…Maybe it’s worded that way because Michie and Maestro technically had U.S. deals? Or I guess they’re just focusing on that time period of mid-90’s. Also, if you’re bringing up The Weeknd then you’re opening up the door to talk about R&B (although they seem to clearly have thrown him into the “hip-hop” box) so have to mention Deborah Cox who signed to Arista in like 1995. Tamia also had a deal back in 1995 I believe. Glenn Lewis 2002. They all had big Billboard hits (specifically Deborah Cox with “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here” which peaked at #2 on the Hot 100).

Bah! It’s a short article and I’m digressing…Shouts to Kardi man!

Seeing names like Drake or the Weeknd appear on the Billboard Hot 100 is commonplace today. But 10 years ago, there was zero Canadian hip hop on those charts.

That was until Kardinal Offishall became the first Canadian rapper to break into the Hot 100 in 2008 with his song Dangerous. His fifth album, Kardi Gras, Vol. 1: The Clash, has just come out.

More than a trend-setter, Offishall, whose real name is Jason Harrow, is now considered a trailblazer. He began putting out music in the 1990s, first on mixtapes and rap compilations and then as a major label artist, with his debut album, Eye & I, dropping in 1997. 

He summarized the landscape of the city’s hip hop successes in those early days with one word: “Bleak.”

“When we were first starting out, we were just kids from the city who believed in ourselves. We were just crazy enough to think we could do this on a worldwide level,” he said on Metro Morning Tuesday. 

The first notable rapper to be signed to a major deal in Toronto was Offishall’s colleague, Saukrates, who signed to Warner Bros. in 1996. Then came Choclair, a rapper out of Scarborough who had his own record label and then signed to Priority Records in 1998.

“I think as the crew started to do it, we started to see that these things were possible as long as our drive was that intense, the dream started to become a reality,” said Offishall.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Previous: VIDEO: KARDINAL OFFISHALL INTERVIEW W/ FLOW 93.5 FM

40 chops it up with Avid about his rise and legacy up to this point.

Previously: NEW VIDEO: NOAH “40” SHEBIB (INTERVIEW W/ PENSADO’S PLACE)

Brendan Philip chops it up with ixdaily.com. Take it in and get to know the dude.

Recently, we had the pleasure of sitting down with local artist, Brendan Philip of Fake Art Records, and got to pry the galaxy of innovation that is his mind. We talked about the fusing of genres in this day-and-age, we talked about his upcoming Brendan Philip Project and E.P., and most importantly we talked about the significance of cultural quilting and his creative processes. 

IX: Mr. Brendan Philip, introduce yourself.

BP: I’m Brendan Philip, i’m with the FARøUT geo gang. We got Keita Juma, my best friend from way back. We got Jamal. We got Yannick on photos, we got Marcus on bass. Joseph on guitar. Yeah, it’s good.

IX: It sounds like you have a big team supporting you. How did that get set into motion?

BP: About 3 years ago now, Jamal had been living in New York for a bit, and when he came back we decided – you know – we got jobs and stuff but we also got musical talent. I would go to the shows and we hung out, KJ and I went to high school together. I used to M.C. but I wanted to switch it up and start writing songs and stuff. We’ve been working on these set of songs for 3 years.

IX: That’s wicked. I just watched a SoundClash contest you participated in, can you tell me about that experience?

BP: Well, we found out Harbour Front hosts a SoundClash, a contest where a bunch of competing bands gets whittled down. We were in the final 5 and got to play a day time set… It’s kinda like, you do your set for the public, then you canvas it… “Hey! We’re doing this thing. This is our music“. It was interesting because i’m not a big social media buff but we played, and turns out we won. We got first place out of a bunch of other talented bands, won a bunch of money, and got to open for Badbadnotgood in August 2013. It felt really promising, and started to really showcase me as a local artist on the move with my team.

READ FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Previous: NEW MUSIC: BRENDAN PHILIP “SELF-TITLED” (EP)

AnchorShopPresents.com chops it up with the youngin’ John River.

By: Braxton Wignall (@maverickhippy)

Whenever I get the chance, I make sure to see John River live and support him as best I can. He is a young, humble, modest, and critical artist from Mississauga, whom with I have developed a friendship through community organizations and mutual friends. The last time we ran into each other ahead of his set at Studio Bar during this year’s CMW, I made sure to document our conversation. I’ve never really had the chance to sit down and speak with him for too long so his responses to my questions were as new to me as they are to you.

What was the last project you worked on?

The Storm, which is finished now, it just hasn’t come out yet. It will be out hopefully by early September.

What’s the story behind The Storm? Where did the inspiration come from? Did anything happen between your last project and this project that changed and put your creative energy in a better or worse place?

The Storm is like a big evolution. The first project was called The Calm so the The Storm is like the calm before the storm. Essentially it’s just a lot more sounds. We tried to progress ­­–– from a musical standpoint –– to go a lot deeper and just really make it like a lot fucking doper.

You have been performing a lot over the last couple years, really getting your name out and learning as you go, working on projects and working hard on your craft. How has that helped you grow as a person and of course as an artist?

I think growing as a person really helps make the projects better. The music is a derivative of your own personal character. Performing (and all that shit) helped me a lot because as you said, you have to learn as you go. Some shows there’s five people, some shows there’s five hundred and you’ve got to bust your ass every time regardless –– it’s your craft so you take pride in it.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Previous: VIDEO: JOHN RIVER – DROPPING DOUBT & DROPPING OUT (TEDXUTSC)

Underground Smoke chats with Little Simz and Junia-T during their tour stop in MTL.

Shouts to Junia man: his hustle, obvious talent and demeanor has always been inspiring to me…

#salute

Previously: NEW MUSIC: OthaSoul x Junia-T “Distractions” (Prod. Erik Rico)

Previously: NEW ALBUM: Junia-T – Eye See You

Previously: NEW MUSIC: Little Simz feat. Emerson Brooks “Sleep Paralysis” (Prod. Junia-T)

Rochelle Jordan sits with AG during the NY stop of her tour with JMSN.

Reintroducing the UK born-Canadian raised, Rochelle Jordan, she takes the stage in front of the awaited crowd at SOBs during her sophomore tour with JMSN. We got a chance to hook up with the RnB singer to talk about the aftermath of her album “1021?, her comparisons to other notable artists, surprising collaborations, and more. You can still catch JMSN and Rochelle Jordan on tour in a city near you! Check your local listings to see if they’re making a stop in your city