The emergence of New Toronto Hip Hop: Who's got next?

With the emergence of UK drill it seems many rappers have copied that sound. Most notoriously East Coast rappers. A lot of Toronto rappers seem to have a track boasting that sound as part of their arsenal as well. Where’s the versatility gone though? While there are many beat knockin’ raps by millennial rappers, at times music can seem lost and monotonous. This sparked a conversation between me and my longtime friend, former DJ, DJ Biskit, who has competed in the world DMC DJ battles and definitely has an ear for good music. The conversation made me ask — Who is restoring the feeling in hip hop? Who’s got next?

Internationally or even locally, if we’re looking at post-2000’s rap music, the UK has made a strong argument for edging out NYC. Especially when considering that their classic boom bap sound has faded. Don’t get me wrong some NYC rappers like Dave East, Papoose and The Lox are controlling the fort. For the rest, they’re simply on the outside looking in and will unlikely see large commercial success and fame. Toronto’s rap sound is on its come up but isn’t much better. 90’s hip hop is a supremacy that sets a standard or metric for those that followed. The enforcement of this standard is pretty much dead because a lot of songs sound the same and have little to no substance.

The good news is Toronto hip hop is emerging largely because of Drake’s international success and the spotlight on the city that comes with it. His style sets and enforces a standard because nowadays it’s easy to compile a roster of dope local rappers, form a clique and gain a micro-following/fanbase. Nowadays all you need is a Macbook and a dream. Then there is the upper echelon of rappers and crews spearheaded by OVO. Rappers that are beyond talented and blessed with better hooks, melodies and originality. The beat production is on point too! For the record, this opinion is also based on having a handful of legitimate, bouncy bangers because numbers don’t lie. Throw in some hard bars and a versatile flow and you have a few of our favourites who definitely got next.

These are just my thoughts based on Toronto hip hop’s current climate. I get it though, sometimes it’s better to sound American for global appeal but our slang is our slang which can sometimes be overused and sound “too Toronto”. This is what was sparked in the conversation with DJ Biskit and we both agreed on some Toronto-based rappers that use it well with a healthy balance of melodies, catchy hooks, a nice flow with a dose of swagg, if you know you know. Most urban centres across the country are multicultural melting pots that lend flavour to our slang with West Indian and African influence being at the heart. Obviously, Drake and his OVO roster and homegrown heavyweight collaborators like The Weeknd have put the global sonic spotlight on Canada specifically Toronto but some may wonder who is the next great hype on deck? Toronto has a history and deep roots in the hip hop music scene, without artists like Maestro Fresh Wes, Kardinal Offishal, Michie Mee and/or groups like Ghetto Concept and The Rascalz there wouldn’t even be a conversation about who’s got next. For anyone wondering, we got you covered...

Tizzy Stackz

Notable songs: Red Light, Rainstorm, Black Heart, No Witness

LocoCity

Notable songs: Krazy, Credit Card, CP24

Lil Berete

Notable songs: Black Heart, Go N Get It, Sixteen, War Ready, Ride Or Die

Some other notable mentions include singers like Loony, Mustafa, and Kennedy Rd. and rappers like Astrokidjay, APB, and Swagger Rite. It is such a good time to be a fan of Toronto’s urban sound as there are others worthy of mentioning but we’ll leave it up to you as the listener to seek and discover. Whether you are an artist or a fan feel free to drop us a line and put us on! We’d love to hear from true music lovers like you!