ATSIC S04E28 - Multiversal

I often shout “Still Right Here” on these mixes, because I've been around long enough to understand that most things in the rap world, especially the indie rap world, have a short lifespan. Groups break up, artists vanish. I've done that myself. Many podcasts never make it past episode 4, album release dates get delayed, big news often doesn't have the expected impact, and so on. There's a lot of uncertainty in the art world, and we all struggle to prioritize amidst a system that sometimes crushes us in various ways. Consequently, things get postponed or forgotten, but I hope that won't be the case for #ATSIC. Every episode feels like a potential finale, yet for now, we're still right here, and I'm proud of the continuity. It’s been a lot of work and a lot of learning new skill sets.

In this episode, we return to the roots of what I do here - gathering the newest and best rap songs, categorizing them by mood or style, and putting them into an unedited hour-long mix the likes of which Lethbridge has never imagined hearing on it’s airwaves. For everyone outside Leth, this serves as your go-to source for new-release Canadian Hip Hop and a weekly snapshot of the scene. Where I made it doesn’t matter. Typically, I feature a broader range of artists, including more independent up-and-comers from more cities than some of the larger playlists pay attention to. I seek out artists befor they get the grants for flashy videos, big festival slots, high play counts, or massive followings. I listen to the guys with 30 monthly listeners. It's like digging through liner notes used to be. Gravitating toward lyricism that makes me envious and beats that make me want to rhyme is natural. The turnover time is ridiculous. Some of these songs dropped just days before the show, and two weren't even on streaming platforms until the day after. I absolutely love exclusive tracks, but as long as it's new, I'm happy.

We kick off with another Wu-Tang Clan/Griselda track. The show is named after a Ghostface Killah song, so each episode starts with a modern Wu-Tang song or feature. This one's top notch, with Raekwon and Westside Gunn flowing seamlessly over a beat by a producer named Nappyhigh.

Diving into the main portion of the mix, we start with a sort of prayer from Stephen Hero. Or perhaps it's a scathing critique of religion. Electric guitar samples and sirens accompany him rapping about coming back like Jesus and making various other biblical references. Sometimes, I don't mind scratching my head to decipher the lyrics; it's part of the artistry of anything deeper than pop music. When I create these mixes, I've only heard the songs once or twice, and I'm often gaming or chatting on my Twitch stream while pretending to pay attention. I choose based on how a song feels, or by a catchy hook or funny punchline or two. I’ll have to ask about this track when I interview Mr. Hero on Fly in Formation on Oct 24.

Out of the four singles from Mickey O'Brien's upcoming album "Orebody," "Alchemy" stands out. Mickey brings in Adam Bomb and D-Sisive to deliver verses that are both masterful in their own rights over a Fresh Kils beat. There's a remix by Factor Chandelier in the DJ Pack, but I prefer the original's knock. Adam Bomb's bars are fire, especially, "Hand me two 9s, and I'll take the 1% out. Ask me to rhyme, better break the f***ing rent out." And that "LEG to the End out" sign-off. Mickey throwing all the shade on his verse, classic disses to the faceless mass of emcees everyone’s always hating on. Fuck those guys and their bullshit music.

NY emcee Snackz and Toronto-based producer Finn recently released a full album called "All Things Considered." I played the track "Quick Reminder" featuring Asun Eastwood. I haven't listened to the whole project yet, but I'm looking forward to it, especially the other Toronto feature from Lord Juco. Finn has a knack for sampling soul that shines once again on this, and Asun Eastwood's list of dietary requirements for his 'only eating seafood' era provided a chuckle. Talented artists like this deserve to eat good; just watch out for mercury poisoning!

Skizza is the Saskatoon homie; dope emcee, collaborator, and friend of the show who’s been putting in time in the gym, dropping 3 albums this year in a series called Champion Sesason. Part 3 goes online on Sept 30, tomorrow as I write this. Not going to lie, I just realized this is another one this episode where I was #ATSICEarly. He sent over a drop that I took the name of the episode from too, so that’s new. Best in the multiverse for sure. In the drop Skizza also shouts to Baggylean, who’s on a fishing trip this week, catching whoppers I’m sure. I told Skizza I needed more voices saying his name, and I still do, so that drop works perfectly. I think I’m going to end up working with different DJ’s to spread out the workload amongst the homies, but he’s definitely going to be one of them making regular appearances. More on that as it develops I suppose.

Navi the North, a Toronto-based producer, consistently shares music. This time, he's featured Influence Getem and Die Empty, and together they claim their position as Interstellar household names. Best Hip Hop in this universe or any other.

I've been enjoying Mathematik's new project with Parental and Lex de Kalhex, two French producers, I believe. It's all jazzy, mellow boom-bap vibes, with Math providing some introspective insights as he looks back on his years in the scene while shifting into "6Gear." This one felt like high-speed float through traffic theme music.

I wanted to feature something from the new Black Star (Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey/Mos Def) project that many people might have missed. "No Fear of Time" is a Bandcamp exclusive that they haven't even released on streaming platforms. It's incredible in my opinion, both in idea and execution. Fuck these labels man, embrace the internet. While I've always loved Yasiin Bey in any form, I've found that, stylistically, Talib Kweli's work hasn't always resonated with me as much. However, this album has him spitting in a way that's so meta and filled with internet troll slaying, politically progressive references that it stands among my favorite output from him. He’s really doing the “progressive guy who you don’t want/can’t fuck with” thing that I wish more people would do, and he’s doing it well. The right is full of these macho fucks who are too comfortable with saying and acting however they please all the time. That said, the track I played, "Freequency," also features another absolute legend, Black Thought. It's a must-listen, whether it's by famous artists or not, so I wanted to get it into a mix. I'm pretty sure it wasn't getting much airtime on the FM dial in Lethbridge before me anyway. I imagine a lot of heads online even missed this release, and that would be a shame.

If I could tweak history to make it so that we got more music from any one person.. it might be the Mighty Mos Def. So I’m happy to see him back rapping and doing it in a way that he doesnt feel like the labels are taking advantage of his creativity.

"No Halbo Espanol" has Ren Thomas making another appearance on #ATSIC. He's a New Jersey emcee that I often feature, and at one point, I even thought he was Canadian himself. On this track, he's joined by K-Prez, ethemadassassin, Juice Gawwd, and Reflection Beatdownz, none of whom are Canadian as far as I know. However, Toronto-based producer ThisIsHipHopp provided the gritty backdrop, so it still counts as CanCon, helping to keep the show above the 90 percent mark for homegrown artists.

The same trick applies to the MF DOOM track with Busta Rhymes on the hook that follows. Uncle Fester and Sean One created a full album of DOOM remixes, and this one, like the others, is dope. DOOM is one of the greatest, and I'll always be here for imaginative remixes of his music. The whole project is a good nostalgic listen.

Another one from "One Way Ticket," the final single, "Middle Finger U," has K-Riz delivering smooth smack talk to his haters. I particularly liked the line about people hating him because their girl likes him; that's probably true for many artists who make music that appeals to women in the R&B/soul realm. However, K-Riz is a lyricist who can also deliver high caliber bars in various styles, and I appreciate that he took a moment on this album, which is full of love songs, to show his lyrical range as well.

Thrust OG and BoFaatBeatz from the SnowGoons squad released a single titled "Knowledge Reigns Sumpremely," paying some homage to KRS-One. Thrust name-drops various leaders and their messages before reminding us of what KRS has always stood for on the hook. It's great to hear the Teacha mentioned alongside icons like Malcolm and Martin. If you see Hip Hop as a unified kulture that includes everyone who loves and practices it as equals, it makes sense to put KRS-One in that category. He's been advocating for the same dream for a long time.

After that, there's a new one from Edmonton emcee and friend of the show Tariiiq. "Wasted" finds him rapping about the dangers of an inflated ego over an ethereal instrumental from Pheonix the Producer, whom I know little about beyond the fact that most of their listeners are from Barcelona. It’s been crazy seeing how many plays I pick up on Mixcloud from places around the world. Spain, Italy, and France are pretty common on the lists each week. I’ve never been to Europe but I get the impression from watching tour footage ect from over there that there’s still perhaps a more expressed and emphasized love of the traditional boom bap Hip Hop sound. That’s my favourite sound for Tariiiq to rock with, but I’m also glad we’ve got to hear him test out different lanes. The guy is one of my favourite emcees in Edmonton right now for sure, and I know he’s been putting in extra work on his upcoming album since we talked about it being ready on Fly in Formation a while ago.

Heading south on HW2, we check in with cow town Calgary for a new single by Yung Papi Bonito. He recruits newcomers Kayo and Chi for his catchy new single "Good Times." I was singing along with the hook by the time the song ended, so it was an easy choice. All three emcees deliver excellent performances, and I hope Kayo and Chi continue their journey in Hip Hop and add more songs to their currently empty Spotify profiles. The track is smooth, and the hook lingers like blunt smoke.

"Roll Up the Rim" is from Montreal mainstay Nicholas Craven's new album with Raz Fresco and Estee Nack, titled "Gia... A La Carte." I did my usual Spotify check on Estee Nack, a name I've seen around a lot but never knew much about. Most of his 178,000 monthly listeners are from Bogota, Colombia. Apparently, he's the plug's favorite. Raz is always dope and has been putting in a lot of work lately. Respect due.

Daniel Son has been dropping singles with someone named Wino Willy, likely leading up to a full project release, as is his tradition. It's more of the grimy luxury talk we expect from the BBM crew captain.

The last track is the second one supplied by ThisIsHipHopp. "Glory Days" features American indie rappers I'm not familiar with, saying some gangster stuff. It fits the bill, bars and boom bap in the classic tradition. This track dropped the day after the show aired, on the same day I'm writing this. I saw ThisIsHipHopp mention the release in a promo post on Threads yesterday as I was preparing to sit down to make this episode. I replied that he should send it so I could feature it a day early, and an hour later, the song was in my inbox. I often tell rappers that they don't need a friend to be their half-hearted managers.. no matter how much extra grant money they have to make up uses for; they just need to answer their cell when it dings. Anyways...

There's a Fly in Formation interview after the music again, but this time, it's an impromptu double-header. It happened because The Mighty Rhino slept through the start time and joined us at the 55-minute mark, just in time to slap hands and tag MindBender out. We turned the page and continued the conversation for another hour or so. Both guests covered a lot of ground regarding the history of Canadian rap, so tune in and learn something about the Toronto scene. The interviews happen live on Twitch. I also hang out and listen to new music, create new episodes of #ATSIC, and stream studio sessions while I write and record my own music. Feel free to drop by and say hi, hit the follow button, and subscribing is a great way to show your support. You can subscribe for free if you link your Amazon Prime account to your Twitch account.

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Below is the schedule for upcoming Fly in Formation interviews, as well as the “Making of #ATSIC: S04E28” stream from yesterday.

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