ATSIC S05E05 - Live & Direct

Welcome back to another week of the finest new release rap across the country, as you've come to expect. Once again, DJ Dice handled the mix, while I curated my favorite new tracks for him to spin. Make sure to check in each week as we spotlight undiscovered artists deserving more attention, alongside drops from established artists already making waves.

To kick off the mix, I selected "Highway to Heaven" by Hanz On & Method Man for some urgently sinister vibes. Mef always delivers, and though this track was released late in 2023, it has'nt been sitting in the vault too long to go stale.

Shades Lawrence has a lot to say on a new one from TypeRight called “Rent Control.” She talks about gentrification and pushing for government intervention in notoriously inflated rent prices over a frantik piano line. If these three verses didn’t paint the picture well enough for you, I suggest you listen to the new Fly in Formation interview that I just did with Lee Reed, where I just straight up asked him how we can start to fix this societal problem.

Big Tones, an emcee from Regina now in Vancouver, brings an old-school feel mixed with new perspectives on his single "Creased AF1’s," delivering rugged lyricism rooted in tradition.

Seaside Shore is another release from Ghostboyrj, an artist who I just caught on to recently with a run of releases he’s been making. This one has him going bar for bar with Torontonian top teir lyricist Roshin, and it’s the second track from his new EP “You Never Know” that we’ve played.

K.O. Strat and Professor join producer Mr. Ilango for a self titled track (those don’t happen enough any more) “K.O. & Pro”. Keeping it simple works just fine as they each do a verse over ilango’s looped strings.

Montreal’s Eternia catches my attention when she pops up on new tracks, and she was the reason I found “Masters of the Universe.” We played the Pro-Logic remix which was just released and features an entire cipher of emcees that I know nothing about kicking satisfactory bars between a scratched hook.

“T.M.S.” is an acronym for Talk My Shit on the new one from Nvy Jones Lkr, Accosta the Man & JRoberts. J’s the only one I know on this, but my only critique here is that they should have got Asun Eastwood on a track that’s named after his catch phrase. Then again, it’s Toronto, I have no idea who has problems with who. Solid track either way.

Another release from 2023 we haven’t played yet was up next, “Heart at Home” from Moka Only & Factor Chandelier. The atmospherically spacious soundscape from Factor gave MO plenty of room to breath, and he laces it beautifully with the signature relaxed lazy afternoon delivery you know and expect. Very pretty song. Artfully done.

Bozak Morris is a Toronto based producer who really got in his bag for his new “Toronto Tape” album. I bought 5 or 6 tracks off of it, all featuring one of my favourtie Toronto emcees, and this week we played 3. The first is Daniel Son on “The Morning Sun” where he waxes poetic about early mornings on the streets over top of a high pitch sci fi synth line. Later in the mix we also played “Yacht Club” featuring Lord Juco, where he floats over a slow xylophone sample that allows his relaxed delivery to meander majestically while he says clever shit. The final track we featured from this project is from BKRS CLB tag team champions The 6th Letter & Gritfall, who lay down some luxury

Slick Jack is Montreal based, and his sound fits right in with the ongoing grimy boom bap resurgence. “Get Familiar” has him applying his razor precise pen and raspy delivery to a wonky piano loop and some deep dark bass.

Some smoked out g shit from DuesGod & Manakin Hotel featuring 808 Vybz this week with “Boom Bap Pack” for another track from Montreal.

Lord Juco is always dope, “FOOSBALL” has been in the stash for a couple months since he dropped “TESTA DURA” on Christmas day.

A more rock leaning track from Tone Chop & Frost Gamble “On the Chin” finds the veteran duo distorting Tone’s vocals to match the sinister electric guitar chord samples.

JRoberts joins RJ Payne & Body Bag Ben to “Keep It Moving” with another gritty single, assuring us that they’ve just begun.

To finish the mix, “The Mothership” is the title track off of Switch & Moka Only’s new EP. They put together a nice little project demonstrating both emcees lyrical prowess and range.

This episode is followed by a Fly in Formation interview with Vancouver based emcee Freelance Flint. I really enjoyed talking with him about building community and the importance of keeping it real in lyrics. I’m looking forward to hearing what he’s got coming up. That’s also available on YT, check the FiF playlist for an archive of all the past guests.

Season 3 of my interview series Fly in Formation continues rolling along. The Jan/Feb schedule is posted down below, and it’s full of artists I’m excited to talk to. Check the promo below to see who else is coming up, and stay tuned for the schedule going into March and April, which is almost all locked in right now. Make sure to hit follow on Twitch or subscribe so you don’t have to watch the ad breaks during interviews! Help build a community by popping up in chat and asking questions to me or the guests.

Every week, I buy every song I play, unless the artist sent it to me, saving me a buck. I believe in buying music to support independent artists. Making music is time-consuming and expensive. Streaming doesn’t pay much at all, and since streaming has become the way most people consume music, it’s even more important to make sure to buy tickets, buy music (physical or digital), and buy merch from artists you want to hear more from. Streaming pays next to nothing, so if you want artists working on more music instead of working more shifts at their day job, you need to show them love by opening your wallet and giving them financial support.

Independent shows like After the Smoke is Clear also need support. If you enjoy the music; if you enjoy learning more about artists; if you want to see the Canadian Hip Hop scene documented; if you enjoy discovering new artists without digging and navigating the algorithms yourself; please consider supporting the show.

If you don’t have the funds to support right now, that’s fine. You can listen for free because other people who do have the money have donated. You get a free weekly show, I get paid for the work I spend the hours of my week doing.

Telling a friend is another great way to support the show, I appreciate everyone who helps spread the word immensely.

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