ATSIC S05E13 - Better
The deciding of which art is “better” is often a highly opinionated one, and over the years I’ve decided there is no best rapper alive. There’s a ton of artists who reach a level of mastery and display skills and passion beyond what the average artist does, sure, but there are a lot of emcees who make it to that rarified air, and once they get there, there’s no picking one over the other in any reasonable way. Sales certainly don’t represent who’s the “best”, and too many people are running around claiming GOAT status who have never heard the LL Cool J album where the kulture got that term. Picking a “best” is the folly of youth personified.
That said, I’ll say it with my chest that #ATSIC is the best weekly mix show that covers Canadian content every episode. At least it’s the best one I’ve ever found, and trust me I’ve looked pretty extensively. It’s too much work to keep up with the steady stream of music for most DJ’s. There’s all sorts of lanes a DJ can thrive in, and DJ Dice and I both chose different aspects to specialize in. He’s got decades of practice with hand skills and turntablism, scratching, juggling, blending. I just enjoy finding and selecting new music to break, and as much as that’s not a DJ skill you often hear talked about or celebrated, it’s one that’s helped build the kulture from the ground up. Together we combine our powers to consistently deliver an hour of the best Hip Hop experience you can find, and we put in work to break new artists to new listeners for the sake of the scene.
If you want to know what I thought about the individual songs, there’s a Making of #ATSIC stream posted below where I sat yelling on this episode. The more people come through to chat with me the better those will be, so come through on Twitch for the next one.
If you appreciate the work we put in, help us out by building community on the social platforms (links at top and bottom of the page), sharing links, commenting, and dropping by for Twitch live streams to chat. If you want to join the email list, I’ll be happy to hit you with new episodes every week directly to your inbox. There’s a sign up at the bottom of the page, or you can msg me with your email on IG or FB or TT (or even X), or wherevers clever.
This episode is followed by a fairly inflammatory episode of Fly in Formation where Calgary emcee Sinzere told us what she really thinks. Check the FiF playlist for an archive of all the past 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.
Season 3 of my interview series Fly in Formation is soaring along smoothly for the time being. The most up to date schedule is posted below. I’m trying to keep the momentum with weekly live stream interviews talking to artists, but sometimes scheduling gets bumped around a bit as we flex to accommodate unexpected hurdles from time to time. Make sure to hit follow on Twitch or subscribe so you don’t have to watch the ad breaks during interviews too. I love seeing the community pop up in chat to say hi during interviews.
Telling a friend is another great way to support the show, I appreciate everyone who helps spread the word immensely.
Stay Up.
