ATSIC S04E40 - Crunch Wrap
This marks the first of two installments this week. I'll be back on Thursday with another new trap mix. However, this time, DJ Dice and I will be presenting an hour of the best modern boom bap hitting the market. It's crunch time, aiming for 44 episodes this year—maybe 45. Expect one more this week, followed by the XMas mix on Dec 18. There's a possibility of another boom bap episode from Dice on the 21 if he's motivated too. After that we’ll be back with a Best Of the Season episode to wrap things up properly, with one song picked from each episode of the year for a mega mix.
To start things off, BABA NO BABY, a Halifax emcee, vents his troubles in the new track 'Namaste' over an ominous bass line and sparse drums. We skipped the traditional Wu feature track that we normally start with, because there’s too much indie rap to cover, and people know how to find Wu music.
That said, we still did slip an American legend into the playlist this week. KRS-One, one of my all-time favorites, has been a huge philosophical influence in my life through his Gospel of Hip Hop. Most of my opinions on rap are rooted in his teachings. Lately I’ve been watching his Sunday morning Youtube live sessions where he preaches lessons from the Gospel. It’s really similar to the book club I used to attend to talk about the Gospel of Hip Hop around 2010 in Edmonton, Cypher 5. That’s where I met DJ Dice. That said, when Kris drops new music, we’re paying attention and paying homage.
Big Sproxx is a producer out of Toronto who did a dope album with Sayzee and Richie Sosa in 2021 and has worked with a lot of other top talent over the recent years. For “Kokane and Alkahol” he recruited West coast legends Kokane and Tha Alkaholiks for a stumbling party rocker driven by a funky bass line and a falseto chorus.
Mike Boyd doesn't seem to have a social media presence. Good thing big bro is carrying him through life. When Classified posted the promo for this song it was absent of a link to his society shunning sibling, but it got plenty of attention anyways. Dope track here, “Hardy Boyds”, with celebratory vibes and horn stabs carrying the emcees into the glorious heavens with a chorus or vocal samples piping up on the hook as the vibe ascends above the clouds. Mike mentions “you’re laughing at an adult making Hip Hop, but at least I’m not an adult making Tik Toks”. I think he’s listening to young critics far too much to be having thoughts like that, let alone reciting them on songs. Ageism in Hip Hop is dying out more and more each day as legendary artists continue to be relevant into their 50s and 60s. Super lyricists don’t forget how to rap when they turn 26. The kulture is full of people who grew up along with the artists they enjoy, and it’s separated into lanes now, with something for everyone. Sure, the 20 year olds don’t wanna hear a 40 year old rapping about reality, but that’s because they’re 20 years old and don’t want to think about reality yet. Youth are supposed to reject what came before them. They’re supposed to claim that they’re the only thing relevant in the world. The adults in the room aren’t supposed to listen to them. We were there once, we’re supposed to understand the cycle and know that the youth will get over themselves eventually. Tik Tok is another topic, but it’s just social media like all the rest. That’s just the reality of the game today, play it or don’t, but don’t complain. Rappers are supposed to have something to say, that’s why they get a mic and stand on stage in front of people. It’s really pretty similar to what they all complain about being expected to do online, I don’t see the problem.
DJ R Dub L, aka Rene Double, is well-known for holding down college radio across the country, with multiple shows airing each week in several cities. “All the Way Up,” “Street Madness,” “Friday Night Fallout,” “SLE Radio,” “4DadJ’s Radio,” and “B-Side Radio” are all projects he’s involved with. So I’m not the hardest working DJ in the industry, some of these guys are ridiculously motivated. This track features an artist named Ziz, who I think might be a European duo from what I could find. Either way, its jazzy boom bap vibes that might have ended up on the XMas mix if Dice hadn’t chosen it for this episode. Chilly chill.
Next up is 'Who’s Who' from John Creasy, Uncle Fester, and Benny the Butcher—a big-name feature for a big-sounding record. John Creasy is from the American side of Niagra Falls, and Fester is a Halifax producer, and they released two projects in 2023 which I featured on ATSIC. This is a single from what I can assume is a third album in the works, because Fest told me that they would have more music coming up to talk about when I booked them for the Season 3 debut episode of Fly in Formation on January 2, 2024. Looking forward to talking to them about the scene, the sound, and the relentless grind.
Sinzere is someone I should talk to from Calgary. She never misses with these releases. This is the second single I’ve played from her in the past few episodes, so there’s likely an album coming to follow up her last one, 2022’s “Tabula Rasa.” High expectations for whatever’s next. This track, “Boogie” is a funk bop made to keep the dancefloors active. It hits the mark.
Then it’s on to a track from Serge Paul and Frost Gamble that is about as far from rap as we ever go on ATSIC. “Stop Crying” has Frost himself on the hook telling everyone to suck it up. The secret seems to be consistency and innovation, and this is an example of both. Serge floats above the head nod rhythm delivering soulful motivation to keep it pushing. Frost might be the most played artist on ATSIC, and this song might end up being how he beats his collaborator and competitor for most played artist. There’s a video too, worth a watch.
Something about Phil Harmonix reminds me of LL Cool J vocally. I think Phil is based in Toronto.. but his social media presence is lacking so who know’s maybe he’s this guy. Personally if I chose the same name as some goof I’d probably do things like link to my social media from my Spotify bio, but to each their own. All I know is most of his listeners are in Toronto, and I follow him because I’ve seen him working with Canadians in the past, I think. Either way, we play him back to back here, with “Iron Fist Scientist” and then “Showcase.” The latter features a.. probably recycled verse from Sean P.. though with Sean Price it’s always hard to know for sure because he was selling verses to everyone who had 500 dollars for a lot of years and would often recycle a bar or two in the verse while changing up the rest of what he was probably freestyling. I’m here for it, P is a cheatcode for getting on ATSIC.
Then it’s onto an Edmonton based artist named Illthought who I know about because he once worked painting houses for my brother in law (who I painted with for 15 or so years myself). This one has him alongside NDGO, who seems to be an American based in.. San Antonio? I don’t know how exactly Illthought lines up features, but he seems to have connections online or in the industry somehow, because I see him working with artists who have solid followings, even though I’ve never heard anyone but my brother in law say his name out loud in Edmonton. Maybe I just don’t talk to the right people tho, who knows. I haven’t even lived there for 6 years so I might just be out of the loop, maybe he’s talk of the town.
Twist jumped on another Navi the North beat for “My Time Now,” kicking some battle bars and claiming his time in the spotlight. Solid raw authentic Hip Hop sound indeed.
Thug Shells is a freestyle artist who I can only compare to someone like Harry Mack. She can seemingly just freestyle without fucking up for hours on end, (I’ve seen her do that on Twitch, where she has a huge and well deserved following), taking word suggestions straight from chat and weaving them seamlessly into her bars on the fly. This one “Just Do It (Like Rahhh)” has her bouncing over a booming party beat that demands attention with whistles, alarms and synth stabs. Can’t say for sure, but I know she’s been recording a lot of new material with my homie Deez Waxx, so maybe this one was his beat.. just a guess. I’ll ask her when we talk for Fly in Formation on Jan 9. I have no doubt that will be the most well attended Twitch Live ever on my channel.
Shit gets considerably more thugged out as we switch to a new one from DJ Low Cut & Daniel Son. This felt like one of the more attention grabbing singles I’ve heard Daniel Son on, with a big hook about dying legendary on his “Last Day” over some guitars and sinister strings. DS is always lyrically solid, delivering a quotable or few on every track, but this one really crystalizes the best moments into one unified package.
“Beyond Dope” is a self titled debut project from a group comprised of 2 Austrailians and 1 Canadian. That’s enough to make the cut over here. Homie who raps first reminded me of Nic Bam, but the Canuck in the mix here is named Branded Moore, joining emcee/producer Mighty Ash and producer GhostAttacK to form the group. They sent this one over, or I’d have never heard it. Now I follow them. That’s how that works.
Buck 65 has been busy, with his own “North American Addonis” album, and several singles lately showing off his off kilter lyrical prowess beside some heavy weight emcees like Blu and Slug from Atmosphere. This one has him holding his own with Doesone, Mestizo & Meaty Ogre for a track by A7PHA. Always worth hearing an emcee who you can’t predict punchlines from.
Weowtside is a new one from Slik Jack that I had to go look to see if it was off of his newest project or not, Blue Collar Crimez. It was, but releasing it again as a single to follow up the full album drop was a smart idea. That’s how you get your album featured several times on ATSIC. Albums that drop as a full project and don’t do singles before or after will tend to get swept out to see when the weekly tide of new releases comes in every Friday. There’s so much music that I don’t often go back to albums unless something like this prompts me to. Normalize promoting a project for several months.
The mix concludes with a track from Sayzee’s new 'Someone Tell Alchemist We did a Tape Vol 3’. Sayzee’s been crazy consistent with his formula of straight forward punchline driven lyricism and raw production, knocking out a few projects in the last 365. This track he brings J.O. Mairs along for the assist, talking that tough talk over a spooky sparse boom bap beat that gives the emcees all the space they need to say what they wanna say and get the message across.
Following the music, it's the finale of Fly in Formation Season 2 with J.O. Mairs and Heavy G (formerly Gudini). They discuss their collaboration project, RUNXGUN, the music they've created since forming a few years ago, and what's coming next. J.O. was out in Mississauga, and Heavy G called in from a work break in Calgary. After the interview I was happy to help point G in the direction of some of the Hip Hop heads I know in Calgary and Edmonton, since he said he was new in the city and still looking to connect with like minded artists. I know I saw J.O. has work coming up with K-Riz, but hopefully we end up seeing some more collabs between Berta and RUNXGUN, because these guys are making lyrical based boom bap that still sounds new and is getting a lot of traction with audiences across the country. I enjoyed talking with them.
Thank you for the support and for checking in. Feel free to share your thoughts on the mixes, songs, artists, my opinions, or anything else. Sound off in the comments here, on Mixcloud, or on any of the socials (YouTube).
The second season of my interview series, 'Fly in Formation,' has concluded, but Season 3 is returning in January! The Jan/Feb schedule is available online. Check the promo below to see who's coming up. 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. I’ll do more promo for next season of FiF through December.
Every week, I purchase 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.
Stay Up.
