A special moment for any artist is when a rising star links up with somebody more established opening them up to new fans all over. Houston up and comer LilJaySoIcy has done that linking up with one of the most buzzing artists out of Charlotte, Stunna 4 Vegas, for the new single “Blitz”. The beat, produced by Notsixx7, really highlights each artist’s respective signature flows. Stunna comes in with his typical aggression and LilJaySoIcy has a much more subdued delivery that hits just right. With this collaboration, it is most definitely exciting times for the artist who is making serious waves out in Houston. Stream the new single below and be on the lookout for more music from LilJaySoIcy soon!

After hyping up the release of his follow up album, Angst has finally delivered Good Friends Club. After a few full plays of this project, the step’s the internet-influenced artists has taken since his debut 2018’s Loser are clear as the young artist is coming into his own. This project is full of raw emotion and highlights many of the dark realities a lot of us struggle with. Angst has been able to connect with fans in a deep way due to this realism, depression/anxiety are daily parts of people’s lives and Angst makes music that addresses issues in a real way. Over the 7 song EP, Angst opens up more than he has previously and illuminates his experience and success since his last project. Production on this project is very much on point, including frequent collaborators such as Gin$eng, Midnight7k, Juelz, and Angst himself. Each song brings a different feel to this EP, two have been on repeat since it dropped. The first being title track “Good Friends Club” Which features quickly rising artist 916frosty who pairs with Angst’s vocals perfectly. Quite possibly, my favorite Angst collaborator is fellow Vancouver emcee Yurms, who provides his electric energy to the track. Any time …

Fresh off his collaboration with Chance The Rapper, TisaKorean has released a single that he’s been hyping up on his socials over the past few months. The infectious summer anthem is the essential Tisa, exuding positivity and a light-heartedness that is known from one of the most creative artists coming up. One thing that has always stood out to me about TisaKorean is his originality, his music stands out from the pack because it can’t really be compared to much other music out there. As mentioned, Tisa has been doing a good job of getting his fanbase excited for this release. With the dance he created for it called “The Strut”, I’m sure this will be the soundtrack to many Triller videos for months to come. Check out the new single here and be sure to follow TisaKorean on all platforms to stay up to date with releases!

Over the past few months, Toronto emcee LocoCity has been rising quickly due to the realness and emotion he brings to each of his songs. Often touching on the story of what is going on in his city, LocoCity has switched gears slightly on his most recent single “Palm Trees”. Along with the release of this song, LocoCity also dropped an incredibly vibrant video that takes place in the Dominican Republic. This song highlights Loco’s feelings of needing to move locations to experience more in life and escape the harsh realities that lie in Toronto. LocoCity always is able to craft intricate stories into his melodic bars, a large part of the reason he has caught fire so quickly in Canada and beyond. This is the lead single to his upcoming debut album, set to release later this month. Watch the video for “Palm Trees” below! Produced by Tilla Beats  

One of my favorite projects of 2018 was (((memyself&ihatepeople)) from up and coming Vancouver emcee ACDATYOUNGN***A. Today, he released a video from one of the best singles from the tape, “Icelandic”. To me, AC’s project was incredibly overlooked as his cadence and melodies created using electronic influences show truly how talented he is an artist. This video has multiple cuts bouncing back and forth between quick shots of visually interesting b-roll and AC chillin in the snow, in line with the theme of this song. There is a trend in music to move on to the next release if the music doesn’t gain traction immediately, with the release of this video it is exciting to see a push on a project that was is incredible from front to back.  AC has announced that the sequel to this project will release later this year. Watch the new video for “ICELANDIC” below and be sure to check out (((memyself&ihatepeople))) here.

Sometimes the best collaborations are the ones you don’t see coming. Both artists on this track are wildly talented, making it hard not to follow their careers quite closely ever since their music came into my life. Seeing the LA-based production powerhouse DJDS link up with Dijon, a rising artist with an incredibly velvety voice, had me pressing play instantly. The single titled “Magic Loop” is the ideal song to play as the sun sets on a long day spent with friends. There’s no doubt that this track should make it into everybody’s summer playlists as DJDS’ production style has always been prime for when the sun is shining. Dijon has consistently impressed me with his releases, obviously catching the attention of others as this collaboration is one of the biggest for an artist on his rise to prominence. Stream the new single here and look out for more collaborations from DJDS soon!

Over the past few years, the Prime Boys collective out of Toronto has produced some of the most exciting lyricists to come out of Canada. The group’s hardest hitting bar spitter Jay Whiss has always been an artist I have supported as his music carries so much emotion while keeping it incredibly real in his intricately crafted lyrics. It has been over 2 years since Jay Whiss has released any music, the drought had me anticipating when he would bless the world with more music. In the wake of the untimely passing of his close friend and rising superstar Smoke Dawg, it appeared as if the entire group stayed silent to shine a light on one of the Country’s most exciting artists gone far too soon. With the relase of Dark Cloud, Jay’s silence has been broken and over these three tracks, its clear Jay Whiss is coming to take what’s his. Dark Cloud definitely has an ominous overtone, with dark moody beats that allow Jay to clearly outline the struggles he’s faced over the past few years. The self-titled intro track features Jay opening up about the violence in Toronto that has been growing at an immense rate. Whiss’ lyrics are …

I was recently introduced to the dark and powerful R&B stylings of Madhouse, an artist out of Toronto that has released a track that is making everybody get a little dark this summer. The first thing that stood out about Madhouse is his smooth vocals over the electronic-influenced beat that allow the rising artist to fully showcase his talents. This is Madhouse’s first in just under a year, he has clearly taken that time to develop his sound and it really shows on his latest release “Oh No!”. Coming from Toronto, the influence of The Weeknd is evident here as Madhouse has a comparably impactful voice definitely drew comparisons to the Canadian King of R&B. Excited to see what Madhouse has in store for the rest of the year, if “Oh No!” is just the introduction then I’m sure what’s to come will deserve your attention. Stream the new single below! Produced by Herag Sanbalian & Sascha Andor Cover Photo by Drew Yorke