RUSSELL! claims his spot in Toronto’s hip hop scene with 'boy lonely'

A consistent presence in Toronto, RUSSELL! shows his versatility with his newest album

By Severina Chu

With the release of boy lonely, RUSSELL! is cementing his place in Toronto’s hip hop scene.

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“boy lonely” OFFICIAL ALBUM ART - DROP A 👦🏻 IF UR EXCITED. THE ALBUM IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER. SHOW LOVE, SHARE, MAKE IT YOUR AVI. FEBRUARY 15 art by @imsum.png

A post shared by RUSSELL! (@russellislovely) on Feb 10, 2020 at 3:00pm PST

Photo: russellislovely on Instagram, album art by imsum.png

One word to describe RUSSELL!’s journey is growth. Russell Llantino started out by posting videos on YouTube while living in Brampton, ON. In the prime time of Internet scouting, he caught the attention of a record label and decided to turn music from a hobby into a career. Going by D-Pryde, it seemed like he had the potential to reach the top.

However, multiple setbacks would put a pause on his plans. With the death of his mother and a falling out with his record label, Llantino needed to recuperate. Deciding to switch aliases, RUSSELL! and a new era of music was born.

RUSSELL! has been putting out music consistently for the past few years, and boy lonely is the newest addition to his discography.

The album features a multitude of Canadian talent, including a feature from Vietnamese-Canadian hip hop artist Dao Kahn on “FISH & CHIPS,” and production by Toronto-based producer Kyle “K-beatZ” Abacan. A close friend of his, Abacan is one of RUSSELL’s main producers and has credits on many of his past projects. 

 Admittedly, the album has an underwhelming start. “OLÉ,” while easy listening, sounds generic and doesn’t leave you expecting much. However, give the rest of the album a chance and you’ll be pulled in by RUSSELL!’s versatility.

 “Respec & Protec,” the album’s second track, is loud and unapologetic. “Just mad violence and heavy snares while I talked my shit,” RUSSELL! said about the track on Twitter.

Video: RUSSELL on YouTube

Followed by “Headtop,” “The Cook Up,” and “FISH & CHIPS,” RUSSELL!’s smooth flow over his hard beats are what we crave after that underwhelming intro.

By “LOVERBOY’S RETURN,” the album starts to switch its tone. A reference to his 2017 EP Loverboy this track introduces what makes RUSSELL! special. His ability to opt for a softer rap delivery and mix it with vocal melody makes for more relaxed energy, which is reflected in “’86 Buick” and “Roll Another One!” While both showcase RUSSELL!’s singing voice, the tracks also emphasize how naturally he can weave in a rap verse and showcase the more mellow side of hip hop.

The last two tracks of the album have a noticeably more vulnerable vibe. “Sucker” is reminiscent of the ever so popular lo-fi hip hop study playlists taking over social media. In fact, the lyric video for the track is seemingly a nod to the trend. “u won’t hear this anyway” ends the album on an emotional note, with RUSSELL! reflecting on his journey.

 RUSSELL! is starting 2020 off with a solid body of work. There’s been a growing presence of Southeast-Asian artists in hip hop, such as Filipino-Canadian duo Manila Grey and Indonesian rapper Rich Brian. Being of Filipino and Spanish descent, RUSSELL! is making a name for himself as he provides that much needed representation in Toronto.

Snotty Nose Rez Kids and the rise of Indigenous artists in the Canadian music scene

By Isabella Lopes

Meet Snotty Nose Rez Kids (SNRK): the duo of Haisla rappers who express their Indigenous experience through hip hop

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We took some time off on our homelands to do what we needed to do to reground ourselves and refocus after an amazing year of touring 🌹 2020 has already proven that we have a fuck load of work to do!! The vision is clearer than ever ✊🏽✊🏽 Big things to come 🙅🏽‍♂️🧢 #minaymovement

A post shared by 🧪Snotty Nose Rez Kids🧪 (@snottynoserezkids) on Jan 6, 2020 at 11:21am PST

Photo courtesy snottynoserezkids via Instagram

Darren “Young D” Metz and Quinton “Yung Trybez” Nyce are Indigenous rappers from Kitimat, B.C. The duo grew up on a reserve near a predominantly white town and bonded over music, writing, and the similar challenges they faced growing up.

In 2016, they sought refuge in hip hop and began making music about the unwelcoming world to Indigenous peoples. This month, they will be headlining at the nearly sold-out Fireside Festival in Kelowna, B.C.

In 2017, SNRK released two albums, a self-titled debut album in January, followed by The Average Savage in September. They started gaining public attention after their single “Skoden” — a phrase used in Indigenous communities meaning “Let’s go then” — made CBC’s list of 2017’s top 100 songs.

The song focuses on Justin Trudeau’s approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Lyrics in the song include, “Put a fist in the sky for the Sioux Tribe. Middle fingers up to the pipelines.”

Video courtesy Snotty Nose Rez Kids on YouTube

Their album The Average Savage was then shortlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize and for the 2019 Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year.

SNRK aren’t the only Indigenous artists on the rise, which is evident in Juno nominations. There have been several Indigenous nominees and winners outside of the Indigenous music category. 

In 2018, A Tribe Called Red, an electronic music band composed of Indigenous peoples and based out of Ottawa, won the Juno for Group of the Year. Buffy Sainte-Marie, an Indigenous singer-songwriter from Saskatchewan, won the Juno for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in 2016.

Within hip hop, artists like Frank Waln, JB The First Lady, Mic Jordan, DJ Shub, and SNRK, have earned thousands of streams on Youtube, Spotify and Apple Music. 

SNRK’s most recent album, TRAPLINE, dropped last spring and has been streamed over 3-million times. The album kept on the Earshot Top 10 Hip-Hop charts for over 20 weeks and was shortlisted for the 2019 Polaris Prize, making them one of three artists to ever be shortlisted in back-to-back years.

Video courtesy Snotty Nose Rez Kids via YouTube

A statement on SNRK’s website says they are spending a lot of time in the studio this year to create new music. 

The duo will be playing this weekend at Lot42 in Kitchener, Ont. 

The Weeknd's story: Toronto's most elusive pop star

From homeless to Forbes list 

By Christina Flores-Chan

Abel Tesfaye, commonly known and loved as The Weeknd, presents himself as the shy and mysterious (but also kind of cool) guy we all secretly wanted to be friends with in high school, and we’re here for it. But before he was charting the billboards with Grammys to his name, he was just Abel, a high school dropout in Toronto.

Tesfaye was born to Ethiopian immigrant parents and was raised by his mother in Scarborough, on the east side of the city. He grew up listening to Michael Jackson, who — he told the Rolling Stone — was something of a godly figure in Ethiopia.

Smoking weed for the first time at 11-years-old, his lifestyle eventually led to a heavily reliant relationship with harder drugs. According to his interview with The Guardian, at 17, Tesfaye loaded a mattress into a van and left home for Parkdale, another suburb in Toronto. At 18, the singer had spent time in jail and decided it was time to turn his life around. He landed a job at American Apparel and began writing his own music.

Three years later, he released his first three songs on YouTube, “The Morning,’’ ‘‘What You Need’’ and ‘‘Loft Music.” Oliver El-Khatib, Drake’s manager, discovered them and promptly posted Tesfaye’s tunes onto the OVO Blog. Needless to say, he became a local hit in less than two months.

Video courtesy The Weeknd on YouTube

The Weeknd’s fan base only continued to grow when his name was featured on Drake’s album Take Care, followed by the 2012 release of Trilogy, a set of three independently released mixtapes. By 2014, his voice on the radio in Ariana Grande’s hit song “Love Me Harder” had become mainstream. But, it wasn’t until 2015, when Tesfaye’s Beauty Behind the Madness came out that his popularity skyrocketed. The album, an eargasm of lush R&B beats underneath layers of silky vocals packed in 14 songs including the Fifty Shades of Grey track, “Earned It,” built his audience even further.

Video courtesy The Weeknd on YouTube

The fascination around the singer went international and quickly spread, though Tesfaye often shied away from too much publicity, declining interviews and paparazzi pictures. He told Complex Magazine his elusive behaviour was originally unintentional, and that he was simply insecure in the beginning. Eventually though, the air of mystery became a part of his brand. “The whole “enigmatic artist” thing, I just ran with it. No one could find pictures of me. It reminded me of some villain shit,” the singer told Complex. 

And it worked. People were dying to know who was behind the sultry, sexy voice of The Weeknd. Why did he wear his hair like that? How could he be singing about such intimate experiences, and yet share so little about himself with his audience?

Video courtesy The Weeknd on YouTube

By the release of his next two albums, 2016’s Starboy, and 2018’s My Dear Melancholy, The Weeknd had finally embraced his fame and now stands as one of the household names of this generation’s hip hop and R&B scene. Currently the winner of three Grammys (for Beauty Behind the Madness, Starboy, and My Dear Melancholy), the music industry can rest easy knowing they took a chance befriending the quiet kid in the corner of the school hallways.