Here’s the official press release. More + tracklist under the cut!
Marco Polo – The Stupendous Adventures of Marco Polo
New Album in Stores June 29th on Duck Down Music
Lacing the world with hard-hitting bangers that maintain the head-nodding traditions of that raw East Coast boom bap, Toronto’s Marco Polo is back with another classic release through Duck Down Music. Since dropping Pumpkinhead’s Orange Moon Over Brooklyn in 2003 on Soulspazm Records — Marco’s first full-length production — until his latest 2010 Duck Down release with fire spitter Ruste Juxx, The eXXecution, Marco Polo has collected a catalog of records that would make any new jack producer second guess his career path.
Throughout his eight-years of relentless recording on critically acclaimed albums Port Authority, Double Barrel and The eXXecution, the numerous unreleased tracks, b-sides and remixes that are as ill as the rest, but never found a home, have been collected and compiled by MP to create The Stupendous Adventures of Marco Polo. “My crew and I, which includes Shylow and DJ Linx, put a lot of work into this music and just because something is older and has never been released doesn’t mean it’s scrap — we put a lot of work into it and we want people to hear it,” explains MP. Marco further laments, “there are a lot of tracks on here that were never available on CD before, or even iTunes.”
This is dope. Spinner sits down with Shad and gets commentary for each track on his new album TSOL. Still have no idea what TSOL stands for but based on Shad’s track record so far I’m not questioning anything. Peep the “previous” posts below to get caught up on all things Shad! Shouts to G.
Brandishing one of the most anticipated Canadian hip-hop releases of the year — and boasting extra indie cred thanks to contributions from Broken Social Scene members — Shad knows expectations are high for his new album ‘TSOL.’ In advance of its May 25th street date, Spinner is offering a sneak-preview stream of ‘TSOL’ alongside an exclusive conversation with Shad about each and every track.
Over the past five years, this thoughtful Kenyan-born/London, Ontario-raised rapper has emerged as the best pound-for-pound conscious MC in Canada, a regional scene that’s home to hitmakers Drake, K’naan, k-os and Kardinal Offishall.
Nice look at 1LoveTO.com‘s 1 year anniversary party! Cameos by Kardinal, Kamau and how do I say this without sounding like a pig…a bunch of really hot girls! Music by Keys N Krates which you can also get below! Video by T-Square Media. Congrats again to the whole fam for their 1st year in doing their part to change Toronto for the better.
It’s my honour to make this post right now. Shouts to Tanika Charles who’s been grinding in the city for a minute now and has recently completed her debut EP What?What!What?! This is the lead single from the project. It’s called “Silly Happy Wild”, is produced by Rich Kidd and has some serious potential to be a huge summer record here in the city…..and then the woooorld muhahahaha. Anyways, for Rich Kidd to be able to produce this and then a banger like the Tona and Adam Bomb joint is just sickening to me. Gawd damn Toronto is on FIRE right now.
Vancouver, B.C. – Shaun Boothe can really throw a journalist off her game. Not only did he begin the interview by questioning me, but he managed to call my bullshit on at least a couple of occasions: he’s disconcertingly genuine and armed with a wisdom that brings the ivory tower to the streets. Shaun’s history fits the traditional rap narrative in many ways – humble beginnings, an insatiable thirst for poetry, a golden opportunity and impending success – yet it’s not a cliche. Writing love poems for girls on the playground soon turned to winning MuchMusic’s temp contest, opening up the music industry and causing Shaun’s path to veer from the academics of philosophy and psychology.
Shaun’s tagline is Hip-Hop in 3D, a maxim which can be interpreted a couple different ways. For one, he’s modern, a little off-colour, and right in front of you. His myspace header offers up the x-ray specs of a hip-hop visionary, claiming “you’ll need these to see me,” hinting from the start that there’s a depth to his art. His performances are very interactive and mix musical timelines with black history documentaries and dual personalities. Beneath all the drama lie words of sense and storytelling. On Queen samples he speaks of the classic poor boy, the trailing underdog, always looking up. His “Unauthorized Biography” series of raps showcase influential people of African descent and his tongue-in-cheek critique of the media is bitingly truthful.
