Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group from New York City. The band was formed by DJ Kurtis Mantronik and rapper MC Tee. The group is primarily remembered for its pioneering blend of old school hip hop, electronic, and club music. They underwent several genre and line-up changes during its seven-year existence between 1984 and 1991, and released five albums beginning with their 1985 debut The Album.
Ronald Eldon Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has since recorded seventeen albums. He was the subject of a 2010 documentary called Love Shines.
Sweatshop Union is a Canadian hip hop collective based in Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting of four politically-minded rap acts — Dirty Circus, Pigeon Hole, Kyprios and Innocent Bystanders. Known for their socially conscious lyrics, Sweatshop Union's music comments on issues ranging from the war in Iraq, the plight of the poor and working-class, to the negativity and misogyny of mainstream hip-hop.
Oliver Nestor, better known as DL Incognito, is a Canadian hip hop rapper and producer from Ottawa, Ontario. He is currently signed to URBNET Records but also operates his independent label Nine Planets Hip Hop along with his brother. In 2007 and 2009, he was nominated for a Juno for Best Rap Recording.
Shadrach Kabango, better known as Shad or Shad K, is a Canadian rapper and broadcaster. He has released 7 full-length albums and 3 EP's since his debut in 2005. He won a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011 and 5 of his albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, the most short-list nominations of any artist since the prize's creation in 2006. In 2013, CBC Music named Shad the second-greatest Canadian rapper of all time. Shad hosted Q on CBC Radio One from 2015 to 2016 and hosts the International Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution on HBO Canada and Netflix.
Sean Jordan, better known by his stage name Wordburglar, is a Canadian alternative hip hop artist from Halifax, Nova Scotia, now based in Toronto. His style is best described as upbeat and charismatic with an emphasis on wordplay and humour. He primarily works with his crews Backburner and Props Dept for all aspects of his music creation, including production, cuts, mixing, mastering and guest vocals.
Leslie Seaforth, better known by his stage name More Or Les, is a Canadian rapper, DJ and producer. He is a member of the Canadian hip hop crew Backburner. He currently resides in his hometown of Toronto, Ontario.
Arabesque, also known as Besque, is a Juno nominated rapper from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He studied graphic communications management at Ryerson University. He has signed record deals in the US, Canada, the UK and Japan.
Daniel Faraldo, known professionally as Dan-e-o, is a Canadian hip hop artist and actor of Jamaican and Spanish descent. In June 2015, Dan-e-o received the award for Best Hip Hop Artist at the Black Canadian Awards. He is a member of the groups Monolith and Perfeck Strangers, both based in Scarborough, Ontario.
Jokers of the Scene, composed of Linus Booth, and Chris Macintyre, are a Canadian Techno/Electronic production and DJ duo.
Tru-Paz are a Toronto-based hip hop group, composed of core members Akim, Boozie, Jakie Lu and producer Dj Unknown. They have been recording and releasing hip hop music since 2001. Tru-Paz have described their sound as hip hop with reggae and soul influences. To date, they have released 4 albums and 2 EPs, all with URBNET Records/Incognito Entertainment.
If You're Reading This It's Too Late is the fourth mixtape by Canadian rapper Drake, released on February 13, 2015 without prior announcement by OVO Sound, Young Money, Cash Money and Republic Records. The mixtape was produced by Drake's longtime collaborators 40 and Boi-1da, as well as labelmate PartyNextDoor, among others. Features include PartyNextDoor, Travis Scott, and Lil Wayne.
Ché Wolton Grant, known professionally as AJ Tracey, is an independent British rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is from Ladbroke Grove, West London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by The Guardian in a list of "best new acts to catch at festivals in 2016".
Navraj Singh Goraya, known professionally as Nav, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Nav originally began his career as a producer, co-producing fellow Canadian rapper Drake's single, "Back to Back", in 2015. He then gained mainstream attention in 2016 when his song "Myself" went viral on SoundCloud. Nav is signed to Canadian singer the Weeknd's record label XO and its parent label, Republic Records, and is managed by XO managers Amir "Cash" Esmailian and Wassim "Sal" Slaiby.
And the Conquering Sun is a collaborative album by Gord Downie and The Sadies, released on Arts & Crafts Productions in 2014.
The Sorority was a Canadian hip hop group founded in Toronto in 2016. The group originally comprised Keysha Freshh, Lex Leosis, Haviah Mighty, and pHoenix Pagliacci. They released their debut album, Pledge, in 2018. Pagliacci left the group in early 2019 to focus on her own R&B project, TRP.P, while the remaining members continued touring. The trio disbanded after their final show on November 24, 2019 to focus on their respective solo careers.
Riit (ᕇᑦ) is the stage name of Rita Claire Mike-Murphy, a Canadian Inuk musician and television personality from Pangnirtung, Nunavut who is most noted as the host of APTN's children's series Anaana's Tent.
Jahvante Jahqwane Sheldon Smart, known professionally as Smoke Dawg, was a Canadian rapper, singer and songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. Smoke Dawg was a part of hip hop collective Halal Gang alongside Mustafa the Poet, Puffy L'z, Safe, and Mo-G who come together with the Prime Boys to make the supergroup Full Circle. His debut and only studio album Struggle Before Glory was released posthumously in 2018.
Jordan Whiston, better known by his stage name Jay Whiss, is a Canadian rapper and songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. He first gained international attention after the release of the single "Watch This", which appeared on OVO Sound Radio in late 2015. Whiss also appeared on the Noisey documentary 6IX RISING (2017), which showcased hip hop culture in Canada. He is one-third of the hip hop collective Prime Boys, alongside Jimmy Prime and Donnie. Prime Boys released their debut studio album Koba World on July 27, 2018; the album received a 9/10 score by Exclaim!. Whiss was also featured in the short film Remember Me, Toronto (2019) by Mustafa the Poet.
Roam is a Canadian electronic musician, record producer and songwriter based out of Toronto. Roam gained notoriety in late 2017 for his production style which often blends UK garage, future garage and 2-step garage influences with modern Toronto hip hop sounds and production techniques. Roam has released two full-length albums, 4 EPs and several singles since 2017. In 2022 he was named one of 8 artists shaping the future of Canadian electronic music
