Super Duty Tough Work are a Canadian art-rap/hip hop group from Winnipeg, Manitoba. [1] They are most noted for their 2019 EP Studies in Grey, which was longlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize. [2]
The project is led by Brendan Grey, [1] fronting an eight-piece band of both local and international musicians whose music uses live instruments to recreate the sound and feel of classic hip hop production tools, such as the MPC2000 or Roland SP404. [3]
In addition to their Polaris Prize nomination, the band were nominated for Best Rap/Hip Hop Group at the Western Canadian Music Awards in 2020. [4]
Paradigm Shift was a longlisted nominee for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize. [5]
Warsawpack was a Canadian experimental rap rock group based in Hamilton, Ontario. The band's music fuses hip hop, jazz, dub, groove and rock. The band's songs contained mostly politically charged lyrics that critiqued Western consumerism and neo-colonialism.
Shadrach Kabango, known professionally as Shad or Shad K, is a Canadian rapper and broadcaster. Beginning his career in 2005, has released seven studio albums and three extended plays. He won a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011 and five of his albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, the most short-list nominations of any artist in the prize's history. 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.
KEN Mode is a Canadian noise rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, that was formed in September 1999.
Imaginary Cities was a Canadian indie pop duo based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The project consisted of multi-instrumentalist Rusty Matyas, formerly of the Waking Eyes and a sometime collaborator of the Weakerthans, and vocalist Marti Sarbit.
Pierre Kwenders is the stage name of José Louis Modabi, a Congolese-Canadian musician. His 2014 album Le Dernier empereur bantou was a shortlisted nominee for the Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2015, and a longlisted nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize. Kwenders, who sings and raps in English, French, Lingala and Tshiluba, is noted for blending both African music and western pop music influences, including hip hop and electronic music, into his style.
Loud is the stage name of Simon Cliche Trudeau, a Canadian rapper from Quebec.
Snotty Nose Rez Kids are a First Nations hip hop duo composed of Haisla rappers Darren "Young D" Metz and Quinton "Yung Trybez" Nyce. They are originally from Kitamaat Village, British Columbia. Their 2017 album The Average Savage was shortlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize, and for the Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2019. In 2018, the duo received nominations for Best Hip Hop Album at the Indigenous Music Awards, and for Indigenous Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards. Their third album TRAPLINE was released on May 10, 2019 and was later shortlisted for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize. Their fourth album Life After (2021) was shortlisted for the 2022 Polaris Music Prize and was followed by their fifth album I’M GOOD, HBU? in 2022.
Ariel Engle is a Canadian indie pop singer and songwriter who records and performs as a solo artist and with Broken Social Scene.
Haviah Mighty is a Canadian rapper from Brampton, Ontario. She rose to prominence in 2016 as a member of the hip hop group the Sorority, before releasing several EPs on her own, most notably Flower City, in 2017. Her first album, 13th Floor, was released in 2019 and won the Polaris Music Prize. After her debut, XXL named her one of the "15 Toronto rappers you should know" and CBC Music called her one of the "New Faces of Canadian Hip Hop".
Oluwatobi Feyisara Ajibolade, known professionally as Tobi , is a Nigerian-born Canadian singer and rapper signed to RCA Records and Same Plate Entertainment. He released his debut studio album Still in May 2019, his second album Elements Vol. 1 in 2020, and his third album PANIC in 2023.
The 2020 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on October 19, 2020. The longlist was announced on June 15, 2020, with the shortlist following on July 15, 2020 and the winner announced on October 19, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional winner's gala did not take place this year, and instead a special cinematic tribute to the shortlist was streamed online by CBC Music and CBC Gem, following which the winner was announced.
Ashanti Mutinta, known professionally as Backxwash, is a Zambian-Canadian rapper and producer based in Montreal, Quebec. She is most noted for her 2020 album God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It, which won the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.
Corridor is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of vocalist and bassist Dominic Berthiaume, guitarist Julian Perreault, guitarist and vocalist Jonathan Robert and drummer Julien Bakvis, with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Samuel Gougoux in live performances. The first francophone band ever signed to the influential indie label Sub Pop, they are most noted for their 2019 album Junior, which was a longlisted nominee for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.
Begonia is the stage name of Alexa Dirks, a Canadian pop singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is most noted for her 2019 album Fear, which was longlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize and shortlisted for the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.
Savannah Ré Simpson, simply known as Savannah Ré, is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter from Scarborough, Ontario, whose debut EP Opia was released in 2020.
DijahSB is a rapper based in Toronto, Ontario. They released their debut album 2020 the Album in 2020, followed by their second album Head Above the Waters in 2021.
Zoon is a Canadian shoegaze band from Hamilton, Ontario, whose core member is Anishinaabe musician Daniel Monkman. They are most noted for their 2020 album Bleached Wavves, which was a shortlisted finalist for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize.
TEKE::TEKE is a Canadian psychedelic rock band, whose music blends Japanese rock and surf rock influences. They are most noted for their album Shirushi, which was a longlisted nominee for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize.
Sargeant X Comrade is a Canadian soul music duo from Calgary, Alberta, whose full-length debut album Magic Radio was a longlisted nominee for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize.
Planet Giza is a Canadian hip hop trio from Montreal, Quebec. Consisting of rapper Tony Stone and producers Rami B and DoomX, the band create music influenced by funk and jazz.