Some countries have real news. While the United States was enamored by a pair of runaway llamas last week, Canada and Toronto in particular were dealing with a far more interesting conundrum: Police discovered a mysterious tunnel, stretching more than 30 feet and about six feet tall, near the York University campus, which is notably hosting the Pan Am tennis competition at its Rexall Centre this summer. The tunnel immediately drew contemplation of whether its purposes were devious, possibly even terror-related.
The good news, revealed today, was that police had been contacted by two twenty-somethings responsible for the tunnel and had concluded that nothing criminal was in the works. Police spokesman Victor Kwong told reporters that the men had built the tunnel for "personal reasons," reasoning that apparently didn't raise any eyebrows. The hole has since been filled and order restored.
If you find yourself with more questions stemming from why two dudes would dig an elaborate tunnel beneath Toronto...you'll have to ask someone else. We have no idea. The news inspired us to look at what else is going on in the Toronto underground however, namely the Toronto hip-hop underground. Keep your eye out for these performers in the near future:
Ain't No Love
This act may not remain "underground" for too much longer, considering that it recently signed to Warner Music and has an excellent formula in place for topping the charts. Two emcees, 1990 and Beanz, respectively trade verses while honest vocalist Saidah sings most of the hooks. It's a plan that has been fattening Rihanna's bankroll for years—singing hooks for Kanye West, Eminem, Jay Z and others. Ain't No Love looks to make a full time project out of the approach. The style of the narratives vary from the raunchier side of hip-hop ("Pussy Down") and the more pop-oriented/romantic ("Summa").
Die-Rek
Die-Rek has been around a while but that doesn't make him any less underground by our reckoning. Despite his somewhat dire sounding title, Die actually takes a fairly positive approach to life in his raps. Don't let that statement mislead you however: Just like Lecrae (with whom he's performed), positivity doesn't make him any less aggressive on the microphone. Admittedly it's been a while since he last released anything lyrical under his own name (Butta Breath during 2012) but he just dropped a collection of instrumentals (Beat Die-A-Logue Vol. 2) and he's pushing hard for ChrisJay, an emcee he's been doing work for. We haven't checked her out yet but you can bet we will.
Grindhouse Project
Why use a list like this to just introduce you to singular figures in the Toronto hip-hop scene when we can introduce you to four at once? The Grindhouse Project is a lineup of emcees Trace Motivate and 360, accompanied by DJs Soundwave and Astromega handling the instrumental side of things. The collective's title is literal, noting the group's collective enjoyment of good ol' fashioned low-budget horror films. Although it hasn't released too much music yet, the track "Middle Finger Funk" offers a promising taste: The video opens with an amazing clip from the film Octaman, and incorporates a cheesy horror synth into its beat. The rappers themselves don't fall into the horrorcore subcategory themselves but keep things raw enough to merit respect from Rhymesayers/Def Jux fanboys (like us).
Tré Mission
Canada rarely gets the same attention as an immigration destination as its neighbor down south does, but Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world, even rivaling New York and Los Angeles. It makes a perfect setting for an emcee/producer of Trinidadian/Jamaican heritage to experiment with the music of his parents' homelands and of the colossal Toronto music scene to make work as diverse as Tré Mission's. He produces his own beats as well, blending electronic influences from across grime, dancehall and jungle, and works in his own spitfire lyricism. We won't say he's quite on the same level as Nicki Minaj, but clearly something runs in that Trinidad blood.
WondaGurl
This is the toughest argument to make for an "underground" performer, as WondaGurl has kind of broken through already. After all, she's already produced beats for Drake's If You're Reading This It's Too Late, and was featured on Jay Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail at the age of 16 (the "Crown" beat is all hers). That said, she hasn't gotten her own LP yet, so she's not living with her name up in lights a la DJ Mustard so it's safe to call her an underground star for now (oh, and did we mention she was 18?). Considering that the music industry is just now getting around to giving women attention within the hip-hop genre, and it's about time that the people behind the scenes started incorporating the ladies as well.
