We have composed a list of the “Top 15 Artist From the Rappers You Need To Watch” we based this list off of 2015 and what they have done, rather then making a list based off what people say they are going to do. We didn’t include people that are well know outside of Toronto (Jazz Cartier, Tory Lanez, Harvey Stripes.. ect) or artist who are signed. If you are an artist don’t be angry or salty you didnt make our list, remember fist, this is only our opinion, second, there is always next year. The 15 artist who we have put on this list have earned there spot, with hard work dedication, and talent. Be sure to check every single one of them out.
Not In Any Specific Order
Syph
Even though Syph has been making waves throughout Toronto over the last few years , and building his brand he has remained out of the spotlight. That was until November 2015 when he dropped his debut tape “Rookie Of The Year” , now Syph appears to be spending more time travelling through the States taking care of business then he does in Toronto. Syph’s tape was Highly Highly anticipated and be built up a enormous amount of suspense , and when he dropped it he raised the bar again with the level of music he was putting out. The tape features collab’s with Roc Nation’s Belly , Tory lanez, & JRDN, and is currently being promoted by some of the most the finest females all over social media, in the club, and all over the blogs. We expect to see Syph to stay somewhat independent if he decided to go for the “XO Special” kinda deal or stay fully independent only time will tell , Keep your eyes peel for Nu Money Gang (NMG) Syph
Blacka Da Don
If you have had an ear to the street or an eye on any of the major blogs over the last three months you have definitely noticed Blacka Da Don. Blacka has been making major moves throughout the city fro a while now, releasing content constantly. One of Blacka’s major talents is that he is able to adapt to what people are feeling , he is able to give you what u want to hear rather then what he wants to make. He does this without swaying from his message and his passion, and that shines through in his music. Blacka has gone from creating auto tuned R&B hit’s with Tory Lanez like “I understand her grind”, to creating catchy dance songs , and developing into an more talented artist. In one of his most recent release’s “ TKO” Blacka Sings for the majority of the song with ZERO autotune, word around the street is 40’s magical hands touched the boards. Blacka also dropped his signature “Commerical Slaughter 3” in 2015 going over the hottest beats of the year. Blacka has some big release’s coming in the next few months so be sure to stay tuned, Blacka will also be performing all over on all star weekend and headline Feb 18th @Nocture Night Club.
Robin Banks
If you have heard anyone say “Im TT right now” or happen to saw Drake’s Instagram post with the caption, this is the man responsible. Robin has turned up the city, making catchy, easy listening, fun music. Not to say Robins music doesn’t touch on some things the average person would sway away from , but he does it in a way that is listenable. Rather then the in your face gangster approach , he has taken the laid back partying, enjoying life, and getting rich approach, and it worked. Robins music contains a lot of Somalian slang as he and his people are majority Somalian’s , and this seems to have taken off. 2 weeks ago I was walking through a mall in Suburbia, when I see a pack of what looked like high school kids jamming and singing every lyrics on point for Robins song “ Abaay Abaay”. Robin Has extended his reach into the states and is currently across the boarder doing show’s, and networking. Keep an eye on Bank’s and the whole UTM Team for their soon to come break.
Young Stitch
Stitch has been on the scene for going on 5 years now, starting off with his music, as well as battling in the world renowned King Of The Dot battle league. Stitch was most recently seen in the King Of The Dot Cypher, which has recived major review , and Stitch seems to be standing out. Stitch has this slim shady , team back pack , basement style type flow that would make u immeditly step down from his challenge. His delivery and rhyme schemes take us back to the early 2000’s , but his lyrics take us to the future. The way he hits the doubles and changes his patterns, using 8 letter schemes, is crazy and makes his flow even more insane. We will definitely be seeing more of Stitch soon, he will be touring across the Ontario area this year if your interested in seeing him.
Cheffie Amitch
Cheffie burst on to the scene about 4 years ago, along side neighbour hood friend Blacka Da Don. Cheffie Started out with a hard street music your style that caught a buzz quick throughout the city, even opening up for French Montana, Yg , and more. Unfortunately, Cheffie faced some circumstances forcing him to take a break from the music for about a year or so, but hes back now. Cheffie has come back with a street r&b style that gives u catchy, laid back hooks, combined with his dope lyrical street style on the verses. Cheffie has proved time and time again is versatility, In 2015 he released hos heavily underrated mixtape “ The Exclusive” mainly a r&b street tape, which he followed up with a heavy trap cover of Digital Dash. Cheffie is on the rise this year , releasing over 10 videos, a mixtape, and tons of single’s over the last year this year should be big for him. In a recent radio interview with “BringYaEhGame” Cheffie announced his EP will be dropping April 19th 2016. We expect to see some big moves from Cheffie this year , stay locked to his social media!
Dusty Wallace
Dusty has been making music for a minute now, In 2002 Toronto promoter Jorgie Porgie took notice and brought him to producer Teknique who helped him craft his first EP ‘No Remorse’. Two years later his life changed drastically when he was blessed with a daughter, who became his new source of motivation. The past two years Dusty Wallace has been studying the Hip-Hop scene in North America and feels it’s time to introduce the masses to his own genre of Hip-Hop. Dusty really made a bang with his “YOEY” track , and most recently released single “IRIE” has been gaining all kinds of traction. Everything from Dusty fashion sense, to style on stage and of course the music is his own , he has created a niche of his own. He give us that trippy shit, with a Toronto street twist that makes it hit home, and we cant get enough.
Big Money
Money burst into the scene in 2014 with his “Banned From America” mixtape, he was making music previous but had to take a break due to some legal situations. It was really no surprise, when he started gaining traction, fast, Big Money’s name carried weight around the city before he started making music. If you haven’t had the chance to see him perform or listen to his latest tape “Cash Route” I highly suggest you download it ASAP. Money has a underground feel and sound with a hint of the commercial influence, but the streets really drive his music. If you listen to his older work compared to the magic he is putting out now, its crazy to see how much and how fast he has grown as a person and a artist. Money brings the streets up alot , and if you listen closely u will get a glimpse of how he came up in life, he is also currently a father of three children which has clearly influenced his music. Money also prides him self on being a business man, in his latest video “Splash” he tells you what it takes to make it to where he has made it, he also shows u just a small portion of the work he puts in, from photo shoots for his endorsements, to making sure he stops by his block. Judging by how he handles himself and his brand , it looks like it will take some major numbers from a major label to sign him.
My Name Is Ramone aka R-Tripz
“My name is Ramone” has been making music for a while on the low , but caught the cities attention with his release the “My Name Is Ramone” Mixtape. The mixtape features some local heavy weight including Peter Jackson , Jd Era, And even a Tory Lanez hook. The album was stamped by Toronto’s infamous KILO Label started by Rock Da House which helped push this tape beyond everyone’s expectations. I was walking into barber shops in Mississauga hearing his tape bumping and everyone in the place enjoying it. His style is a mix of light street music, and r&b, by that I mean he does refer to certain aspects of the streets in his music, but his not yelling in your ear how many bodies he caught. I also witnessed him a month or so ago finesse every female in the club by singing some of his new r&b joints. After the last tape its going to be hard to top , but Ramone has promised not to let us down , be on the look out for the LP.
Skitso Frenic
Skitso Frenic is a high energy, faced paced rapper who gives us a style i can only describe by saying “ imagine Eminem, Hopsin, and ODB had a baby”. Its that no holding back , saying how you feel and then some, kinda style that tends to either sky rocket or hit the ditch. Fortunately for Skitso his music is DOPE, unlike the other 90% of artist that try and create a similar style. I promise you if you have only listened to Skitso a few times , its like not listening at all. If you take the time to listen to a song from start to finish , with your eyes closed , and the best head phones you can find, you will be absolutely blown away. Skitso also puts on a amazing show, if you listen to his verse’s you can hear how fast he speeds it up sometimes, cramming a ridiculous amount of syllable’s and double’s into his bars. Not to mention the fact that the last few videos he has released have been directed and edited by him self , this man is a machine, watch him.
Sese
Sese has really made a name for him self over 2015 , know for being the “Dragon Ball Z Rapper” Sese has been making hits for some time now. With the release of his mixtape “ Sese is Lord Frieza” in 2015 and “ Sese is Perfect Cell” less then a month ago, Sese is definitely on the right path doing all the right things. He also appeared in the King Of The Dot Cypher, and has been all over the local, and online radio stations. I had the pleasure of seeing Sese perform at “Nest” this year , and I have to say the fact that he spits every word on point, with out missing a syllable or going off beat is truly amazing. The skill that Sese showcase’s through his Dragon Ball Z story telling , role play is outstanding but i feel people tend to over look it because of what he is talking about. Don’t be one of those people, take in his work.
Top5 aka Shirt Off
Top 5 really got known over the course of 2015 , even received love from the 6 god himself, and according to Top5 they got some work for us coming soon. Top5 is known for always having his shirt off , if their in the club or if its the middle of winter and they happen to pull out the drop top lambo. Shirt off, cuz why not right ? And thats the whole point. Top5’s aim is to have fun, if you listen to his music you can hear his passion to have a good time more then anything. Top5 has a few tracks with previous mention Robin Banks, and it seems when Top5 gets to work on a track with another person he really gets to have fun and the music comes out on a whole nother level. We hope to see some more music in the near future from Top5 and hopefully a track with the boy himself.
JimmyFromEastYork
The reason jimmy stands out in this over saturated market , full of copy cats , and wanna be is for one reason…. jimmy is jimmy and only jimmy. He wont change for you , he aint gunna filter what he says for you , that just him , and it why we love him. Not to mention Jimmy makes some of the best music coming out of Toronto. He gives us Future but more turnt up , Metro Booming but more booming, you see what im saying. Jimmy has assessed whats hot, and also what he likes , and has use that to influence his ever growing style. He recently has released some music that is in a whole new direction and it sounds dope! Watch out for this man in the new year he will be making waves
Jin
Jin Brown has been making waves most recently with his video calling out Tory Lanez for Stealing “New Toronto” , but in 2015 he has released 5 mixtape’s , countless singles, and a ton of videos. Along side his Partner Chillio$, Jin and the rest of the FBE crew have been putting in work ! From taking trips just to film videos, to doing all of their own editing and helping with direction along side Tkprod. Jin has some big plans for 2015 and i can tell you right now the city isn’t ready for what hes got next. Jin puts together hooks that echo through your head , and verse that will have u jumping with your squad to laughing your ass off. Jin is a very well rounded artist who is always growing and we cant wait to see what he does in 2016.
Murda
If you have been paying attention to the street culture you might have noticed Murda in the background of some of your favourite rapper’s videos, or his subtle feature’s u forgot about. But last year Murda moved to the front of the videos, and became a lot of people favourite rapper. With singles like 6 God Remix, On Me , & Ballin Murda quickly gained attention from all the right people, and seemingly out of nowhere he was introduced to and became apart of the #NotNice Click that is heavily affiliated with OVO and Mr.Drizzy Drake Himself. Of course the streets are talking , and while some say they aren’t affiliated , other are saying #NotNice is the OVO muscle and street influence. Either Way Murda is on the right path, stay tuned for more of his catchy singles , and dope videos.
Butterz G
If you didn’t catch one of Butterz what seemed like a million performance’s over 2015 , and you haven’t had the pleasure of listening to his music im not sure where you have been. Butterz has opened for countless people over 2015 , special guest appearance’s and even headlining gigs. Butterz is know for his turn up party style music, as well as his signature “THCSG” branding. Hes stage presence and performances are out of this world, I cant count the amount of time I have watched him almost fall off the stage getting to wild , jamming with his fans. Butterz is also one of the only artist in the city in the public as much as he can trying to sell tapes, approaching stores like “Zumies” to sell his latest tape “THCSG The Mixtape” for him he is puttin’ that work and its only up from here for him.
@Johnny6Bravo
