It’s been more than a decade since Casper TNG first burst onto the underground Toronto scene with hits like “Dope Boy” and “Freeze.” At the time, he was at the forefront of a burgeoning movement of artists that helped shape Toronto’s sound into what it would become — shadowy, bass-heavy and melody-focused, with just as much R&B in the mix as rap. Casper and his brother K Money found their place at the table as some of Toronto’s leading drill artists, pushing a sound that differed from its Chicago, New York and UK counterparts through a heavier focus on melody, 808s and, of course, Toronto slang.

Draft Day shows those same Toronto streets that Casper has always rapped about through a matured lens. His lyrics are just as violent and marred by darkness as ever, but there is a certain wisdom that wasn’t always present in the past. On songs like “Not Regular” and “Die 2 Young,” he celebrates and reflects on the danger and unpredictability of his life over twisting, turning high-pitched samples, while on songs like “Trap 4 A Year II” and “Don’t Watch Tennis,” a refined humour shines through in the form of jabs and flexes.

Draft Day is a record that could only ever come out of Toronto. Its hyperlocal references — along with nods to some particularly Canadian locales (Newfoundland, you have officially received a shoutout) — will be well appreciated by those with ties to the 6ix and beyond. Still, even when Casper drops a reference that only a Canadian might catch, there’s more than enough broad appeal here for international audiences to chew on. If the success of his single “The Market” isn’t evidence of that, then what on earth is?