
After signing to Warner Music Canada earlier this year, up-and-coming Toronto rapper Portion continues his impressive run of singles leading up to his major-label debut, I Am Nothing Without.
His latest, “Hella Clean,” switches things up from his typical fiery trap offerings and dives firmly into introspective emotive rap. Flipping the script on the typical rags-to-riches story, Portion begins telling the tale of how he escaped from a tumultuous upbringing – instead of fully relishing in his newfound success, Portion drops some bars about how mental patterns from the darker days are hard to shake even when surrounded by opulence.
Over a chilling trap-piano instrumental built out with some futuristic synth swells that match nicely with Portion’s piercing and Auto-Tuned cadence, he compares the modern-day sound of his money being counted to the unforgettable ringing out of gunshots in his past. Toronto seems to be unmatched when it comes to producing hip-hop superstars, and if his 2021 singles are anything to go by, Portion is up next.
By Glenn Alderson
To celebrate the release of Nouveaux Langages, we asked the artists who helped shape her new double album to ask the questions.
By Sofia Dawson
Daughter From Hell finds the songstress twisting the knife deeper.
By Sebastian Buzzalino
The Vernon quartet’s new album Rat Bastard is a fiercely alive mix of post-punk, dub, techno and basement-show energy.
By Kenna Clifford
Driven by the centuries-old sound of the shamisen, the Berlin-based quintet is deconstructing Japanese folk music and rebuilding it for new audiences around the world.
By Izzy Petraglia
The decade-spanning pop star held an immersive, phone-free experience for devout listeners to celebrate her new album, Music, Fashion, Film.
By Neil Jefferies
Alone Together finds the New York trio navigating grief, fatherhood and the uneasy distance between trust and suspicion.
By Sebastian Buzzalino
The Vancouver punk band bottle their chaotic live energy into a blistering black-and-white session filmed at Phony! Records.
By Cam Delisle
Paring alt-R&B back to its foundations, new avatar gives equal weight to songwriting, distance, and one of the genre's defining voices.
By Sophia Pan
Fire From the Hip finds the actor and musician taking control of his art – even if he can’t control who follows him there.
By Myles Tiessen
On Tell The Kids We Tried, the singer-songwriter wrestles with isolation and the quiet hope of feeling something at all.