
Withholding can be a very powerful tool in music. By some twisted alchemy, artists who abstain from the regular album cycles confound our expectations, excite us, and always leave us wanting more. Portion knows that all too well. Although the Scarborough rapper has been recording music since 2015, the output has been a patient slow drip of singles. You can go through all of his Soundcloud releases in, like, one-and-a-half scrolls.
There’s nothing wrong with the considered, slow-and-steady approach though. It’s clearly working out for him. He spent his last few years moving between Toronto and Atlanta, tweaking his sound amid both city’s respective scenes. Early songs like “Ambitions of a Patek,” earned him notoriety for a precocious ability to wield melody. While eulogizing a childhood friend in “Fif’s World,” Portion displayed a lyrical maturity that set him apart from his contemporaries. These early songs led him to signing with Warner Music Canada this year.
“Wave,” is only his third single in 2021 but given the relative drought we’re glad to see Portion open the floodgates. The brass-heavy anthem takes notes from Atlanta trap while Portion celebrates his recent string of successes. On “Wave,” Portion brings the hype for his debut album, due out this fall.
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