If you’re a music fan, you should already know the hot spots for talent all over the United States. Whether it’s New York, LA, Atlanta, Florida, Michigan, Chicago, or any other pocket of talent throughout the country, there are so many different artists that are making a name for themselves, and that’s something that will never change as long as music still exists. At the same time, though, there are some unbelievably talented emcees coming from our neighbour up north, and I think it’s about time that the States finally caught up.
Toronto is obviously a music hub as well thanks to artists like Drake, Nav, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and countless others, but I feel like Montreal often gets overshadowed way more than they should. Luckily, I’ve had a chance to get familiar with a few artists throughout my years with Lyrical Lemonade, but when I found out that MONTREALITY released a cypher featuring 4 of their top emcees right now, I couldn’t wait to check it out. Similar to the XXL Freshman cyphers, they got Da-P to produce and DJ the beats in this showcase, and he definitely did a wonderful job of giving each artist an instrumental that plays to their strengths.
Nate Husser, the only artist in this lineup that I was previously aware of, kicks things off by introducing his counterparts before going into his playful and effortless flow that just seems to fluidly glide over the lighthearted production. Kid Riz comes up next, beginning with a rapid-fire cadence that combines with a cool, calm, and collected delivery that shows exactly why he was included in this activity.
SLM might’ve been the only female included in this cypher, but she proves that she walks tall and proud in any room she enters, showing off some laidback, smooth bars that are full of personality and talent. When Kay Bandz comes in, the beat switches up to better suit his swag-filled flow that is just so natural and unforced as his words roll off of his tongue and into the microphone seamlessly. Finally, Zach Zoya finishes things off perfectly with a slightly uncharacteristic and off-kilter cadence that might be unique and difficult to pull off, but he does so with ease, capping things off on a high note.
One of the other cool things about Montreal is the fact that it’s a city that also speaks French, so MONTREALITY made sure to include a few French-speaking artists in another cypher which you can check out here. Montreal has a flourishing and captivating music scene and they just need a little bit more shine in order to show the rest of the world what they’re truly made of, and this cypher is an awesome way of doing so, so make sure you don’t miss out on another second of all the wonderful sounds coming from the northern music hub.