The Longplay

By Lawrence Bailey

You know you can’t stop a good thing and Canadian hip hop is about as good as it gets.

With artists like Choclair, Swollen Members and Kardinal Offishall all consistantly hitting their stride, it is a good time to be part of the urban underground north of the 49th. Fortunately, the music industry has finally caught on to this growing domestic talent. The new Nettwerk Records release showcasing a large selection of Canadian hip-hop talent, The Longplay, has a couple of things that releases from south of the border have been lacking as of late: rhythm, intelligence and skills.

With this comes obvious improvements. No stacatto MCs (we won’t talk about Red Life), no crotch-grabbing bass, just rolling beats and a natural flow that allows for easy listening.