We’re back with another edition of Dope New Music, looking at new Canadian hip-hop and R&B releases from the past few weeks. In this edition of Dope New Music, we look at new music from Osé, Private Name Private Number, Karan Aujla, Aqyila, Rhyan Douglas and more, in no particular order.
OSÉ | “JJC”
Nigeria-born, Toronto-raised R&B/Soul and Afro-Soul artist Osé recently returned with her latest single, “JJC”. She channels her Nigerian heritage on the song, not only with the sound but the title. “JJC” is derived from the Nigerian slang “Johnny Just Come”. On the song she tackles exploitation and being underestimated, something we can all relate to.
The song, which exudes a strength and fearlessness, was produced by the talented L. Jean with vocals from the Grammy-nominated artist, producer and songwriter, Josiah Bassey. Between her vocals and the minimalist, acoustic guitar laden beat, the song is simply beautiful.
If you’re not on the Osé bandwagon yet, you better get on before it’s too late. Between the tone and clarity of her vocals, it’s only a matter of time before the world starts calling.
PRIVATE NAME PRIVATE NUMBER | “BIG PLANE”
Private Name Private Number returns with “Big Plane”, a track armed with solid vocals and production, island vibes and a catchy hook. This song arguably has the most repeat value of any song on this roundup. We’re only in February, but this is a song to bump this Summer.
Why this song isn’t on heavy radio rotation is beyond me. The track is fire.
TWOTIIME | “4U”
Ottawa artist TwoTiime returns with his Valentine’s Day release “4U”, a follow-up to “Priceless”, his debut single with Columbia Records under a deal with Polo G.
TwoTiime gained popularity with a string of hood anthems that chronicled everyday life in the streets. On his latest single, he talks about love and remaining by his girl’s side. It’s a very mature track that shows his growth and evolution, both in his content and sound, and his ability to make songs that resonate with wider audiences.
AR PAISLEY | “ONLY YOU”
AR Paisley returns with “Only You”, his first single of 2024, combining hip-hop with Hindi on the hook. This unique blend, once again separates AR Paisley as having one of the more unique sounds in the Toronto hip-hop scene, while appealing to an international audience. With a lot of bounce and Paisley’s smooth flow, this is a track to bump in the car or at your party this Spring.
It also comes with a Preet directed music video shot in Los Angeles. The video shows Paisley moving between colourful cars and locations, all while performing his new track. Fire.
Listen on Spotify and Apple Music
SHUBZ | “PRETEND”
Ottawa’s Shubz always does things on a different level with his songs and visuals and he did it again with his new single and music video “Pretend”. On the track, we hear rockstar vocals over lyrics that read like a poem about achieving your goals and winning with the people you started with.
The SIPEntertainment directed video is kind of trippy, featuring a lot of effects and transitions, as we see Shubz along the water, on a boat, and then after dark,
Listening to his sound and vocals, and looking at his consistently solid visuals, it’s clear that Shubz is an artist who has the potential to go far.
Listen on Spotify and Apple Music
8OND FEAT. ROAD RUNNER | “MEZZANINE”
It’s not everyday that you get a collab in Toronto’s hip-hop scene, which is held back by beefs and street politics. Well, 8OND recently teamed up with Road Runner for his latest single “Mezzanine”. The song came with a music video which shows the duo surrounded by expensive cars and then vibing at the club.
8OND also dropped a Valentine’s Day track titled “90 Day Fiancé”. It features a somewhat toxic love story with nice bounce and an acoustic guitar production.
Listen on Spotify and Apple Music
JUGGER | “NIGHTMARE”
Toronto artist, Jugger, is back with some new visuals for “Nightmare” off his 2023 album Puppet Master. Directed by Marcus Letts, the video is a Wes Craven-inspired horror that looks and feels like a short film.
The video shows a set of twins vibing in their bedroom when one of the twins is drawn to the living room, suffers from hallucinations, and is eventually sucked into her TV screen.
It’s a very creative concept that stands out from the predictable visuals we see today.
Listen on Spotify and Apple Music
RHYAN DOUGLAS | “CONVERSATIONS”
Brampton’s Rhyan Douglas lends his beautiful falsetto vocals to his new Elkan produced single “Conversations”, a lead up to his upcoming EP. It draws from a classic 1960’s sound that blurs the lines between R&B, Folk and Soul, and stands out from the cookie cutter, and sometimes explicit, R&B we’ve grown used to in recent years.
It comes with a new music video that’s very simple in its aesthetic which is appropriate given the beauty of the vocals and production. In the video we see Douglas with a mystery woman in front of a sports car with the occasional black and white shot, reinforcing the classic feel of the song.
If you’re into R&B, Rhyan Douglas is an artist to get excited about.
Listen on Spotify and Apple Music
AQYILA | “BLOOM”
Since making noise with her viral track “Vibe For Me”, Aqyila has been churning out honest, and sometimes feel good, R&B tracks, like “We Keep On” and “Hello”, which debuted at #30 on the Billboard’s TikTok Top 50 Chart in December and garnered over 3.3M streams. The three songs were included on debut EP For The Better where she continued to demonstrate her smooth vocals and strong writing,
Now she’s back with her much anticipated new single “Bloom”, where she gets into her storytelling bag as she sings about real love. To quote the song, with the vocals and production, the song really does feel like a Sunday afternoon.
KARAN AUJLA | MAKING MEMORIES (UNPLUGGED)
Coming off a big year which saw him collaborate with Grammy winning DJ and producer Tiësto on the “Softly” remix, Karan Aujla recently released Making Memories (Unplugged) with stripped down renditions of “Bachke”, “Admirin’ You”, and “What…?” from his 2023 album Making Memories.
“I knew these three singles were the perfect ones to perform acoustically and I hope fans enjoy listening to them as much as I enjoyed performing them,” Karan explains.
We can bet on the Northern Punjab born and Toronto-based artist to have an even bigger 2024.
VSN | “ESCAPE” and “NO HOOKS (FREESTYLE)”
VSN is another artist to watch. On his new single “Escape” he showcases his clean and buttery vocals that measure up next to some of the biggest names in R&B.
But don’t be fooled by his vocals. He also recently released “No Hooks (Freestyle)” where he showcases his flows as a rapper.
This is an artist who can both rap and sing at a high level. He may be flying under the radar for now, but perhaps not for very long.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 310 international voters for the 81st Golden Globe Awards by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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