Toronto

10 Essential Canadian Albums of the Blog Era

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Image via Complex Original

  • Skratch Bastid/John Smith/Pip Skid, ‘Taking Care of Business’


  • Wordburglar, ‘Burglaritis’


  • Shad, ‘The Old Prince’


  • Cadence Weapon, ‘Afterparty Babies’


  • Drake, ‘So Far Gone’


  • D-Sisive, ‘Jonestown’


  • The Weeknd, ‘House of Balloons’


  • Noah23, ‘Fry Cook on Venus’


  • Various, ‘Piu Piu Beat Tape Vol.1’


  • Dead Obies, ‘Montreal $ud’

Smiley Drops Off New Single “Eternals”

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It looks like Smiley’s coming through to dominate the summer. The OVO rapper faced a slew of criticism when he emerged. A lot of people outside of Toronto didn’t necessarily try to understand his sound or his style but eventually, a lot of people began seeing what the same potential Drake saw in him years ago. These days, Smiley seems to be revving up to drop off some new music. Last month, he blessed fans with the single, “Nicky Nine Doors,” which appears to kick off the campaign for new music.

Smiley returned this week to bless fans with his latest offering, “Eternals.” The rapper shared the single, along with a new video, which finds him leveling up from previous releases. Tackling Bavarro Beatz’s energetic production, Smiley comes out the gates swinging. He boasts his status as a rapper, while referencing everything from Dragonball Z, Peter Pan, and his OVO Boss within the first minute. The OVO Sound rapper certainly has a hit on his hands with his latest offering.

Smiley Comes Out With “Eternals” 

Between the release of “Nicky Nine Doors” and now, “Eternals,” it seems like Smiley’s follow-up to Buy Or Bye 2 could be on the way. The rapper’s last project dropped in 2021 with the break-out hit, “Over The Top” ft. Drake. However, the rapper kept a low profile since Buy or Bye 2, although he released the deluxe edition and “Rush Hour Freestyle” in 2022. Evidently, he’s gearing up for something major in the months to come.

At this point, it looks like Smiley might be the next artist on the OVO Sound imprint that’s gearing up to drop. The Toronto-based label launched the year with the release of Popcaan’s Great Is He while their new signee, Naomi Sharon, released her EP Another Life around the same time. Needless to say, the entire crew is getting active in 2023 and we’re excited to see what they have up their sleeves for this summer. Check out Smiley’s new single above.

Quotable Lyrics
I’m on the edge, I don’t mean U2
Caught a case, that shit was crucial
Back on road, just like i use too
Glizz call Morgan for approval

Justin Bieber’s 15 Best Features, Ranked

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Image via Complex Original

  • 15. Beam, “Sundown”


  • 14. Post Malone, “Deja Vu”


  • 13. The Kid Laroi, “Stay”


  • 12. Skrillex f/Don Toliver, “Don’t Go”


  • 11. Shawn Mendes, “Monster”


  • 10. Wizkid f/Tems, “Essence (Remix)”


  • 9. Omar Lay, “Attention”


  • 8. Migos, “What You See”


  • 7. Juice Wrld, “Wandered to LA”


  • 6. Don Toliver f/Future, “Private Landing”


  • 5. Kehlani, “Up At Night”


  • 4. Jack U, “Where Are U Now”


  • 3. Luis Fonsi f/Daddy Yankee, “Despacito (Remix)”


  • 2. DJ Khaled f/Quavo, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne, “I’m the One”


  • 1. Travis Scott f/Young Thug, “Maria I’m Drunk”