From his syrupy cadence to playful flows, Smiley has earned the respect of the biggest artist in the game, Drake, who has referred to the fellow Torontonian as his favorite rapper. Somehow, the general public hasn’t embraced Smiley in similar regards yet he’s continued to show and prove on each song.
On Friday, the rapper delivered the sequel to his mixtape series, Buy Or Bye, marking his official major-label debut. It also marks the breakout of another Canadian artist, similar to Pressa’s Gardner Express. Both Pressa and Smiley connect on “38,” a blistering banger produced by Tay Keith. The trickling bells and exhilarating 808s lead the track as Pressa cuts the auto-tune for a raw flow to start off. Pressa details his rise from the bottom with flashbacks of the struggles. Smiley extends that sentiment to his verse. Smiley’s reflects on the contrast between the fact that his friends are incarcerated while he’s managed to escape a similar fate.
Check out the track below.
Quotable Lyrics
We kick your door, n***a, everybody on the floor, n***a
Boy if you trappin’ in this bitch, answer your phone, n***a
Catch me with 35, see crodie, he a known hitter
I was out there trappin’ all night, came home to cold dinners