Sy ShacklefordFairly recent tariffs notwithstanding, Canada’s hip-hop scene has always been welcomed in the United States. Reggae-rapper Snow and the über-successful Drake have been two of the Great White North’s biggest hip-hop exports. But Canada’s underground rap scene, centered in Toronto, has burgeoned in the past few decades, giving a voice to artists like Saukrates, Haz-Matic, and Epic. The latter has been dropping albums since 2001 and has also provided guest verses to stay busy. Together with fellow Canadian hip-hop artist Deadly Stare comes “A Library Called Calder”. While the title may seemingly reference the prominent indigenous political leader who served as a Member of Parliament and Minister of the Crown in Canada, there’s no deeper meaning beyond that. Upon a third listen, the rhymes and production on this joint album have a debt to both Kool Keith and Anticon for disjointed stream-of-consciousness rhymes and a sound comprised of traditional hip-hop with an electronica bent, respectively.
The ugly Christmas sweater-patterned design on the album cover reflects just how all over the place Epic’s rhymes are. The album begins with the organ-heavy “Chickpeas” where Epic makes references to The Roots, Kurt Cobain, and several Canadian landmarks. “So Much Class” is aggressively genre-bending, fusing boom-bap, electronica, and down-tuned guitar riffs. Backburner crewmember Chokeules is the sole guest on the album and raps his verse on “Walking Through Toronto”. Having him featured gives Epic a much-needed contrast as the latter’s style is both non-sequitur and off-beat. “Turntables in the Van” has a hook, a wild drum rhythm, and raps like “Old man Cap, Goldman Sachs / I have a hairy chest and I’ll slam you into the boards like Barry Beck / You need to show more respect.” The smooth groove of the bass practically yells at the listener on “Feel”, where the abstract lyrics are summed up by the hook, “I found myself with nothing to say but a lot to feel”:
On “Hot 97”, the beat takes more of a center stage than the Epic’s loose NYC narrative verses while “Scarborough Town Centre” opens with cinematic strings until becoming more ominous. Epic’s raps are just as smoky as the soundscape they’re laid on. There’s a similar inebriated atmosphere on “Beat 79”, with piano samples and Epic’s slurred lyrics. The subdued “California Beach Town” is also a lax lyrical account, but of a family vacation. But because the storytelling has many gaps, it’s not difficult to peg Epic as an unreliable narrator.
“Snow Tires” is somewhat autobiographical while making references to rivalries between Canadian provinces. “Hey Robot Vacuum” is a lyrical hodgepodge of sci-fi and urban paranoia which is amplified by the unsettling string samples. The nursery rhyming chant on the hook for “Northern Lights” belies the off-kilter raps of both of Epic’s verses while the album closer “Properly Swim” is the closest we get to a straightforward storytelling track, about swimming lessons at the local recreation center, no less. “A Library Called Calder” is promoted as folk rap, but I think Everlast has that market cornered for over 25 years now. This album isn’t folk rap, but it’s much more niche. So much so that it doesn’t peak long-term interest.