Toronto's Redway has earned hype and notoriety with Years Ahead, his nine-track collaborative EP with Grammy-nominated producer and long-time friend, WondaGurl. Working with Travis $cott, Ryan Leslie and SZA — not to mention the highly publicized placement of "Crown," on Jay Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail at just 16 years of age — has molded Ebony Oshunrinde, aka WondaGurl, into a Canadian household name, evolving her beats from ice cold bangers to hot commodities. Redway is lucky enough to have a heap of them all to himself. With a full Wonda project under his belt, it could easily seem as if the Mississauga spitter could be relying heavily on his association with the young beat-maker as buzz for his latest work, but one listen to the collective release proves that it isn't just the production heat that makes the project a scorcher.
From the rattling title track, "Years Ahead," to the Toronto anthem "YKTO (You Know The Ones)" right through to the confident and bold "Till I'm Gone," Redway delivers consistently, as if he knew that he had something to verify for the rest of us. Red welcomes only Rickie Jacobs and YB to share a mic with him as guests, ensuring that it's his voice and his story that's told. With vivid imagery of a day in Toronto, riding down Queen Street and indulging in street meat, the project is a true testament to just how far the Toronto rap landscape has come. Along with the project, Redway released a documentary, showcasing the development of the EP and a deeper look into the life of the Toronto rapper. Redway and WondaGurl released the audio/visual package as a package and the two are a musical tag-team with harmonious chemistry that is, ahem, years ahead.
(Independent)From the rattling title track, "Years Ahead," to the Toronto anthem "YKTO (You Know The Ones)" right through to the confident and bold "Till I'm Gone," Redway delivers consistently, as if he knew that he had something to verify for the rest of us. Red welcomes only Rickie Jacobs and YB to share a mic with him as guests, ensuring that it's his voice and his story that's told. With vivid imagery of a day in Toronto, riding down Queen Street and indulging in street meat, the project is a true testament to just how far the Toronto rap landscape has come. Along with the project, Redway released a documentary, showcasing the development of the EP and a deeper look into the life of the Toronto rapper. Redway and WondaGurl released the audio/visual package as a package and the two are a musical tag-team with harmonious chemistry that is, ahem, years ahead.
