Various

This isn’t just a mixtape of underground MCs, this is a full-fledged, grab-a-pencil, take-a-seat crash course in independent Canadian rap. While the masses buy tickets to ultra-club spectacles, the small circles of raw, wordy, nerdy hip-hop heads are drinking out of recycled beer pitchers and listening to the artists on this mixtape. Artists like Touch, representative of Edmonton’s go-with-the-flow style, Moka Only and Jesse Dangerously, saluting the nation’s indie rap scene from opposite coasts, or Eternia, whose delivery on a hype Beatsmason beat reminds people why she is one of Toronto’s best (period). Presented by Hand Solo Records, label rapper Wordburgler, who contributes three songs, proves with witty wordplay that it’s more than just a name. Meanwhile, label mate Epic inspires at least two noggin-scratchers. Hokey Religions is unlikely to convert the masses to grimy, floor-is-the-stage rap shows but it will be exalted within its scene.