Angerville

Since 2007, Angerville have released an EP, three full-lengths, three mixtapes and two solo albums from member Fortunato, not to mention touring across most of Canada. Their newest, Uprising, ups the ante with better sound quality, thanks to engineer Fresh Kils and his studio. Kils also provides production on three tracks: soulful piano jam "Stay Strong," featuring an uplifting hook from Tamsynn Lee and a dope Snoop Dizzle-like verse from Penzo Gritty; cool neck-snapper "Terrortory"; and more up-tempo production for hip-hop ode "The Statement," the second single for the album, featuring Alex Dimez. Fresh Kils' partner in the Extremities, Uncle Fester, provides precise cuts on the latter two tracks and on many of the other songs throughout, a nice counterpoint to rap ballads like "Stay Strong," "Family Ties" and first single "Gotta Go." Despite their abundance of street-wise raps, Fortunato and Conscious Thought have always been adept at presenting very personal subject matter. "Drunk In The Mornin'," featuring a folksy hook from Chad Hatcher and an Irish-influenced beat by Prophet One, stands out, straddling the two sides of Angerville. Further highlights come in the form of beats from Duo Tang (for slamming "Boxcutters") and Gamshooter (for the organ-heavy, groovy "Guilty"), as well as a star appearance from Smif N Wessun's Tek on "No Joke." Working as hard as they do and releasing quality albums like Uprising, it's only a matter of time before Angerville become a household name, and not just in hip-hop circles.