Miles Jones

"Crazy time slot," said MC/producer/DJ Miles Jones during his NXNE set. It was one in the morning. Add to the fact that Brooklyn teen wunderkind Joey Bada$$ is playing a set several blocks away — at the same time — it was up to Jones to demonstrate why he's so highly regarded in the Toronto rap scene. It was admittedly tough going at the start: Jones is a "feel the crowd" type of artist and there wasn't much to work with. But as the room filled up and the set got into a groove, the show crackled with positive energy. Reaching into his discography to pull out "Time Machine" and "Coast to Coast" off 2009's Runaway Jones, the highpoint is when "Somebody" from his current album The Jones Act Part III got going — the soulful, syrupy hip-hop groove had heads bobbing. Capping things off with "Sweet Lies," featuring Halifax-based rapper Kayo (who jumped up on stage to drop his verses) Jones is a supremely talented artist who's able to handle both the beat-making and performing sides of the hip-hop equation with a high degree of adeptness.