Rich Kidd and SonReal

Vancouver and Toronto hip-hop luminaries SonReal and Rich Kidd come together like Voltron with a concept album that's not a quite concept album, The Closers. Since the announcement that both signed respective deals with Black Box, you kind of figured something was in the works. You'd think that two artists with such disparate styles and sensibilities wouldn't be able to gel, but you'd be wrong. Recorded in Toronto and Los Angeles, what's right about the ten-track project is that both manage to get their shine on without overshadowing the other. It's a relatively short effort, but long on substantial tracks like "Best Believe," "Hometown" and "Don't Stop." A minor knock might be that the subject matter at hand isn't exactly groundbreaking (see: "Money Money" or "Mind All Day"), but let the record show that there's a definite polished vibe and craftsmanship going on. It's a project that merits heavy spins; RichKidd shows once more that he's just as capable on the mic as he is crafting the beat, while the distinctive SonReal sounds as confident as ever. Ultimately the joint LP demonstrates that either on the individual or collective tip, RichKidd and SonReal are on the good side of the equation when it comes to separating the wheat from the chaff, in terms of Canadian hip-hop.