Thrust

“I’ve seen ‘em come, I’ve seen ‘em go,” says Toronto MC Thrust, who has been paying dues for years. His releases have included the Past Present Future EP and the touching tribute to a deceased friend, “Rage.” Now hoping to build on the increased visibility afforded by appearing on the Rascalz’ “Northern Touch," Thrust releases the Emcee single featuring two versions of the song, as a precursor to his The Chosen Are Few album. The original version expertly helmed by Scam may sound familiar, since it received healthy airplay on college radio last year. Nevertheless Thrust’s unique and often unpredictable stop and start flow, packed full of clever nuggets, definitely requires repeated listening, and is seasoned by neatly spliced Slick Rick and A Tribe Called Quest vocal samples. For “Emcee pt. II,” Thrust enlists Joc Max from DJ Spinna’s Beyond Real crew who, like Spinna, shows an ear for subtle intricacy. On this slower tempo version Thrust’s train of thought randomly changes flows and subjects at a rate that could easily puzzle. “You gotta have that whole momentum thing, where they feel you coming,” he says and should be assured of this with Emcee's uncommon approach.