J-Live’s dextrous vocal flows balance vivid imagery and humorous narratives with biting social commentary and a bass-heavy, timeless hip-hop sound. As the name of his Triple Threat production company implies, this one-time English teacher in Brooklyn, New York, takes on the task of verses, beats and scratches himself on his latest album: ‘Then What Happened?’.

Canadian rapper and producer, Rollie “Cadence Weapon” Pemberton, cracks wicked lines about heartbreak, parties and try-hard hipsters over an unpredictable techno collage of hard-core beats and breaks. Defying everything you’ve ever heard about Canada – or its hip-hop scene – on his latest LP, ‘Afterparty Babies’, Mr Weapon has raised the bar on modern rap.