MASIA ONE at the Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen West), Saturday (June 9), 11 pm. $10, free w/ $28 NXNE wristband. 416-531-4635. Rating: NNNNN
It fits that masia one would be speaking from a beach: sun is the Toronto-based MC’s latest obsession.
“I’m staring out into the ocean, so my mind’s not in its right place right now,” she laughs from San Diego, where she’s playing a show, recording and putting out a mixtape. (A lot of her fan base is in the Bay Area.)
And while Masia claims to be taking a rare break, the underground rapper later admits she’s working three jobs including ghostwriting pop/R&B love songs just to get her second album, the island-inspired Pulau, released in October on her M1 Group label.
Meanwhile, she’s also teamed up with some of the players from Jamaica To Toronto to ensure a devastating blowout NXNE show at the Gladstone.
“The thing is, I grew up listening to people like Jackie Mittoo and Wayne McGhie, and now I’m performing a show with some of their musicians,” Masia marvels.
No doubt the live sound will complement Masia’s newfound island theme. What’s that all about, anyway?
“After my first album, Mississauga, came out, I just kept finding myself on islands, like Jamaica, Malaysia. I ended up in Hawaii. So I wrote this record slowly on all these trips,” she says. “The idea is to bring an island mentality reflecting places where there are no Wal-Marts or cellphones.”
