Advertisement

Album reviews Music

King Reign

Rating: NNN


Toronto emcee King Reign’s debut full-length is a realist window on Toronto life. Sometimes bleak and sometimes hopeful, Reign’s lyrics reveal his knack for street poetry as well as a distrust of authority and an arsenal of pop culture references (“Pay my debts like the Lannisters,” he says on Promo).

He sounds a lot like Common, and his no-frills, no-bullshit delivery lends legitimacy when he’s taking big risks, like adopting the voice of Sammy Yatim on opener Oh No, and telling the sympathetic tale of a bullying victim in Pretty Girl Lost. That said, when he does get expressive – there are moments on Happylaidback when he channels the elastic-voiced experimental rapper Le1f – you wish he’d be playful more often.

The baritone also has a smooth, natural singing voice that he uses effectively throughout, especially on Sincere, which could have been a straight-up R&B song with a couple of tweaks. Throughout, production is laid-back and minimal, with lots of raw piano and pattering drums – Zen, even if the stories he tells are anything but.

Top track: Sincere

King Reign plays Wrongbar Friday (July 11) and the Rivoli on July 17.

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Recently Posted