EXTENDED: Hustle and Thrive - The Super Professionals

Fans of old-school turntable/sample-based hip-hop with clever and unabashedly self-promoting rhymes should download this pay-what-you-can gem from Saskatoon's wonder twins, Charly Hustle (he's the DJ) and Chapter Thrive (he's the rapper). They have formed like Voltron to serve up a forty of intoxicating charm, courtesy of Phonographique. Sometimes, I need to swallow my cynicism and remember that I actually live in a seriously great town for rap music.

From the Animal House-jacking "Intro", the EP sets the mood appropriately: this is party rap. Hustle and Thrive will turn your workday into a forgotten Friday night, replete with badass James Bond-esque swagger ("Chapter's Disaster Pt. 2"), iPhone ringtone samples ("Jade Summer"), and a bhangra banger that deserves a sequel (closer "Victory Lapse"). Thrive's lyrical dexterity is obvious, slouching between Q-Tip-esque mellow and sped-up hyped.

A handful of fortnights has become an eternity in the life cycle of music on the internet, which is truly a shame. Even though Hustle and Thrive's Super Professionals EP has been out for a couple of months, that's no reason not to return to it and shine a light on it anew. Also I wasn't blogging in February. Go download this.