After an extended hiatus, Toronto rapper NorthSideBenji is officially back in full force. Today he drops a new tape, The Extravagant Collection.
The 13-track project, his first since 2019’s Caviar Dreams, hears the Brampton-born artist get more introspective and emotional than usual, and for good reason. He says The Extravagant Collection is dedicated to late Toronto rapper Houdini, whose tragic killing last year rocked the city’s hip-hop community.
“The project was inspired by my late twin brother Houdini and his son,” NorthSideBenji tells Complex. “Before he passed, I was already on a short hiatus, only doing features for some of my UK homies like Nines, Headie One, and AJ Tracey. But once he left us, I was kinda stuck between two sides of the fence. He left a son behind that he never got to hold and I wont let him fall a victim to the circumstances we came up in. All this shit for him.”
The very first track of the project, “Long Live Twin,” is a tribute to Houdini. “They don’t know me and Twin independent/I ain’t gon’ see my Twin in a minute, it’s crazy,” NorthSideBenji raps. He’s been referring to Houdini, who was a staunchly independent artist, as Twin for several years.
“The album is really about life, the trials and tribulations we run into as street kids, the struggles and successes I’ve been through and are still going through,” he adds.
NorthSideBenji also just released a music video for “Money Showers,” a track off The Extravagant Collection, directed by Orazio. Watch it out above.
Before Houdini’s passing, he and NorthSideBenji had been working on a collaborative tape. Benji noted in an Instagram caption that the joint project is on the way.
Earlier this year, NorthSideBenji emerged from his hiatus with the track “30,000 ft,” a collaboration with DJ Charlie B.
Stream The Extravagant Collection below.
