The 10 Best Canadian Songs of the Month: April 2020

From Dvsn to Tizzy Stacks to Drake, these were the Canuck gems that kept us sane this month.

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Image via Getty/Stevie Visser

beset canadian songs

Fully encompassed by the you-know-what lockdown, April of 2020 mundanely raced by. While artists are unable to tour and tracks are unable to ring out at a club, music releases have been steady as Canadians continue to dominate the charts south of the border. Here’s a batch of gems from a lost month that are all poised to lead us into what’s shaping up to be an interesting summer.

 

Drake, “Toosie Slide”

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Only Drake could make the release of what is ultimately a line dance track work when people can’t get together. The simple instructions for the new dance were built to see an entire dancefloor executing the moves in unison. When those moments can eventually happen, this track will realize its potential. In the meantime, it’s fun to dance around and pretend that a small apartment is as fancy and marbled-out as Drake’s house is.

 

Dvsn f/ Snoh Aalegra, “Between Us”

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Yes, Tory Lanez does it for entire albums and it has seemed to work out fine for him, but flipping a track as big as Usher’s “Nice & Slow” is a fairly reckless move. However, “Between Us” is a stand-out among the cozy compositions on Nineteen85 and Daniel Daley’s impressive third album A Muse In Her Feelings, which dropped this month.

 

DJ Andre 905 f/ Stay Out Late, “Fawad (7th Chamber Remix)”

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Best known as the resident DJ at Raptors 905 games, DJ Andre 905 has a new project on the way called Toronto vs The 90s. Based on this track, all assumptions lead to it featuring Toronto-based rappers over classic hip-hop tracks. It’s always exciting to hear about community-driven projects like this as Tremayne, Casino Costa, Scotty IV, and Charlie Noiir drop some heat on “Wu Tang: 7th Chamber - Part II” to set things off properly.

Frvrfriday, “Nana”

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The Edmonton, Alberta native with the infectious hooks lays out his priorities on his new single "Nana." His confidence and strong melodies feed off each other as he delivers another catchy laid-back banger. Paired with last month’s “100 Rounds," one can only hope he continues building his catalog through the year.

Tory Lanez, “Who Needs Love”

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In a career littered with battles and challenges, this past month has been full of wins for Tory Lanez. His release of The New Toronto 3, which spawned this single, also marks the end of his contract with Interscope—who he had a great run with, even though things got a bit bumpy in the end—opening up a wealth of opportunities for such a creative and entrepreneurial mind. He has also been going absolutely nuts on Instagram Live since the lockdown began, regularly hitting the 300,000 viewers threshold, with his Quarantine Radio stream which has featured Drake, Chris Brown, Lizzo, and a few other special guests wielding giant gummy worms and jugs of milk.

 

Orville Peck, “Summertime”

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After starting off the year as Diplo’s Grammy date, and with the promise of new music with the super producer on the way, Orville Peck delivers one of his best works to date with “Summertime." It falls right in line with Peck’s signature soundsbleak country balladbut this one takes an uplifting turn as it goes on. Such a necessary vibe right now.

 

PUP, “Anaphylaxis”

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In true punk fashion, PUP dropped “Anaphylaxis” on all platforms on a Monday morning—not that days of the week even matter anymore. It’s another high-energy anthem wrapped around themes of fear and insecurity from the Toronto quartet. No one makes a better time out of a shitty situation than these guys.

 

Kevin Rolly f/ Roy Woods & Yung Tory, “Make Some”

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This spot could have been one of a few Yung Tory joints—“ADLIBS” and “Double D’s” go hard—but this Roy Woods collab for producer Kevin Rolly had to be the choice. While Rude is full of examples of the productive working chemistry between Kevin Rolly and the prolific Yung Tory, hearing a bunch of Rolly’s beats together show his versatility and willingness to experiment with different sounds as well as his goal to destroy every speaker his tunes get played on.

Snotty Nose Rez Kids, “TMZ”

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Born Deadly is the fourth project in four years for Snotty Nose Rez Kids. This one is a quick five-song EP but it keeps the duo’s brand of rowdy raps top of mind.

 

 

Tizzy Stackz, “Boujee”

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Here to flex his catchy cadence again is Tizzy Stackz on this track about a girl with the most expensive taste. His flow is so tight on this record, his verse is just as captivating as the chorus. It’s actually kind of a shame he only rocked one verse on it.

 

 

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