The city of Toronto and its surrounding regions are going throw a serious identity overhaul, and it’s not just with the music. The massive transit construction plans, the rebranding of our sports teams, and overall having a more ‘global appeal’ is what’s being the focus while the most popular mayoral race in recent memory (possibly ever) is underway before we hit the polls in October. Everything is changing, and it’s for the better – it’s great to see the city flourish and the people in it show a sense of regionalism of ‘putting on for the city’ word to Mr. Jeezy.

PND has been dubbed ‘Prince of the 6’ although he resides & reps District 9 (what I call the surrounding 905 area code regions, although Mississauga is the only important one), and the West District singer has become yet another one of Drake’s protégés that have come under some sort of scrutiny because there’s the “he can’t sing, but he makes good music” argument that held true of The Weeknd, and does of Drake, but the following is strong, and that’s the effect that OVO has, no matter how you view their talent as a label – you just live with it, or move on. Now, I hate auto tune, and if you know me, you know that fact. It’s one of the reasons why I didn’t like the first PND tape, but songs like the aforementioned West District and Persian Rugs swayed my views on how he delivered said music, although I still don’t view him as a singer per say, but more so a R&B version of Future (take that in whichever context you want). So of course I was a bit wary before listening to PNDTWO, but I eventually did, and I didn’t regret it.

The attitude of the Toronto vibe is chilly, moody, and what’s essentially a reflection of the weather and screwface-ness of the city, no matter which area you lay your head at. With PND’s singing style almost symmetrically matching some styles that I’ve heard on Drake’s So Far Gone or Comeback Season, it’s clear which direction Drake was leaning when he came to providing the next one up out of the city to take a leap into the scene. East Liberty (I think of Liberty Village when I hear that, but that wouldn’t make sense) sets the tone with the hood-romantic vibe that’s expected, and I would imagine dudes from Jane & Finch would serenade with their boys at TIME nightclub while holding a booth with about 7 women standing around singing off-key at the top of their lungs. He makes that type of music (See: Her Way). I didn’t feel the need to press skip much, although I almost did with Sex on the Beach, and Recognize isn’t exactly one of my favourites, but with tracks like Thirsty that includes a dope Missy Elliot sample, and FWU (top-of-the-lungs-singing-music), there’s an opinion that would say that every other track is repetitive of each other, but the production is moody enough that it flows really well, and that’s what I applaud off-hand.

There’s always going to be that little rivalry between Toronto and everyone else (there’s no competition really – that’s just a fact), but Mississauga has come a long way in terms of creating their own image and the people have really embraced their city to the point where people are becoming more and more proud to represent it, instead of being just part of the ‘Greater Toronto Area.’ PartyNextDoor’s explosion onto the scene will definitely do a lot of Sauga which will bear witness to more talent that’ll come afterwards, but in the meantime, this is the soundtrack to solidify that Sauga City has their representative, and OVO has their heir-apparent (so it looks to be). PND represents for the ‘mandem’ and puts a soft spot on the tough guys – which is what you hear a lot of lately (Drake effect). His talent as a producer also makes him a standout (he produced all the beats on PNDTWO himself). This is a dope ass body of work, so definitely check it out (or buy it).

P.S – skip the tracks that have the username of Herr in it (although their pretty dope – something to check later)
P.S.S – Muse isn’t on this playlist

That’s My Word & It STiXX