Toronto-based musician Saukrates has so much going on we can hardly keep up. The hip hop pioneer released a new single with Redman and Masta Ace from an upcoming album, has recently signed with a record label and is working on multiple projects including a re-release of his debut album, Saukrates: The Underground Tapes, from 25 years ago. 

New single featuring Redman and Masta Ace

Saukrates released a brand new single, My Pager Burnin Up (Easide of Thangs) featuring New York rappers Redman, of the rap duo Method Man & Redman, and Masta Ace (Masta Ace Incorporated, Juice Crew, Crooklyn Dodgers, eMC). The three performers are originators in the world of hip hop and have been frequent collaborators since 1997. As rappers, they have influenced generations of musicians in Canada, the United States (U.S.) and beyond.

My Pager Burnin Up is a funk-soul beat poem tilting toward early 80s rap. The more you listen to it the better it sounds. The lyrics bring to life popular culture, fashion and style of 70s and 80s “club” life in America but quickly gives way to the writer’s vivid imagination — developed from a steady diet of 80s television, westerns, Blaxploitation, martial arts and spy films. 

“It gets dirty, y’all,” with explicit references to the “the spy that shagged you,” talk of “open-toed shoes and pinky rings,” “Shogunning’,” “moving on up to the East side,” and making women shake their aggregated booties to earn a dollar bill. The new single will be on Saukrates’ upcoming album Bad Addiction set for release in September 2024.

Saukrates: The Underground Tapes 

The artist will pay homage to his debut studio album Saukrates: The Underground Tapes, a collection of self-produced tracks released back in 1999. As the 25th anniversary of this influential album approaches, the artist has crafted a retrospective 42-track album. The anniversary edition features 21 songs and 21 narrations by Saukrates offering personal exploration and insight into each piece.

In the commentary, the classically trained violinist and cellist explains how he created the beat for the highly requested song Fine Line. “I still had my acoustic violin with me. I started to layer it, and it became this beautiful, but angry piece.” It wasn’t until later when he was on tour that he realized how hard of a punch the song was. 

On the Money or Love commentary, Saukrates said:

After I put together the guitar lick on this one, I remember choosing drum sounds and putting the sequence together, and feeling like, you know, my hair standing up, goosebumps — when you get that shiver when something feels right and feels good, feels better than what you’ve done before. You’ve actually impressed yourself, and this one did just that for me. It was also special because it was probably the first time publicly, I was noticed for singing my own hooks, and being able to sing my own hooks, which was something that no MC had done at that time other than maybe two or three. And it caught the attention of the industry, the hip hop industry, especially in the U.S. I’d say it got me my deal with Redman and Def Jam. So, this helped to bridge the gap between deals — independent, gold status. 

The rollout strategy features two single releases leading up to the full album release on August 23. The first single, Money or Love, is already on streaming platforms. The single Fine Line was released on July 26, the same date as My Pager Burnin Up (Easide of Thangs). 

Two separate releases of The Underground Tapes

Saukrates started writing down rhymes in 1989 when he was still in his teens. Fast forward five years and his 1994 debut single Still Caught Up was nominated for a JUNO Award. He followed up with the single Brick House on the Slammin’ label when he was 18 years old. Saukrates released a mixtape with tracks Father Time and Play Dis, in 1997, which became popular on college radio. 

Things were going good until the musician’s career path was blocked when his record label Warner Bros. shut down their rap music division. This move left Saukrates without a way to distribute his recorded music. He decided to partner with Chase Parsons, his manager, to create Capitol Hill Music. They released Saukrates: The Underground Tapes in the U.S. under the Serious Entertainment label in 1999, according to his Spotify bio.

Later that year, Saukrates: The Underground Tapes was re-released in Canada on Capitol Hill with six additional tracks.  A long list of projects, collaborations and tours ensued, with artists including Redman, Method Man, and fellow Canadian musicians k-os, Nelly Furtado, and Drake. Saukrates released his second album Season One (2012) through eOne, followed by the Amani EP in 2014 as well as an amazing body of work over the last 10 years showcasing exceptional lyricism.

Dan-e-o collaboration

Meanwhile, the 2024 Emmy nominee, JUNO and Much Music Video Award winner is featured on the song Sober Sunday from artist Dan-e-o. Dropped yesterday, August 9, the Sober Sunday music video is the third release from the album Vigilante. The song is a tribute to Dan-e-o’s mama, soccer coach and other role models in his life who have kept him on the straight and narrow. The soul of the song is Saukrates, singing in an easy-breezy, low-toned rhythm and blues (R&B) style like Isaac Hayes in the chorus, instead of rapping. In the video the two artists are dancing and singing on a bridge. Saukrates sports a graphic sweatshirt that reads “Scarborough Legends”.

DRIFTIN’ with Dr. Masuda

Saukrates and Toronto-based musician Dr. Masuda performed on DRIFTIN’, a peppy song that would have no trouble fitting into a soundtrack to an 80s movie starring Madonna or Jennifer Beals. It highlights the synth keyboard, electronic drums, matched with a near disco beat, repetitious lyrics, R&B pop melody and soft vocals. Rapping is reserved for a second version of DRIFTIN’. The single was released on May 31.

New label and app

The rapper, singer and producer, Saukrates, signed with Frostbyte Records, a Canadian boutique label within the SRG-ILS group, which distributes globally through Universal Music Group’s Virgin Music division. The artist is also working on an app called MySeat that will carry exclusive content. 

No doubt, we’ll be hearing a lot more from Saukrates over the coming months as the stage is set for even grander things than he’s already accomplished in his career.

by Cherryl Bird – Toronto, Ontario, Canada
X @ladycbird | Instagram @cherrylbird