Artists

The voices writing the dictionary

Every artist here put a word into circulation. Follow one to see their influences and the slang they use most.

2006–presentDrakeThe artist who made Toronto's vocabulary global. Drake's records exported '6ix', 'woes' and a Patois-inflected cadence to every radio market on earth, and turned OVO into the city's most recognisable cultural export.the six godtingwastemangreezy
1996–presentKardinal OffishallThe godfather of Toronto hip-hop's own accent. 'BaKardi Slang' was a manifesto: stop imitating New York, talk how the city actually talks. Everything after him owes him rent.scarlemtingyardiegwanin
2014–presentPressaDriftwood's most quotable export. Pressa's writing is dense with north-west Toronto specifics — block names, Canada Goose winters, court dates — delivered in a nasal, elastic flow that a whole generation copied.endsoppscrodie10 down
2018–presentTop5Regent Park drill with a taunting, singsong delivery. Top5 is one of the most-searched Toronto rappers precisely because so much of what he says needs translating.oppsdessgassedwasteman
2017–presentNorthSideBenjiRexdale melodic rap with Halal Gang roots. Benji's hooks carry the Somali-Canadian west-end cadence into pop structures without sanding the accent off.ahkwallahiendsmandem
2019–presentDuvyOne of the sharpest technical writers in Toronto drill. Duvy's verses read like neighbourhood reportage, packed with names, corners and inside references.oppscrodieendsdutty
2019–presentPengzWest-end drill with a heavy UK debt — Pengz's slang register sits closer to London road rap than anyone else in the city, which is exactly why 'certi' and 'peng' feel native here now.certiendswastemangyaldem
2014–presentMustafaPoet first, folk singer second. Mustafa writes Regent Park grief in plain, devastating language — the counterargument to the idea that Toronto rap is only drill.yuteendsmandem
2012–presentJazz CartierTheatrical, high-energy downtown rap. Jazz Cartier's mixtape run made 'Toronto rap' mean something other than moody R&B for a stretch in the mid-2010s.greezyopps
2016–presentKillyDistorted, rage-adjacent Toronto rap that broke online before radio noticed. Killy's early SoundCloud run is a snapshot of how the city's slang travels through the internet.oppsgassedwhip
2016–presentSAFEScarborough R&B with a rap writer's eye for detail. SAFE's lyrics are where the city's softer vocabulary — 'ting', 'link', 'my g' — lives.tingmy gtingz
2019–presentSmileyRexdale drill that crossed over after Drake co-signed 'Over the Top'. Smiley's delivery is deadpan and conversational — slang lands as ordinary speech, not as punchline.crodieendsoppscerti
2009–presentTory LanezA technically versatile Brampton-raised artist whose catalogue mixes dancehall, R&B and rap. His Patois-heavy records helped normalise Caribbean phrasing in Canadian pop.tingduttywamgyaldem
2015–presentNAVThe first Punjabi-Canadian rapper to go platinum in the US. NAV's monotone, brand-obsessed writing turned Rexdale into a reference point on American playlists.whiphunnid
2016–presentHaviah MightyPolaris Prize winner and one of the most lyrically dense writers in the country. Haviah's work confronts Canadian racism directly, in Brampton's own register.the peelsaugaends
2014–presentJessie ReyezColombian-Canadian songwriter with one of the most recognisable voices out of the GTA. Her writing braids Spanish, Toronto street phrasing and confessional pop.endsgassed
1989–presentMaestro Fresh WesCanada's first rap star. 'Let Your Backbone Slide' went gold in 1989 and proved a Canadian record could exist on its own terms — the ground everything here is built on.ehbeauty
2017–presentPuffy L'zJane and Finch drill with a distinctive, half-sung delivery. Reliably one of the most slang-dense catalogues in the city.oppscrodiedessgassed