Toronto is frigid eight months of the year, and you can typically hear the melancholia of winter in our music. When PARTYNEXTDOOR sings, This is what 'Sauga feels like in the nighttime, for instance, that feeling is windburned cheeks and finding warmth in the abyss of a puffy coat and the bottom of a fifth of whiskey. For the past few years, east side rapper Jimmy Prime—you might know him as Jimmy Johnson, the kid largely credited with renaming Toronto as "the 6"—has been translating life in the city into dark, chest-pounding songs produced by the likes of Texas native (and OVO affiliate) Eric Dingus.
With his new project Block Boy, premiering today on The FADER, Jimmy is still harnessing the sounds of the 6, but from a different perspective this time around: on Block Boy's seven tracks, he slices through the usual grit with a glimpse into the rare beast that is Toronto summer. Over glittery, synth-y beats produced by TrapMoneyBenny—and a bonus song courtesy of Soulection stalwart Sango—Jimmy raps and auto-croons about women, ambition, and being from the block. Tryna make some money on the block, boy/ Tryna bring some money on the block, boy.
"I want to illustrate to people I'm having more fun while creating, and that my music is evolving and growing for the better, while also making sure it is going with the vibe of right now, which is summer," Jimmy told The FADER over email. "Block Boy to me is just more then me being from the hood. No matter where I go in this world, no matter how much money I make, no matter where I am at in my career, society will always consider me a 'block boy'—thats what it's about."
Stream Block Boy, including the previously released "Starbaby" and brand-new party anthems like "Dance Til The Sun Up," below. A download is available via JimmyPrime.com.
