In praise of The Legend Adam Bomb
The greatest rapper the nation of Canada has ever known deserves his flowers and his propers.
So we’ve got this rapper here in Toronto named The Legend Adam Bomb, an' I've been trying for days to think of how to salute him for his birthday, which was two days ago, the 15th of October. And the thing is, I really just can't. He's too good. From Donny Yonder and Ultra Magnus to Kehmak and Spenny, Duke Buzzy and Fraction to Haviah Mighty and Charlie Black, Illvibe and Tragic to Tona and Knamelis, Roshin and I Am Joseph to Phoenix Pagliacci and More Or Les, Ghettosocks and Rel McCoy to MisterE and Jesse Dangerously to Michie Mee and Maestro Fresh Wes, Canada is full of dope rappers, some of my favourites in the world. But there are honestly only two – the towering avant-gardist D-Sisive and the astounding national treasure and global megastar Shad – who can even touch Adam, and I think he might be my favourite, frankly. He's in my top 50 emcees of all time without question, and I think you could've stuck him in New York at the height of its creative ferment in 1994 and he would've shattered the world and made rap history. He still might, honestly; he's that fuckin' good.
What Adam does will be familiar to seasoned rap heads – he's a classic mic-clobbering spitter in the best sense – but he puts words together so perfectly that it often comes across as fresh and different to me, enough so that I find it hard to describe his singular gift. The best way I've come up with to describe it is that he's like Canada's equivalent of peak-era Nas; every line is as vivid as a photograph and hits like a Mack truck. Honestly, there's a little of almost every truly top-tier emcee in him – the image-painting and world-building capacities of Raekwon or Jadakiss, the astounding technical precision of Eminem or Kool G Rap or Black Thought or Big Pun, the effortless flow of Big Daddy Kane or Percee P, the world-conquering and mic-swallowing presence of Biggie or Pharoahe Monch, the radicalized political consciousness of Mos Def or Ice Cube or Chuck D, the emotional range of Ghostface Killah or Beanie Sigel, and the weight and power in his words and the sheer strength of his convictions to equal Tupac Shakur or Scarface. The man has written several of the most powerful rap songs I've ever heard, plus there are his three albums with the Freedom Writers, truly excellent conscious rap albums which he steals from his four very strong groupmates and walks away with in his back pocket. The same happens every time he shows up for a guest spot – Maestro Fresh Wes, D-Sisive (and again), the supergroup Wolves, and others have all had their songs vastly improved by his contributions in recent years, and so have I; I deliberately gave myself two verses on the first song I made with him just to have a prayer of keeping up with him, and our combined strength, as we both breathed fire on a colossal Digs beat, made “Wolves In The Cellar” a song that the rap nerds in my life thrill to over and over again. When we linked up for a second time, on my triumphant posse cut “Fuckouttahere”, he worked wonders yet again. There's some shit in them verses that y'all need to hear. Adam is just the greatest.
My favourite song of his, “Show & Prove”, released in 2017, is a flawless victory, classic bone-hard tongue-flipping rap shit over a gully-ass Tone Mason beat, and every single line could be a classic-era Source Magazine Hip Hop Quotable or some shit, especially the many moments where he sprinkles in his trademark no-bullshit real talk – “Grab a seat an' try an' focus; the reason I'm the dopest is 'cause I don't spend my time convincing people I'm in showbiz!” There are so many lines like that, moments where he's stacking up syllables and spitting the cast-iron motherfucking truth at the same damn time.
And he’s maintained that standard of excellence across his entire career. I also love the terrific song he made with the legendary producer Buckwild of DITC, which was called “Furthermore”, and his ridiculous 2012 single “Real Shit”, as well as his thoughtful skeptic’s anthem “Sister Bessie” and his deeply moving salute to the working class, which is called “My People”. Here are a few more hits he’s made over the years.
He's a good man, too – his exterior is textbook laconic Robert Mitchum wiseguy, not to be fucked with, but the whole Canadian rap community can testify that his soul is beautiful; you can't spit searing compassionate truth like he does if you don't have a golden heart. The man has been flat-out incredible for years upon years (his old shit sounds like an up-north Eminem), only improving with time in the way older rappers are supposed to do, to the point where I think he's now legitimately one of the very greatest of all time. It’s such a stunning joy to watch him soar and triumph. All hail the Legend! WOOSHA! Fists up! Rhino salute!
In praise of The Legend Adam Bomb
Probably the greatest lyricist to ever come out of Canada. Had the pleasure of doingnartworl and branding for him. I've been following him since the EARLY Empire days. Big fan!