Abdominal

SOCAN was pleased to present its second annual ECHO Songwriting Prize to Abdominal (Andrew Bernstein) – and his co-writer Rodney Pleasant (BMI) – for their song “Pedal Pusher.” SOCAN presented the $5,000 prize to the rapper on Oct. 5, 2007, just before a late-night performance at the SOCAN Showcase during the PoP Montreal festival.

The ECHO Songwriting Prize is designed to identify what's next and what's best in current Canadian independent music. The prize honours some of the most innovative and artistic songs created in the past year by emerging songwriters in Canada. The winning song was selected by online public voting, with thousands of people casting their vote for one of the five songs that had been nominated by an independent panel of ten music community tastemakers
- SOCAN

For his solo debut, Toronto-reared rhyme ripper Abdominal calls in a few favours and receives beats by the pound from Cut Chemist, DJ Format, Young Einstein, Bronze One and long-time sidekick DJ Fase (sorry, no drama), which might be too much for a lesser MC to handle. But Abdominal has skills to burn, as he demonstrates on the lung-busting second track, Breathe Later, which culminates in an awesome single-breath 16-bar verse that'll have dudes scanning for edits in disbelief. But it's not all about fly antics for Abdominal; he's always been a top-notch storyteller, and Escape From The Pigeon Hole really succeeds on the strength of his narratives. Just check how deftly he tempers the heartache with humour in the personally revealing Open Relationship, which genuinely reflects real-life experience. Whether he's complaining about the lack of respect for subway rules on Walk Left/Stand Right or reppin' for his hometown on the party-starting summer jam T. Ode, you can tell there's nothing fake about Abdominal. And that's his edge. - Tim Perlich

While you’d still be hard-pressed in 2007 to convincingly outline an exportable representation of a unified Toronto hip-hop scene, it’s always comforting to know that this city is quietly turning out some serious heat. Indelible T-dot MC Abdominal, never a slouch on the mic, returns in pristine form with his latest disc, Escape From The Pigeon Hole, a cover to cover lesson in vocal diversity from a man who attacks his tracks from every angle. The record opens with Abs chronicling his great escape over a shuffling jazz snippet before breaking into a clever respiratory exercise in “Breathe Later.” Toronto mayor David Miller intros an elegy to every stretch of his temporary kingdom on “T-ode,” while the tireless MC truly flexes his muscle on “Abdominal Workout,” delivering his always effortless flow with spitfire ferocity over a high-paced cut cooked up by DJ Format. Ugly Duckling producer Young Einstein tosses up a slick old school break topped with a funky keyboard loop and bass lick for lead single “Pedal Pusher,” keeping him in good stead alongside fellow beat smiths Cut Chemist and DJ Fase, among others. Abdominal shows a more revealing side on the groovy, laidback “Open Relationship,” with jazz singer Elizabeth Shepherd playing the other half of a relationship of convenience on the hook before reappearing with some tight piano work on record closer “Flyer Antics,” a showstopper that features everything from Abs rhyming out a bass line to quirky Akai breakdowns and intricate Brazilian tambourine acrobatics. Be careful, you might hurt yourself with this one! (Handcuts) - Kevin Jones

It doesn't take long to find out that Abdominal is a proud Torontonian. The signature track on the MC's debut solo album, T-Ode, makes that clear with a wide-ranging series of shouts to different parts of the city (and an intro
featuring mayor David Miller). The rest of Escape is a free-wheeling slice of city life, with tracks addressing being a bike courier, open relationships, radio censorship and a clever McDonald's marketing ploy. Abdominal lays down his rhymes over bass-heavy, gritty, primarily synth-free beats, and works with producers such as DJ Format (on whose albums Abdominal has previously appeared) and Cut Chemist. An ear-catching, well-assembled
debut. - Mason Wright

It's being called the solo debut of Toronto hiphop MC Abdominal, but the stellar Escape From The Pigeon Hole (Do Right!) is actually all about collaboration. In fact, many more hands are involved in this project than anything else featuring the fly antics of the exceptionally skilled microphone ace.

Beyond the production expertise of long-time local scene pals Fase, Serious and Circle Research, our boy Abs is rhyming himself ragged over some insanely funky beats provided by Brit digger deluxe DJ Format, the Ugly Duckling's Young Einstein and Jurassic Five's Cut Chemist, in between some sinister scratching from DMC world champ DJ Dopey – essentially just about everyone he's met since 98 plus most of his MySpace friends.

And working with close allies was important to Abdominal. He wasn't looking to hire pricey celebrity producers or high-profile guest rappers. He's kept it in the family, which has paid off big time on Escape From The Pigeon Hole, a disc that maintains a consistent upbeat vibe despite the numerous collaborators.

"I'd met so many really talented people in my travels," says Abs sipping tea in a Little Italy cafe, "I knew that when it came time to do my own project I wanted to have the whole crowd involved, with all their different energies. Format and Fase have been my two main collaborators, so they had to be there, but I've also become friends with Cut Chemist and Einstein on tour, and of course there's a whole bunch of my Toronto people like Circle Research and Serious I had to have with me. It just felt like the natural way to work."

Considering how difficult it can be just getting Cut Chemist on the phone – trust me, I've tried – having him create the bumpin' soundtrack to the hilarious Radio Friendly joint was a coup for Abs. Evidently, it didn't come together as smoothly as the seamless head-nodder sounds.

"Cut Chemist is definitely difficult to peg down. So unlike a lot of the other producers involved who just send me beats they think I might like when they've got them, regardless of whether I have a project in mind or not, I had to be way more proactive with Chemist.

"He asked me to rhyme on a track for his record and said he'd come up with some beats for me in return. I wound up chasing him for six months. Eventually, he sent me one beat and that was it – I could either use it not – but fortunately I really liked it. So I recorded my rhymes over his rough loop and sent that back to him so he could do some sequencing and sync the drumbeats to the lyrics, and the finished product I got back was totally amazing. Well worth the effort."

Among the album's great successes is the Toronto shout-out T.Ode, in which Abs manages to celebrate his hometown neighbourhood by neighbourhood without it coming off like some cheesy municipal-government-sponsored tourism commercial. And doing that with an introduction from Mayor David Miller just makes the feat that much more impressive.

"From the beginning, I knew I wanted to do some kind of song about Toronto and work with Notes to Self, although I didn't have them in mind necessarily for that track. It just happened that their producer, Bronze, came up with this great beat that perfectly fit the spirit of what I wanted to say about Toronto. The Notes to Self guys grew up in a different part of town, so we divvied up the territory between us; they could rhyme about the east end while I covered more of the west end neighbourhoods.

"Doing what I do, I've had the opportunity to travel to some incredible places and had many great experiences, but toward the end of every tour I can't wait to get back to Toronto. It might not be as picturesque or as rich in history as some of the other great cities of the world, but it's my history. I grew up here, my family and friends are here. I just love this town and am proud to be from Toronto.

"So far, the song has been very well received here, but I'm not sure how a pro-Toronto anthem will go over with audiences in Vancouver or Montreal. I may have to come up with an alternate version where I'm big-upping Le 514!"
- Tim Perlich