Canadian Hip Hop The North Rap Game

Established in the 1980s, mainstream popularity from 1989 to 1991, it remained largely underground until the early 2000s.
The first known Canadian rap single, Mr. Q’s (Jay McGee) “Ladies Delight,” was released in 1979.  artists broke through to mainstream success around 1990. Maestro Fresh-Wes, Main Source, and Dream Warriors gained recognition internationally from the underground hip-hop In 1998, “Northern Touch” brought hip hop back into the mainstream of Canadian music.
Ron Nelson launched Canada’s first hip-hop program, The Fantastic Voyage, in 1983. CKLN
Devon, Maestro Fresh-Wes, and Dream Warriors briefly managed, Maestro’s “Let Your Backbone Slide,” the first Canadian hip-hop single to reach o the national Top 40 and the Billboard charts in the United States. It remained the bestselling Canadian hip-hop single of all time until 2008. Notable rap singles, Maestro’s “Drop the Needle”, Devon’s “Mr. Metro,” Dream Warriors’ “My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style,” “Wash Your Face in My Sink”, Ground Control’s “Another Dope Jam”, MCJ and Cool G’s “No Sex With My Sister”, “So Listen”, Kish’s “I Rhyme the World in 80 Days”.
In 1988 Michie Mee was the first Canadian artist to sign with a US record label.
“I Don’t Need Yo’ Kiss.”
A significant influence on hip-hop in Toronto is Ron Nelson’s Fantastic Voyage radio show, which aired Saturday afternoons on CKLN from 1983 to 1991.