Today's upload is one of my favorite Canadian albums of all time - 2002's "Sonsrayz" by Devotea. Devotea got his start as DJ Ringworm and was the main producer behind the Submerged M.Seas (with rappers Vizion and Kay the Aquanaut.) He released several mixtapes under that name before switching to Devotea.
His only full length solo album, "Sonsrayz," is quintessential Saskatoon rap. To start off, the production is airy and dreamy while also quirky and offbeat. Devotea helped a young Factor Chandelier get started on both the DJ tip and the producer tip and if you listen to "Sonsrayz," you could easily believe that Factor himself produced it. On the rap side of things, Devotea is definitely influenced by guys like Isosceles and Vizion delivery-wise, but he actually has a slightly crisper flow which makes him sound better in my opinion. Think Self-Help. Content-wise, Devo tackles everything from small city politics to grand scale crises, and, in doing so, manages to balance playfulness and seriousness very well.
Devotea only ever released this one album, which is a shame as it's an amazing one and, with the eventual success that Factor found, I believe he could have easily made a place for himself in the larger world of indie rap. The download is an old FTD rip that has faded into obscurity. Unfortunately, I don't have any sort of album cover for this (I used a Saskatoon prairie for the photo above lol.) I've seen the CD, but unfortunately do not own it or have scans of the artwork.
Enjoy!
Damn, such praise. Thank-you! I wrote Sonsrayz at time in my life where I was really struggling with a lot mentally and emotionally. Now when I look back on it, I can’t share it because I was preaching a little too hard. Glad it connected with at least one person out there. I was channeling Abstract Rude, Aceyalone, Freestyle Fellowship, Casual, Bored Stiff, etc. I was rolling with Isosceles a few years earlier and they were major influences on my production style but I was hacking my way through trying to make beats like Fat Jack. South Central Thynk Taynk left a mark on me and I always measured my music against Fat Jack. I realized I needed to actually learn how to play instruments and compose music to reach that level of musicality. I don’t think it will ever happen. I might have Sonsrayz CDs 💿 in storage somewhere.
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