LSTNFND, one of the local hip hop labels in Toronto, releases the instrumental version of every track their artists put out. It’s one of my favourite things they do. The beats behind Jon Corbin’s latest EP are some of their most confident work yet.

That’s to say nothing of Corbin himself. “Spark the Flame” is, without a doubt, the best song on the track. His flow is getting better, but ultimately, his storytelling is getting better too. The lyrics are getting better, perhaps, but it’s all in the delivery here.

The guest rapper is also competent on the track, and elevates it to another level. It’s undoubtedly Corbin’s best work, and a new high note for a label that’s getting better with every release.

And ultimately, it’s hard to write about LSTNFND’s artists now without writing about the label. There are few labels so concerned with giving their artists the support they need for success, and you can hear that pay off with each release.

Hearts Set Ablaze is just an EP — it’s only six tracks, and three of those are instrumental. But you can hear Corbin grow, and LSTNFND grows with him.

Give it a listen on Spotify below:

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Corbin told me R & R was six years in the making, and put together entirely digitally over two countries in that time (Corbin is Canadian and Harmon is from Tennessee). As life changed for both rappers, so too did the record. Corbin and Harmon met each other at Flavor Fest in Tampa in 2010, and immediately knew they wanted to work together.

So this collaboration began in an effort to work long distance, put it together, and get it done. Six years later, after a number of highs and lows, the collaboration is over. There’s no chance you’ll see these guys tour together — the logistics won’t work — but making the project was a victory for the two family men.

And it’s a tremendous record. It might have taken six years to come together, but it doesn’t sound like it took that long. There are no signs of gestation anywhere.

More importantly, these two sound great together. They’re both great rappers with positive outlooks on life, and it’s refreshing to hear rappers who are focused on positivity.

In one telling moment on “Real Thugs” (my favourite track on the record), the duo samples Count Bass D. They turn the rapper’s one-off line “Real thugs don’t rap” into a fantastic, honest chorus. “Real Thugs” is one of those songs that works because of its reference to vintage hip hop. It strips the genre bare and naked, removes its showboating, and focuses on reality.

“Still Building” is my other favourite track on the record. The beat is great, the lyrics are clever, and the message is poignant.

I love it.

Lyrically, this is Christian hip hop. But I don’t think non-Christians would be bothered by it. If anything, this is a call for us to all get along together. It’s a reminder that we’re all humans, and that we all have to live and work together. The message is simple: we need to stand together when times get tough, and rejoice when things are good.

The whole album feels like a long period of rejoicing. There’s no negativity to be found here. These two guys are just glad to make music, and you can tell when you listen to it.

The album also packs together instrumental versions of each track, which is a great way to hear the record. The beats are definitely vintage, but they’re excellent. They sound ‘90s, but that style is still in, right? I’ve made a playlist with the instrumental tracks exclusively for work, and they make excellent music for focusing.

For a couple of independent rappers, R & R is a surprisingly strong record. It sounds indie — after all, this project spans six years and two countries — but it’s also at another level of creativity and talent. Travis Harmon and Jon Corbin have made a tremendous and positive record — and it’s nice to hear that music like this in a genre like hip hop.

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Compared to Orijin’s album, which was a purposefully short mixtape, Jon Corbin’s A New Direction feels like a carefully crafted, thematic message. Ten tracks long, Corbin told me his intent was to cover “themes like low self-esteem, ethnic identity, absentee fathers, faith, forgiveness, and putting love into practice.”

His record hits home on all of these things. Confessions of a Mixed (Up) Kid is perhaps my favourite record off the record: a catchy bass line drives the beat forward, keeping things fresh, while Corbin rhymes about his struggles growing up as a mixed race, feeling neither African American or white. And as he raps about his absentee black father and growing up exclusively with a white family, he asks for an invitation to share his struggles with you. And it feels completely authentic.

In a lot of ways, Corbin reminds me of Shad: he’s got a flawlessly tight flow, and he’s not afraid to speak his heart, but he has these old-school beats that feel as raw as his locals. Some standouts include tracks like The Prayer of a Restless Soul, Without You, and A New Direction for Jon Corbin. Great lyrical flows backed up by some fantastic beats.

He’s also got some mean guest rappers. Of course, Orijin is involved (on Life of Love), but he also features Eternia and Relic on Without You. While Jon doesn’t need anybody else to cover for him — he can do just fine on his own — he’s happy to step aside and give somebody else the spotlight.

It’s interesting to me the things that make Jon Corbin different from some of his contemporaries. I’ve heard a lot of “Christian rap,” and most of the genre is filled with either happy-go-lucky rappers who are having fun and praising God, or men who are angry and trying to figure out where God fits in their life. Jon Corbin doesn’t fit into either of those categories.

Jon Corbin has clearly had a difficult time accepting not just his race, but also his absentee father. He’s struggled to forgive. He’s struggled to make peace. It’s interesting that he doesn’t see his faith as a part of it — he sees his faith as the whole story. The music is him walking you through how he valued himself as a person when he feels nobody else did, and how he turned to God to find his value.

For non-religious listeners, Jon Corbin might be a bit much. But for the rest of us, he’s a relief compared to some of the popular hip hop on the radio. A New Direction is a fantastic album with a real sense of vision and great beats.

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