Toronto has a booming scence, especially lately. All you have to do is peep the Events section of the site to get a taste of SOME of the events and artists that are around. Heads like Nefarius, BrassMunk and The Oddities and Kardinal Offishall are making all kinds of noise. Now, representing the west end ('Sauga baby!) come the veteran duo of Mr. Stephen and G. Stokes, collectively known as Ryse.

Ryse have been around for a long time, breaking up briefly before securing production wth Sharp Tungz Productions. This veteran status has given them a certain amount of recognition despite the fact that they haven't released a whole lot. G. Stokes is currently hosting the Illamental concert series for example. The Ascension EP serves a dual purpose. It exposes heads to some of the material that will be on the album, plus gives the group some extra exposure, hitting off their longtime fans and hopefully gaining a few new ones.

Muscially, this EP is no joke. The Sharp Tungz provide the perfect sonic backgrounds for the two lyricists. Their layering is excellent, and they keep your head nodding without taking away from the lyrics in any way. Keep your eyes open for this production team.

Both G. Stokes and Mr. Stephen are also impressive lyrically. They have it all, clever wordplay, teamwork, breath control. Don't sleep on the skills showcased here.

"Headsnappaz" will have you doing exactly that. "Evolution" is brilliant from top to bottom. Lyrics, production, hook, everything is right on point. "Rukus" has a reggae flavour that does an excellent job of showing just how versatile TO can be. "Love Is So Strange" gives us a taste of a different side of the group. It's more laid back feel shows the group's range of both topics and musical interests.

A lot of people are going to miss this one. Don't be one of them. Take this opportunity to jump on a bandwagon early for a chance. This group is impressive now, and hopefully will only continue to improve.