artist John Smith

Respected by all of Hip Hop's fractured factions, Smith is just as comfortable bringing a hot sixteen bars to the club as he is serving up youngsters in street corner ciphers. Stylistically, he eases through a myriad of flows with a delivery that ranges from quietly conversational to loud, damning testimonial. Four albums deep, his polished flow stands in contrast to his lifestyle of, "fists, pipes, trickin', scammin', bleedin', and boozin''. Smith moved to Winnipeg from Churchill, Manitoba's northernmost community, in 1993. The transition from the “polar bear capitol of the world” to the “murder capitol of Canada” was surprisingly smooth for the young rapper, who quickly gained notoriety as a ruthless battle rapper. After a brief apprenticeship as mcenroe's hype man, the two MCs, along with DJ Hunnicutt formed Park-Like Setting and released the full length School Day 2, Garbage Day 4, in the fall of 2000. Smitty's solo debut, Blunderbus (Or, In Transit) followed in Spring 2001. In 2002, the ever-evolving Smith collaborated with fellow Peanuts & Corn recording artist Pip Skid for the crunked-up/drunked-up Hip Hop Wieners. Their release, All Beef, No Chicken, as well as all of John Smith’s recordings, have been embraced with national and international critical acclaim, receiving glowing reviews from magazines like Exclaim!, Pound, URB, and the UK's Hip Hop Connection. Pinky's Laundromat, Smith's last release, is a high concept exploration of his ‘hood, Winnipeg's North End.