Like any self-respecting superhero, a credible hip-hop MC needs a compelling origin story. It usually goes something like this: a once unassuming if undeniably gifted mortal faces adversity and then comes to assume a new persona — and, crucially, a new name — before laying waste to the competition and claiming the throne.
Rollie Pemberton (to use the author’s more prosaic name) approaches hip-hop from an angle all his…
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson works as a journalist and film programmer in Toronto.