In the past year, BrassMunk have become one of Canada's most hyped hip-hop groups. The success of their live show and previous hit singles ('Live Ordeal' and 'One 2') saw them gain a great deal of notoriety and landed them at #45 of the Urb Magazine's Next 100 list. As well, they became the first rappers to be awarded the Galaxie Rising Stars award, which is decided by a NXNE (North by Northeast) music jury of industry experts.

This Toronto-based crew, consisting of producer/turntabalist Agile and emcees May One 9, S-Roc, and Clip, faced their growing hype with the release of their debut EP, Dark Sunrise. Unfortunately, this 6-song EP (with 2 bonus tracks) didn't step up with the same energy and originality provided by their Juno-nominated single 'Live Ordeal.'

The first single, ‘El Dorado’ is a catchy tune made great by the inclusion of former Bass Is Base member, Ivana Santilli and by the cartoon-ish story portrayed in its video. ‘Oh Supaman’ is my favorite track as it will have you seeing shades of Above The Law’s classic ‘Black Superman.’ The second bonus track, ‘BIG’ comes off quite cocky, but nonetheless is a bumping track. Apart from these three songs, BrassMunk stumbles into a typical hip-hop mold leaving me only partially satisfied. The lowest point is ‘Dedicated 4 U’ where more than half the song is filled with annoying shoutouts.

BrassMunk's debut EP, Dark Sunrise, is enjoyable, but falls short of the hype-level album I was expecting.

Click here to buy the album at Futureshop.ca