Eternia – January/February 2006
Who: Eternia
What: ms. master flow
Where: Toronto
To Contact: Urbnet, PO Box 10617, 998 Bloor St. W., Toronto ON, M6H 1L8 (647) 271-7736, , www.eternia.ca.
It’s odd that no homegrown female emcee has broken through in Canada since Michie Mee two decades ago; some have tried, but name one rapper, not R&B singer. Toronto’s Eternia has a shot. For years, she sharpened her skills and served up singles in Canada, the US and Australia, which were released with assorted drops and collabs on Where I Been – The Collection, but this is her first proper full-length, It’s Called Life. And it’s called great. From “Evidence”, with its Beach Boys nod, the tough MC tells it like it is, who she is, through to “Family” (feat. Helixx C. & DJ Dopey), a menacing dark cut about growing up in government housing, spawned by a devil and raised by a saint, she rhymes. On these tracks, Eternia’s ability to tell a story without downplaying or prettying up is as refreshing as Eminem was when he first emerged. The album was recorded by Rez at ECTO.1 for Toronto’s 3Bone Audio Inc. with various producers – DJ Mercilless; Rude; Simahlak; Collizhun; Kenny Neal Jr.; and Tone Mason Inc. – and mixed by George Seara and assisted by Greg “Wondabread” Kolchinsky at Toronto’s Phase One Studios, except for “Understand” which was by Tao at Da Bus Stop in Brooklyn, NY.