Jimmy Prime has been through a lot in the past year. In addition to changing his name from Jimmy Johnson and being credited for inventing Toronto’s trendy new nickname: “The 6,” he’s also worked on expanding his sound. As Jimmy Johnson, he would stretch his warbled voice to spread over the bubbled sonic landscape produced by Eric Dingus, his frequent collaboration partner and co-producer on “Now & Forever” from Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.
On his new project Block Boy, Jimmy Prime feeds off the energy of his new collaborator TrapMoneyBenny to bounce between melodic rap and precise verses with ease. He seems to have finally found his voice, but the search for it has always been centered around Toronto’s Esplanade district. Located near the lake on Toronto’s East side, the area has become a hotbed of local activity in recent months with the help of the Prime Boys, along with artists like Safe, Smoke Dawg, and Mo-G.
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We photographed Jimmy Prime ahead of his first headlining Toronto show at The Hoxton, for which you can find tickets here.
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Jay Whiss, Jimmy, and Donnie
Donnie
