Details: Amazon.ca Long before Toronto became known as the T-Dot, Thrust was helping establish the nascent Canadian hip-hop scene. The burly MC has been rhyming since the late '80s and is often called the KRS-One of Canada, yet despite a few scattered EPs and his devastating delivery of the chorus of the Canuck hip-hop anthem "Northern Touch," Thrust hadn't released a full album before 2001's The Chosen Are Few. Sadly, the disc doesn't fully represent what he's capable of. Moving between underground hip-hop and smoothed-out R&B, Thrust delivers boasts and put-downs in his unusual, clunky flow and is joined by fellow Circle members Kardinal Offishall, Choclair, Frankenstein and Solitair. The title track and the stirring "Emcee" are anthemic declarations of skills, but too often Thrust sounds tired and uninspired here. It's unfortunate, because he can and has done better. --Matt Galloway
