Northern Touch

"Northern Touch" is a Canadian hip hop single, which was released in 1998 by Rascalz in collaboration with Checkmate, Kardinal Offishall, Thrust and Choclair. It is one of the most important individual songs in the history of Canadian hip hop, which almost singlehandedly transformed the genre from a largely ignored underground movement into a viable commercial endeavour.

The participating artists have also been collectively credited in later coverage as Northern Touch All-Stars.

Background

At the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, several Canadian hip hop musicians, including Maestro Fresh Wes, Devon and Dream Warriors, had significant chart hits, but there were to be difficult years ahead. Milestone Radio applied to the CRTC for an urban music station in Toronto in 1990, which would have been Canada's first radio station devoted to that format, but was denied in favour of a country music station. The Canadian music industry had a poor history with Black Canadian musicians, and the Milestone decision was the final nail in the coffin: after 1991, there wasn't another Canadian hip hop song on the pop charts for over half a decade.

Creation and impact

Rascalz, who had recorded their first album in 1993, survived the 1990s by learning the business aspects of the music industry, operating their own independent label as well as touring and performing. Following their 1997 album Cash Crop, they wrote "Northern Touch" as a sort of anthem for Canadian hip hop's resilience and determination, inviting several other guest musicians to perform on the track. The song was also originally scheduled to include k-os and Jully Black, who cancelled due to other commitments. The track had originally been planned for a hip hop compilation album, but the musicians decided to release it as a single after the album was cancelled.