In Rotation: Skip Waiters

Brampton, Ontario has been exporting talent for a minute, but Skip Waiters is building a cinematic universe entirely his own. Coming off the release of his sophomore album The Human Experience last September—a project where he self-shot and edited his own visuals to explore grief and bachelorism—he’s already pivoting. I’ve been running his new EP Insecure back all week. Waiters operates through an alter ego named Mr. Piks to unpack modern romance, and he actually commits to the bit. He’s been laying this groundwork since his Compact Disc and MP3 Player EPs, steadily refining his ear for production. On the single 'chanGES,' Juno-winning producers Genesis and Lord Quest lay down a bed of warm, R&B-rooted chords. Waiters slides over the beat, his vocal delivery shifting between a melodic hum and a sharp, conversational flow as he details the paranoia of falling in love. The drums snap right when the verse needs an anchor. Then you get to 'just busiNESS' featuring Kalisway, where the bassline thickens and Waiters locks into a pocket that feels tailor-made for late-night drives. He bridges alternative hip-hop with deep R&B textures without losing the grit of his delivery. The momentum is translating in real time. Apple Music just plugged 'shotGUN' into The New Toronto, Spotify added 'just busiNESS' to Mood Ring, and college stations from Rochester to Albuquerque are putting him in heavy rotation. But the real proof of concept is the respect he commands from his peers. You don't get Westside Boogie on a track like 'THE FUNCTION' or ICECOLDBISHOP on 'Pat Morita' off f***ing algorithms. You get those verses because real spitters recognize the caliber of your pen. A lot of rappers claim they're making movies, but Skip is actually writing the script. Hear it below.