Since first putting pen to paper at age 9, Julian Thomas has been using music to navigate what he calls his “roller coaster” life, absorbing diverse styles -- everything from Michael Jackson to Led Zeppelin, 2Pac to Incubus, Talib Kwali to Pink Floyd -- and spitting out raw, emotional soliloquies aimed squarely at the pulmonary artery of every listener. 
 Working with long time collaborator and fellow Remix Project graduate FrancisGotHeat (Drake, Roy Woods, Big Sean, Bryson Tiller), the Toronto-based artist produces hazy, textured, cinematic landscapes on which he stretches his rhymes. Vividly recalling moments so personal they shatter people's hearts, while aiming for what he describes as “the highest connectivity.” 
 Growing up in a neighborhood where the majority of the population "were from war torn countries" and gun violence was a reality of life, Thomas learned to turn inward, affecting an outward intensity that sheltered a sensitive soul. "I look like I want to kill someone 99 percent of the time," he says, "but I really just want to love everyone 100 percent of the time.” 
 On tracks like his latest release “Time On Their Hands," listeners can hear both sides of this story. As with the man himself, nothing is as it seems: harsh can be beautiful, melancholy can bring unbridled joy and heartache can save your life.