Toronto rapper Primordial Emcee fell in love with rap in 1997. “When I heard the GZA,” he explains, “It’s like a lightbulb went off in my head and I all of a sudden knew how to rap. But it was just the theory I understood, I had to refine my craft for many years.” Prime went through a few name changes and evolutions in style until it all came together in 2009 when he settled on his current name and co-founded Toronto rap group Faction with Chief 4syt and Apocalypse. Faction was originally conceived of and always perceived as a group of individuals that would work together as a unit yet function as solo artists. After they released their third offering in as many years, the trio started working on solo projects. The first of these from Prime is X-Faction 2: Reanimated, his ODB-like sequel to Faction’s most successful album. But X-Faction 2 is Prime’s baby, and he uses the additional mic time to further delve into his own interests and angles. As he says of his first single, “The Path of Prime”: “I wanted to show people my life, what I can do, and in relation to this world we live in being a matrix. The theme has so many topics I like to rhyme about, from conspiracy subject matter to science fiction, religion, a little bit of sexual humour, and just a bunch of metaphors, puns and similes from my perspective.” Mutants, outcasts, and fans of underground rap, be prepared to throw your X’s in the air once again!