With artists releasing songs at a fast and furious pace it’s difficult for the average hip-hop head to keep track of it all—no matter how tapped in they are. That’s why we created The Ones, a daily post to highlight the song you need to hear curated by the Levels team. We sort through all the new songs—across all the platforms and subgenres—so you don’t have to. Thank us later.
In 2016, when the enigmatic SAFE was just 18 years old he went from working at the OVO boutique in Toronto to becoming the city’s crown jewel. The crooner became a favorite of Drake—an OVO Sound Radio mainstay—and was selling out Toronto’s premier clubs. Then the music slowed down, some deals got signed, music that was teased never dropped, and his close friend and collaborator Smoke Dawg was brutally murdered. SAFE took sometime to himself, and relocated to New York. But the impact he made on Toronto years ago never faded, and the city remains anxious to hear what he has been working on.
SAFE has always been the vocalist of Toronto’s Halal Gang collective, and on “Paid In Full,” his light and buttery melody shines over the gloomy instrumental. He’s aware of how much he means to Toronto, acknowledging the support on the song’s catchy hook: “Bentley truck, pullin’ up, I’m in my city/They show me love, say, ‘Wassup.’” Playboi Carti joins SAFE with a quick guest verse and layers the track with background ad-libs. “Paid In Full” is SAFE broadening is reach, still the hometown hero, but getting closer to being properly appreciated outside of Toronto.
Check out previous Ones, and listen to new rap from SAFE and more on our Spotify playlist, Apple Music playlist, and SoundCloud playlist.
