Album Notes

BIOGRAPHY:

Dubbed "a unique hybrid of Beastie Boys, Fresh Prince & Buck 65," SJ The Wordburglar has made a name for himself with his patented maritime charm and absurd sense of humour. A consummate performer, SJ is known for rocking shows and leaving crowds mesmerized with clever wordplay and crazy punchlines.

His latest release, BURGLARITIS, on Hand'Solo Records, combines his classic lyricism and stand-up comedy-style delivery with banging beats courtesy of frequent collaborators Beatmason, Fresh Kils and more. Covering topics as diverse as sex, video games, comic books, paper routes and hometown pride, BURGLARITIS is already being hailed as one of the most original and creative Canadian rap albums to date.

BURGLARITIS features collaborations with LA Symphony & Quannum Projects member Pigeon John, superstar producer Jorun Bombay (Buck 65, Classified), and Toronto indie sensation and Herbaliser associate member More or Les, as well as members of the Canadian underground crews Backburner and Alpha Flight.

Coming hot on the heels of last summer's release of The Wordburglar Vinyl EP, a collection of previously-released songs from his self-titled debut CD and tracks from the upcoming BURGLARITIS, Wordburglar has spent the last year making appearances on numerous compilations and albums, along with his animated appearance in “The Wordburglar” video, featured alongside videos by Guru, Atmosphere, and the Living Legends on the internationally released Preserving Effects #1 DVD out this summer, and being drawn into appearing in a comic book or two.

DISCOGRAPHY:

Albums:

Burglaritis CD (2006)
Wordburglar vinyl EP (2005)
Backburner - What Have You Done For Rap Lately? (2004)
SJ the Wordburglar (2003)

Compilation Appearances:

"Buttafly" - Jorun's Way (2005)
"Hat Trick" - Buttertubs Canadian Rap Comp (2005)
"64 Degrees of Separation" - Cross Country (2005)
"Wordburglar" - Bassments of Badmen: Volume 2 (2003)

EXCLAIM REVIEW:

Wordburglar
Burglaritis
It would be really nice if this cat starts to get some of the attention he deserves with this new release because Wordburglar has such a comically gifted flow that needs to be heard. This Nova Scotia poet’s lyrics are like Lord Finesse with ten times more “I’m this like that” analogies, and the way he tapes them together are really quite remarkable as Burgy gives numerous Toronto name drops from Osgoode subway station to Kelly Gruber’s triple plays. Even when it comes to the corny “Let’s Get Romantical” he somehow manages to work enough cleverness into his sex rhymes that you run along with it rather than roll your eyes. Added to the formula is the incredible production of Beatmason who is becoming one of the nicest beat makers in Canada right now as he delivers the goods on the majority of Burglaritis. This is nice because the album tends to sink a little when we don’t have the Wordburglar/Beatmason combination providing the vocal and musical highlights. Burglaritis clocks in at a somewhat hefty 70 minutes and there is definitely enough filler that could have easily been shed off to make it a tighter release, but the good moments definitely shine bright and one listen should have you locked onto Wordburglar’s highly entertaining flow. (Noel Dix)