Who says the Bills Mafia can’t appreciate a Canadian rap artist like Astrokidjay putting out fire bars courtesy of his new God Bless The Mafia (Side A) studio effort? The hard-hitting project comes packed with winter heat and signature sounds.

Astrokidjay’s ‘God Bless The Mafia (Side A)’ has officially arrived

The 20-year-old hip-hop artist never washed but he’s not new - in other words he’s been putting in ample work over the past few years and has the anthems to prove it. His newest audio gem follows 2021’s Wizard Boy and 2022’s Rose Out the Mud and sets the stage for even bigger things to come in 2023.

Today, burgeoning star Astrokidjay releases his rich and engrossing new EP God Bless the Mafia (Side A). LISTEN TO THE KIDS/Geffen Records. The 20-year-old artist, who is able to effortlessly synthesize hip-hop, R&B, and Afrobeats while maintaining a point of view that is irrefutably his, uses this six-song canvas to show that he’s grown even more distinct—and even more irresistible. 

Born in Tanzania and raised in Toronto, Astrokidjay has quickly made a name for himself as one of the most singular acts in music.God Bless the Mafia (Side A) deepens his on-record identity in ways that reveal technical precision and true inspiration. Over beats that collectively form an intoxicating haze, Astrokidjay raps about the “snot running down my nose” during cold nights on the corner (“Buju”) and the constant paranoia of saving up for more expensive “Lawyer Fees.” He remains remarkably specific, too: On the Anti Da Menace- and Duvy-featuring “Devil In Disguise,” the temperature of the water used to cook crack is measured in Celsius. The EP also features Sally Sossa, Portion, and TOB Duke. 

God Bless the Mafia (Side A) comes in the wake of Rose Out the Mud, the mixtape from earlier this year that made a point to show off both the gentler and more menacing sides of his music. Last month, Astrokidjay followed that tape, and the acclaim it received, with the singles “Hunnid Dayz” and “Hell & Back,” both of which appear on this new collection. As 2022 draws to a close, Astrokidjay is making a strong case as the year’s signature breakout artist.

Astrokidjay began making music in earnest after he’d been kicked out of his family’s home in 2019. The early demos—recorded in a friend’s closet—had a sound so otherworldly that they gave him his stage name. In the brief period since, he’s made an undeniable case for himself as an unmissable cornerstone of genre-melding music in the 2020s.