District Prime (rapper) and Iron Wind (rapper/producer) of Toronto hip hop duo Primal Winds are on a revolutionary rap journey with their new album, The Renegades. Conceived during the recording of their pirate-themed second album Give No Quarter, it was clear to the two that they would require more time to tackle the themes and music than is required for their more light-hearted projects. While putting in work on this passion project, Primal Winds have released Give No Quarter, their cowboy-themed Cut You Down, and their post-apocalyptic rap-rock album, Road Warriors, their first on Hand’Solo Records, along with various conceptual singles/videos.

Finally satisfied with their magnum opus, Primal Winds release The Renegades cognizant of the correlations between the Tron-inspired fantasy world of the album and the turmoil of the current world. Fusing established hip hop styles and boom bap drum loops with retrowave, EDM and dubstep influences, Prime and Wind dive into gaming, hacking, cyber terrorism, and freedom of expression, while also layering in politics, religion, and observations on the glitches in our everyday system. Titles like “Uprising” and “Freedom Fight” provide a good indication of what to expect, while songs like “Griefers” takes the term from online gaming into the music world, trolling the competition. Joined by the usual collaborators—rappers Fortunato (“Identify”), Robbie G (“Resistance”), royceBIRTH (“Disc Wars”), and Warrzone (“Occupation”), with singers Lucy Lovesick (also “Occupation”) and Alexa Ourania (“Flynn’s Arcade” and “Neon Lights”)—The Renegades have no room for those who believe in a perfect system.