Artist	Song
Classified	The Day Doesn't Die
from Handshakes and Middle Fingers (2011)
Classified	Hard to Be Hip-Hop (feat. Maestro Fresh Wes)
from While You Were Sleeping (2007)
Classified	The Maritimes
from While You Were Sleeping (2007)
Classified	Unexplainable Hunger
from Underground Hip-Hop, Vol. 3 (2005)

Comment:

A quick glance at this fistful of [i]Classified[/i] Essentials, which draws heavily on his late '00s output, might give you the impression that the rapper from Enfield, Nova Scotia, has been slinging rhymes for no longer than a decade . . . but that's not the case. The kid who used to call himself Luke Boyd put out his debut release (on his own label) as a teenager back in 1995, and a winning combination of hard work and talent as both producer and performer ensured that his star rose prominently once the 21st century had kicked in for real. Building instrumentals and "killin' with brilliant rhymes" is the name of Classified's game and that's borne out on "The Maritimes," an accordion-backed portrait of his Atlantic-coast turf, hip-hop superstar collaboration "Quit While You're Ahead," [i]Hitch Hikin' Music[/i] standout track "Fall from Paradise," and 2010's alternative national anthem "Oh . . . Canada."

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