Opinion: Termanology Brings ‘Real Hip-Hop’ to Toronto

Termanology is a Boston-bred emcee who reps Essex county, ‘Lawtown’ to be specific. Among other distinctions, Termanology is the self-proclaimed Cameo King. He has worked with such esteemed hip-hoppers as DJ Premier, Styles P, Sheek Louch, Freeway, Bun B, and the list goes on and on. He’s even worked with young cats like Mac Miller.

On May 4th, Termanology dropped in on Toronto’s monthly hip-hop event, Droppin’ Knowledge, to spit a few bars alongside homies Reks and Statik Selektah. He showed up late, around 1 a.m., clad in a Boston Celtics jersey and a Celtics fitted, his left arm in a sling. Upon being asked about his injury, Termanology responded, “Some fun stuff,” and began to chuckle to himself. He chilled in the dressing room while Statik fussed over a bottle of Hennessy and the set list. Then he asked, “Where’s Reks?” Statik sighed. “Probably out smoking,” he muttered. And sure enough, that’s where Reks was.

When they were all assembled in the dressing room, the two emcees, Reks and Termanology, and their DJ, Statik Selektah, proceeded with a short pre-show prayer. They huddled with their arms around each other, then split off. Reks and Statik took to the stage first, and received a warm welcome from the Toronto crowd — a diverse mix of suburban kids, hipster runoff, and culture fiends — while Termanology remained backstage. He sipped on Hennessy and let his thoughts go. He would go on later, to a generous applause from the waning Toronto crowd.

Despite a thinning in numbers towards the end of the night, Toronto fans loved Termanology. He is the epitome of what they call ‘real hip-hop’. Something like a cousin to the original cats like Premier, whom Termanology has made many records with, and the purists who still make East Coast music on the East Coast — unlike A$AP and his crew, who exist in a vacuum of Tumblr re-appropriations.

At the end of his set Termanology ordered Statik to kill the beat. He had Reks help him remove his sling, then he addressed the crowd with his severely bruised arm literally hanging from its socket. “Listen,” he barked into the mic. “Two hours before we were scheduled to come up here I broke my arm. It was either go to the hospital and miss the show or jump on the plane with a broken arm. I jumped on the plane. That’s real muthafuckin’ hip-hop.” Then Statik dropped the beat.

Watch the Cameo King in all his grotesque glory…