Hou Woulda Thought

Toronto MC Houdini’s Auto-Tuned singing—along with the stories of trap life and all its spoils and stresses—will be familiar to fans of slightly more established artists like NAV, Lil Durk, and Gunna. The singer’s Hou Woulda Thought—coming just five months after his debut, Hou I Am—is a continuation of the themes and aesthetics that solidified him as one of the most exciting young talents in Canada. Over the course of 15 tracks, Houdini’s elastic warble floats over consistently heavy trap rumble while he reminds listeners where he comes from (“Belmont Boyz”), talks about how life has changed since his earliest success (“Options”), and reaffirms his street ties (“Big Crip”). The album lists no featured guests, unlike the feature-stacked Hou I Am; he understands there’ll be plenty of time to share the spotlight once he gets to where he wants to be.