Bvlly, Toronto Artist Who Left Us Too Soon

In Memory of Bvlly

At Croxxings we don’t forget the greats of hip-hop even when they’re gone. Today, we want to take a look back at the career of Toronto artist Bvlly. An extremely talented rapper whose life ended far too soon, we’re going to check out one of his best songs and remember this amazing artist.

Bvlly grew up in the east side of Toronto to a Jamaican family. The youngest of six, Bvlly’s household was always full of music. His parents listened to reggae heavily and his siblings R&B and Hip-Hop. Bvllly has described his youth as spending a great deal of time outside, and enjoyed his time in school (though admits that he was easily distracted by girls). Listening to Toronto artists from a young age, Bvlly enjoyed the likes of Thorobred, as well as many east coast rappers such as Big L and Max B. Before he even spat his first bar, Bvlly was rapping in his head and thinking of flows to hit on his favorite songs.

While Bvlly never released his earliest music, the first tracks he ever recorded were with his friends in the studio. Solely for fun, Bvlly had no intention to drop these songs. A stint of house arrest gave him the time and focus to develop his first real record, which was released to a muted response that almost made him give up the rap game. But this young artist caught a wave of inspiration when he heard the instrumental to his song “No Light Bag ” and decided to create one more track. Shortly after it dropped his popularity exploded, reaching millions of listens on streaming platforms. This was Bvlly’s real break in the music scene and what drove him forward.

Bvlly From Toronto

Airplane Mode

“Airplane Mode” is one of Bvlly’s best songs, coming as a showcase of the enormous talent and melodic style this rapper brought to the table. With a gorgeous synthesizer lead, the bouncy trap drums create a powerful beat for Bvlly to demolish. From the opening line “I get busy in my city moving shit from A to Z”, his unique flow is established with Bvlly running each bar with grace and style. His voice moving with an ethereal quality over the instrumental, he injects humor in between the more serious lines with punchlines like “I could have took his girl but didn’t want to drive to Brampton” (certainly a very Toronto-type joke).

The video for “Airplane Mode” was co-directed by StrvngerFilms and ShotByHuss, absolutely dripping with production value and style. Bvlly raps after dark in streets lit by ornamental lighting on palm trees, and in the daytime while standing on the roof of a car. The artist wears a blue vest and gold “Milli Gang” chain, moving fluidly with the beat as he delivers his track. Aerial shots of skyscrapers create a moody scene, the whole video overflowing with his personality and swag.

Bvlly was fatally shot in December of 2019 at 24 years old, just before Christmas. He is survived by his friends, family, and fans who all miss him dearly. A legend in the scene, take a listen to the songs made by this amazing artist and remember a great for the talent that he was.