The Line From Scarborough's Hip-Hop and Alternative R&B to Finding Mars by SRE
A Toronto Rapper Blends Hip-Hop, Alternative R&B and Chillout Across an Eight-Track Space Album
Finding Mars, the second album from Scarborough rapper SRE, came out on 17 October 2024 and runs eight tracks, from Hero to Shuttle. Its middle track, Bounce, pairs SRE with Everything OShauN. Meanwhile, Ellejae joins on City of Aliens and UFO.
SRE’s Bounce is in the playlist below, his full run of coverage sits on the SRE artist profile, and the story of Finding Mars runs on from here. The album reached this desk through PopHits.Co Music Charts, which verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news titles. Press play, then keep reading.
Scarborough Gave Toronto Alternative R&B Its Night-Time Mood, and Finding Mars by SRE Carries It On
The lineage starts close to home. The Weeknd was born in Scarborough, and House of Balloons in 2011 set the template for a moody strand of R&B that Toronto still carries. SRE was born and raised in the same district. So Finding Mars by SRE sits inside that mood, blending hip-hop with alternative R&B and chillout.
SRE, pronounced “sorry”, is a multi-disciplinary rapper with Jamaican and African parents. As a toddler, he built a makeshift drum kit from a yoga ball, a djembe, pots and pans. He played along every time the theme of The Wiggles came on. Years of dance and talent shows followed. Then, in 2019, he began composing, recording and engineering his own songs.
He released his debut EP Honda Vibez in September 2020. A full-length concept album followed in April 2021, and he used its songs and skits as a form of therapy to show his vulnerabilities. Finding Mars is his second album.
The new record leans into a space theme. City of Aliens, UFO, Moonlight, Lightspeed and Shuttle all point upward. The album runs just over 25 minutes across its eight tracks, and that compact length keeps the concept tight. In short, each song gets one idea and moves on. The album also carries a 2024 copyright line for SNS Music.
The production bridges alternative R&B, chillout and hip-hop. As a result, SRE has room to move between rapped verses and melodic lines without changing the album’s colour. That balance is where his lane sits, between the Toronto rap tradition and the city’s night-time R&B.
Everything OShauN, Ellejae and Haviah Mighty Map the Circle of Artists Around SRE and Finding Mars
The features show who SRE moves with. Everything OShauN, a hip-hop and Afro-fusion artist SRE has also opened for, joins him on Bounce. Ellejae, meanwhile, appears twice, which gives the first half of the album a second voice.
On stage, SRE has opened for Juno Award winner Haviah Mighty, as well as Tona, Omega Mighty, Elderbrook and Vandelux. He performs with a 10-piece band, and he is a RISE + Flow champion. He has also played the Vaughan International Music Festival and the Oshawa Convergence Music Festival. In 2024 he took his set to Los Angeles and to Kelowna, British Columbia, where White Claw sponsored his slot at the Altitunes Music Festival.
Haviah Mighty’s 13th Floor won the Polaris Music Prize in 2019. That win is a reminder of how far rap from the Toronto area now travels. Opening for her therefore places SRE in the same orbit, one step behind the artists who have already broken out of the local circuit.
Early Coverage, a Randy Bachman Collaboration and a Playlist Slot for Bounce
Coverage started early. In May 2022, TJPL News featured SRE as an emerging artist from Scarborough, built around his EP More Than I See. We Write About Music reviewed the same project and praised how openly SRE lets listeners into his headspace. Since then, he has also collaborated with Canadian rock figure Randy Bachman on I Want It All.
Now Bounce sits in BlackSounds.News’s Conscious Hip Hop, Alternative Hip Hop, Jazz Rap playlist. For listeners who keep The Weeknd’s moodier records next to Haviah Mighty’s rap, Finding Mars by SRE is a natural next step. Start with Bounce, then play the album from Hero to Shuttle.
BlackSounds.News’s curator team:
“Finding Mars earns its concept on pace. Eight tracks, just over 25 minutes, and a space theme that never outstays the songs, which is rarer than it should be for a concept album.”
Save Bounce through the smartlink. Follow SRE on Spotify, Apple Music, the YouTube channel, Instagram, TikTok, X and Facebook.
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