Gustavo Guaapo

Toronto artist blog.

Gustavo brings a unique melodic lyrical rap style to the city, his infectious flows and hooks and his hard-hitting verses bring something special to his music. With successful tunes like "Dubai Scars," he has garnered over 25,000 monthly Spotify listeners and several notable playlist placements. Gustavo is the embodiment of age doesn't play a role in one being able to make a successful career, he's a 26-year-old rapper following his dream, and it's inspiring to watch someone who's not only attempting to create a name for himself in music but also helping his community via organizations like Sai Dham, several food banks, and Epilepsy Toronto. Gustavo's repertoire is jam-packed with bangers and smashes, including "Dubai Scars," "Guns & Roses," and "Built Different (Outro)." These are only a few of his best-known and most-streamed records. His discography began in 2018 with a single named "More Elastics" featuring J-Dawg. This track's style isn't all that different from what he's releasing now, but the production value and confidence in his vocals are clearly amateurish. His next single is "Familiar" featuring Casper TNG. This is a significant feature when you consider that this was peak Casper before he was incarcerated. This tune had the same tone as the previous and was merely another track leading up to something larger. That bigger and better arrived with the release of a single named "Wen da Block Hot" in 2019. This single was not just the only single for the full year of 2019, but it also offered some significant improvements and was undoubtedly one of my all-time favorite Gustavo tracks. I really liked his experimental approach. It's upbeat, catchy, and groovy. Something very different from what he was released in 2018. This brings us to 2020 when he truly took things to the next level. He kicks out the year with a single named "My Life" featuring J-Dawg. This is without a doubt his most professional and industry-sounding single to date, and it shows from the instrumentals to the production to the delivery. These releases demonstrated his passion, abilities, and diversity as an artist. This type of step-up continued all throughout 2020 with singles like “Incredible” a drill track, “Down Too Long” a slower melodic record, and a 4 track EP titled “Playa’s Karma”. Gustavo chose a mainstream approach with his output, sound quality, and appearance in 2021, and I can certainly state he did so. Gustavo had a huge year, releasing my personal favorite "Dubai Scars," a beautiful, rhythmic engaging track that's most definitely a playlist magnet. Gustavo demonstrated his capacity to adapt and grow, and he sounds the best he's ever sounded because he continued moving forward. His discography is extensive and dates back to a time in Toronto's rap culture when being street was the only way to garner attention. Gustavo has demonstrated that he is here to stay and that this is only the beginning. His latest single “Testimony” is a deep and intricate track with a strong visual and a powerful impact. Can’t wait to see where Gustavo goes next.

Written by Maxim Bayarsky