The Vancouver quintet pride themselves on their dedication to all elements of hip-hop while mixing Caribbean and rock influences, and Cash Crop shows the group at its best. The highlight of the album is "Northern Touch," a pounding hip-hop track that has become the unofficial anthem of Canadian hip-hop. The track features Canadian rappers Choclair, Kardinal Offishall, Thrust, and Checkmate rapping over the same B.T. Express sample that fueled DMX's hit single "Get at Me Dog." Many of the other tracks reflect the group's Caribbean heritage, including the fluid reggae track "Dreaded Fist" and the heavy funk of "FitnRedi." On "Solitaire," the producer uses a haunting strings sample and pounding bass to offset the lyrical dexterity of MCs Red 1 and Misfit. Guided by the steady hand of the group's DJ Kemo, Cash Crop is album that lets everyone know that Canadian hip-hop is a force to be reckoned with. ~ Jon Azpiri, All Music Guide
Cash Crop is an album by Canadianhip hop group Rascalz, released in 1997 on ViK. Recordings. The album is the group's most successful record to date, it was certified gold by CRIA with sales of over 50,000 copies across Canada[1].
The album's most notable track, "Northern Touch", was not on the original 1997 pressing of the album, but was released as a one-off non-album single in 1998. After it unexpectedly became one of the biggest hit songs in the history of Canadian hip hop, it was added to later pressings of the album.
Juno Award
Cash Crop was named the winner of the Juno Award for Best Rap Recording at the Juno Awards of 1998. However, the award was presented during the non-televised portion of the ceremony along with the technical awards, rather than at the televised main ceremony. The band alleged that racism was a factor in the award's scheduling, and consequently refused the award.
For several weeks cultural critics and hip hop musicians debated the issue — some suggested, in fact, that the hip hop award's lack of visibility could be seen as not just a result of Canadian hip hop's poor commercial performance, but also a contributing factor.
As a result of the controversy, the Junos moved the Rap award to the main ceremony the following year.
