Matthew Cameron Brotzel, better known as RationaL, is a Canadian rapper from

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. On March 30, 2010, RationaL released his debut single "Cocaine Cowboy" off of his upcoming debut album, ''The BirthWrite'' LP. The song garnered a 2010 Sphere of Hip-Hop award for "Song of the Year", co-winning the honor alongside 2011

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

winner and fellow Canadian rapper

Shad The Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae

("Rose Garden"). On July 17, 2012, he released ''The BirthWrite'' LP under his own independent imprint, Ear RationaL Music. The album featured guest appearances from

Quannum Projects Quannum Projects (also known as Quannum MCs) is an American hip hop collective based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been active since 1992, when it was formed at UC Davis under the moniker Solesides Records. It is also the name of the i ...

recording artist

Pigeon John John Kenneth Dust (born John Kenneth Dunkin: November 30, 1972), better known by the stage name Pigeon John, is an American rapper based in Los Angeles, California. He is a former member of L.A. Symphony. Early life Pigeon John claims that his ...

, former

Rawkus Records Rawkus Records was an American hip hop record label known for starting the careers of many rappers. Rawkus started in 1995 with releases in hip-hop, drum and bass and fun-dustrial (Dystopia One). Label heads Brian Brater and Jarret Myer then s ...

artist and member of

The Procussions The Procussions are an American hip hop group based in Los Angeles, California, consisting of rapper Mr. J. Medeiros and rapper-producer Stro Elliot (Stro the 89th Key) and rapper Resonant. Known for their eclectic production, socially consciou ...

Mr. J. Medeiros Jason Christopher Medeiros better known as Mr. J. Medeiros, is an American rapper, record producer, and songwriter. As well as releasing music under the name, Mr. J. Medeiros, he is responsible for forming the Hip Hop group The Procussions, ...

, Relic,

Theory Hazit Thearthur Readié Washington, (born November 3, 1978), better known by the stage name Theory Hazit is an American Christian hip hop artist from Cincinnati, Ohio. History Born as Thearthur Readie Washington IV in Winchester, Clark County, Kent ...

and

Ohmega Watts Ohmega Watts, real name Milton Campbell, is an American hip hop producer and vocalist from Brooklyn, New York. He releases music under the name Ohmega Watts and as a part of the Lightheaded crew. Biography Campbell was born and raised in Broo ...

."RationaL Announces The Birthwrite LP”
Retrieved August 26, 2012. In the fall of 2007, RationaL began the writing and recording process for his debut album, ''The BirthWrite'' LP. The album charted as high as #2 on the ''

!earshot ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' hip-hop charts. Although ''The BirthWrite'' LP is officially considered RationaL's debut album, there was a free promotional album released on July 20, 2010 entitled ''Hard Labor: The BirthWrite Prequel'' that circulated locally and was made available online. ''The BirthWrite'' LP is most notable for the award-winning lead single "Cocaine Cowboy".

2013–present

On July 23, 2013, RationaL reached an exclusive agreement with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

and

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

to release his new single, "A Swing and a Belt", dedicated to the late

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

voice of the Blue Jays,

Tom Cheek Thomas F. Cheek (June 13, 1939 – October 9, 2005) was an American sports commentator who is best remembered as the play-by-play radio announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB), from the team's establishment in 19 ...

. Cheek called a Major League record 4,306 consecutive games for 28 straight seasons on the

Toronto Blue Jays Radio Network The Toronto Blue Jays Radio Network consists of 21 stations (17 AM, 4 FM) in 7 Canadian provinces broadcasting the team's games in English. At the start of the 2021 season, the radio broadcasts consisted of a simulcast of the audio from the Spor ...

from April 7, 1977 to June 2, 2004. Produced by Imperial, "A Swing and a Belt" received high-praise from former World Series hero

Joe Carter Joseph Chris Carter (born March 7, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, ...

. Former Jays manager and current

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...

play-by-play man

Buck Martinez John Albert "Buck" Martinez (born November 7, 1948) is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, and is currently the television play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball ( ...

also raved about the song. Martinez stated, "RationaL has captured everything that Tom Cheek was in regards to baseball. He had his passion, he understood his love of the game, he understood all the great moments in Tom Cheek's broadcasting career. He weaves them into "A Swing and a Belt" in such a way that it brings back so many memories for fans, baseball people and media people that really captures the essence of Tom Cheek's career with the Blue Jays. I don't think it could have been done any better." In addition, Sportsnet aired a clip of the song during the Blue Jays game versus the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

on July 27, 2013. "A Swing and a Belt" is also the lead single from RationaL's upcoming album entitled ''Hell or High Water'', scheduled for release soon on Ear RationaL Music. Confirmed collaborators for the record thus far include

Factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

, Imperial, Josh Palmer and

-winning producer and emcee, Relic.

Guest Appearances

Discography

"Cocaine Cowboy" - Single (2010) ''The BirthWrite LP'' (2012) "A Swing and a Belt" - Single (2013) ''Hell or High Water'' (2017)

References

External links

* *
RationaL and Paul Benjamin tour Rwanda
{{DEFAULTSORT:RationaL Canadian male rappers 21st-century Canadian rappers Musicians from Saskatoon Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Canadian male musicians