Notion is the product of the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, somewhere that couldn’t be further from where the culture he adopted was created. Learning about Hip Hop from afar via any method he could, Notion eventually put his own natural, eclectic and truthful spin on the artform in the form of his music. If you took J. Cole’s honesty, 9th Wonder’s penchant for samples, J. Dilla’s creativity, Young Guru’s engineering chops, Talib Kweli’s flow and injected it into an Aussie kid, that’s Notion. A gifted MC and beatsmith, Notion has been perfecting his craft over the last decade and change, all the while schooling himself in the art of audio engineering – so much so that he’s already turned it into a side business.

Kicking off his solo career in 2006, Notion (born Bradley Thorn) released a string of well-received mixtapes and hit the local scene strong, performing almost weekly for years which allowed him to fine tune his skills while connecting him with like minded artists. Traveling the world and founding his boutique label, The Movement Fam, alongside older brother Cee seemed to have the most marked effect on Notion and the approach to his work. His content had always been autobiographical, and his anticipated debut album ‘Heart On My Sleeve Music’ demonstrates that tendency over gorgeous soul samples, hard hitting drums, razor sharp cuts from legendary DJs and guest verses from some of your favourite MCs.

Picked up by renowned Miami-based blogger Kevin Nottingham for his HiPNOTT Records imprint in the late 2000s, Notion’s music clearly resonated the most in North America – so much so that he made Toronto his home in 2010. Touring key markets in the eastern provinces numerous times, Notion landed his debut EP in Top 10 charts across the country on Canadian college radio, racked up a ton of features and opened for some of the artists who shaped who he is today (including Mos Def, Black Milk, Oddisee, Hilltop Hoods and Bliss N Eso), while engineering iTunes chart topping projects for his newly inked record label.