Shea Carter (Independent)

Last week, local gossip hounds learned that Hollywood hothead Shia LaBeouf got his ass handed to him in a brawl outside Cinema Public House. Before the actor got too worked over, though, Vancouver rapper Shea Carter swooped in like a Granville Street Galahad and simmered down the situation. Judging by his newly released, self-titled EP, the pacifist route was to be expected—his seven-song set chooses “love life” over “thug life”.

Opener “Wonderful” finds the 604-area artist spitting about moving from best friends to bed buddies with a female acquaintance: “The truth of it is, shorty, you’re really all that I want” he sings atop an organ loop and bluesy, John Mayer–style guitar noodlings. “100 Grand” synthesizes sampled ’70s soul swagger with Carter’s early a.m. rhymes, as he muses about girls over coffee, juice, and a couple of joints.

“A Bangera” melds a sample of Teena Marie’s “Hypnotized” with ’90s-era West Coast gangsta-rap synth runs, and “Unbelievable” employs shotgun blasts, but ultimately, Carter’s a softy. Between shout-outs to wimpy popster Jason Mraz and an interlude revolving around “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from the movie Mary Poppins, it’s clear Carter would rather rock a mike than clock a stranger on the corner of Granville and Smithe. Bros take note, it’s a good look.