Why can’t everyone be a rapper? Because, as any good high school careers counsellor will tell you, MCs need to have a number of unique traits. You’ll need a great look. You’ll have to write a solid back catalogue. And you’ll need to be able to remember a whole lot of lyrics.

Right?

“My memory is actually terrible,” Toronto rapper Jazz Cartier tells the Straight on the line from his home city. “I have one song called ‘Tales’. The opening lines for two verses are the same, and the fifth bar always catches me off guard because I think it’s going to be the same as the first. The adrenaline’s pumping in my veins, and everything’s just going so fast I can’t keep up with it. I forget the words all the time.

“The secret to my success is recovery,” Cartier says. “I spend a lot of time hoping no one notices. Though now I’ve told you, I guess that’s less likely.”

Having a memory like a sieve has done nothing to hinder the rapper’s success. This month alone, Cartier was longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, shortlisted for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize, and thrust into the running for a Much Music Video Award. As committees line up to listen to his records, Cartier’s multiple nominations reinforce just how strongly the music establishment is endorsing the rapper as the next big thing to emerge from Toronto’s hip-hop scene.

“Drake definitely opened up the city for rappers to break out,” Cartier suggests. “But he’s just in his own world, and everyone else is aiming to get there. As far as my peers are concerned, though, I think I’ve surpassed them. People tweet about being in the studio all the time and speak a big game, but in the end it’s about what you’re producing and whether it’s resonating with the fans. They’re all talk and no action. I’m not like that."

Born Jaye Adams in Ontario’s capital, Cartier attributes his success to his unconventional upbringing. Variously raised in Canada, the U.S., Barbados, and Kuwait, the rapper believes that living all over the world has helped him to stand out beyond the rest of the Top 100.

“It’s definitely given me a broader perspective on life,” he says. “I’ve been exposed to so much more. I didn’t expect Kuwait to be what it was. I picked up so much culture there that I was not anticipating, and it means that my music is different. And Kuwait is not at all how the media makes it out to be. You go in thinking you’re going to be constantly scared for your life, and living there is actually the safest I’ve ever felt.”

As if to prove his point, wailing sirens temporarily drown him out.

“There are a lot of fires going on in my neighbourhood in Toronto right now,” Cartier says, apologizing for the noise. “There’s some arsonist around, burning down some shit. I’m not worried, though. It happens every year.”

Cartier is a bit of a contradiction. Thoughtful and sensitive in the studio, the rapper takes a long time preparing his tracks to make sure they don’t come off, in his words, as “immature”. Penning personal stories with a universal feel, Cartier has a studied attitude that has more in common with a scholar than a rap star. But put him on a stage, and all hell breaks loose.

“The reason I got into hip-hop in the first place was because I was drawn to these characters that were really outgoing,” Cartier says. “People like Lil Wayne, Andre 3000, Mase, and Busta Rhymes. I definitely feel way more at ease on-stage than I do in person. I’m sociable, but sometimes I just like to observe and not speak too much. When I’m performing, it’s my opportunity to go wild.

“Like, I’m hoping they’ll let me bring my hose to festivals this year,” Cartier continues, after confirming that he’s definitely not talking about its homophone. “I’ll turn the front rows into a water park. Usually, crews aren’t keen because of potential damages. But I’m thinking that some promoters this year will be cool.”

And even if Cartier can’t bring his sprinklers, he’s definitely going to bring the noise.

“I put my all into every performance,” he says, “and if it goes, it goes. And if it’s not happening for me, then I make it my duty to push even harder. Every show, I’ll always want more.

“In a way, having a bad memory is actually a good thing for me,” Cartier continues reflectively. “It’s my goal to always keep moving forward. I don’t need any distractions. I don’t want to ever look back.”

Jazz Cartier plays at FVDED in the Park at Surrey’s Holland Park on Saturday (July 2).