It's been 22 years since the Shuffle Demons released their classic, "Spadina Bus," and more than half a century since "The Subway Song" celebrated the construction of the Yonge line in the 1950s.

Now there's a new ode to Toronto transit, a rap song and video called "I Get On (The TTC)," that has attracted thousands of hits on YouTube and social networking sites since it was posted last week by a couple of 21-year-old performers from Scarborough.

The affectionate, lighthearted look at the city's quintessential ride on the Rocket was written, performed and shot by Humber College student Syrus, whose real name is Rudolph Anthony Watson.

His friend, Randal Paul Medford, a former MuchMusic intern and graduate of Centennial College, assisted with the video shoot, backup vocals and 10 hours of editing on the project.

Shot in late November, the video is a playful parody of American rapper Young Jeezy's, "Put On," a song Syrus loved.

Instead of convertibles and scantily clad women, the Toronto duo's version features scenes from Keele and Kipling stations, the 43 Kennedy bus and the TTC stop near Syrus's home.

In one scene, Syrus spills a deck of Metropasses from his pocket. In another, Medford is shown chasing a bus down the road after it fails to stop for him.

"I take the subway from Kennedy to Kipling on a daily basis. I've got nothing to do basically and I'm in comedy writing so I figure I might as well take the hour and a half and write some stuff," said Syrus, an aspiring actor who is studying comedic performance at Humber College.

The video, which pokes fun at the TTC's downside and praises its convenience and affordability, has caught on because so many people can relate to the content, he said.

"Everybody has their individual experiences on (the TTC) but you've got to love it because it's convenient and you see funny stuff all the time, which is why I wrote about it," said Syrus, who has seen it all, from fighting couples to people sitting and standing too close and digging in their ears.

Medford, who wants to direct, act and produce films, says he can't sit down on the bus or subway without falling asleep. But once, standing on a packed Dufferin bus from the Caribana parade for more than an hour, he and a friend engaged fellow passengers in a loud debate on the difference between the sexes.

"The whole bus got into it. It was the most entertaining bus ride I've been on in my life," he said.

The proud pair of Metropass owners knew they were onto something last Friday, a day after Medford posted the video on his YouTube page.

That morning Syrus noted 726 hits. By the time he went to bed, "I Get On," had attracted 4,262 viewers.

A new version of the video was posted yesterday, deleting a brief homophobic slur that appeared in the original and was causing controversy online.

Syrus and Medford say it was meant as a joke but when they realized it was offensive they dropped the word from the video.

TTC chair Adam Giambrone, who happened to ride the Dufferin bus with Medford on Sunday following an awards reception, is supportive of their effort.

"This song, along with a lot of the other pop presentations of the TTC, all confirm the fact that the TTC is important to the day-to-day lives of people. That comes through not only in pop culture references but in ideas and positions people articulate," he said.





I GET ON (THE TTC)

Excerpts from "I Get On (The TTC)"

Lyrics by Syrus (Rudolph Anthony Watson), performed and recorded with Randal Paul Medford

SUBWAY SONG

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Lyrics from "The Toronto Subway Song," composed by Mel Hamill and sung by Betty Carr and Charles Baldour with Ozzie Williams Band

SPADINA BUS

Lyrics from "Spadina Bus" by the Shuffle Demons (1986)