Toronto artist Ian Kamau just dropped a new track called "An Ocean Between Us". It's a contemplative ode to his sister Roxanne, who passed in March. Riding a downbeat sample of Brazilian jazz guitarist Bola Sete, Kamau reflects on the distance between him and his sibling, and much of the track's second half is taken up by a conversation between him and his father."I lost my sister on March 3, 2016," explained Kamau. "She passed away abruptly in Trinidad after a violent 48 hour illness at the age of 46. I wrote this song for her and her two sons Emmanuel and Kyle. It contains a conversation with my father Roger McTair that I recorded on my phone in his apartment in downtown Toronto. As much as this song is about a lost life, it is about health, migration, and the distance (physical and emotional) that immigration creates.""The song's sample is from a song called 'Bettina' by Bola Sete, the sample was used by Tribe Called Quest for the song 8 Million Stories, Phife's solo record on my favorite Tribe album, Midnight Marauders. Phife… like my family was Trinidadian and like my sister lost his life for health reasons. This song is also a quiet nod to him and my favourite hip hop group of the 90's on my favourite album. Toronto lost some Giants recently, Masimba, Adrian, Nahom, Abshir, Redway, Destro… hope this speaks to anyone who has lost a loved one but more importantly, beyond the loss, I hope it speaks to the lives of those we have lost and the gift they were in our lives. Rest in Peace."Listen to "An Ocean Between Us" below.Phil Witmer is a Noisey Canada staff writer. Follow him on Twitter.