by SCOTT C

"I still can't believe it," says Euphrates MC Narcicyst, who shakes his head while he sits in my living room. While he's come over to drop off a copy of the new Euphrates LP Stereotypes Incorporated, it's not the completion of this long-awaited album that has him so unsettled. Just before this album was released, one half of the Euphrates SandhiLL production team, Nofy Fannan, was the victim of a traffic accident that left him in a coma and later took his life. In the wake of this tragedy, Narcicyst and Nofy's brother Habillis have decided to make sure that Stereotypes Incorporated is a tribute to Nofy's life and talent.

Born in the United Arab Emirates, all the members of Euphrates are of Iraqi descent, spending half their lives in the Middle East and the other half in Montreal. Borrowing from the idea that hip hop has provided an outlet and voice for oppressed and disenfranchised people throughout the ghettos of America, Euphrates seek the strength of this music as a source of empowerment, and to bring new ears to the political and emotional struggles of not only Arabs, but people everywhere.

Having already been featured in Time and the Georgia Straight, the heartfelt beats and rhymes of Euphrates still have many miles to go, but at least they have some serious music to stand behind, and Nofy Fannan keeping a watchful eye from above on every hurdle and triumph. Expect 2005 to be a big year for this Montreal based hip hop outfit that is not messing around.