by SCOTT C

It’s fairly common knowledge that anyone who is serious about making a living off of the hip hop industry in Quebec is in for an uphill climb. The Montreal produced Chronique urbaine explored the realities of life for a few well-known francophone MCs, struggling to make an impact and feed their families in the face of an unapologetic business. This week, producer Patrick Cooke-Poirier and director Daniel Rosenberg unveil Before it Drops, a locally produced documentary that follows four of Montreal’s up-and-coming hip hop producers as they try to make their way in a saturated milieu. Providing a close look into the daily lives of the people behind the beats, the film explores the motivation driving the creative processes of Simahlak, Twitch, Parafino and DJ Manifest, all slowly inching towards notoriety and individual fulfillment. The Mirror spoke to Rosenberg over the phone from Toronto.

Mirror: Does it take a beat guy to make a movie about hip hop production, or is that besides the point?

Daniel Rosenberg: I love hip hop, and that’s the type of music that I listen to, but growing up in Toronto and spending three years in Montreal, I really enjoyed the hip hop scene and what I was starting to get into. It was Patrick who introduced me to a lot of what was actually going on here, and even though I’d heard about a few of the guys in the movie through shows and parties, it wasn’t until we actually sat down and really looked at what they were doing that I realized just how talented they were.

M: How did you decide which subjects to focus on with all the people making music in the city?

DR: We didn’t really want to go with the guys who had been in this production game for 10 and 15 years already, we wanted to get producers from varying levels. Twitch had been producing for two years when we did the first interviews, while Simahlak had been at it for 15–16 years. What we wanted to do was include the fact that all of these guys are aiming for the same thing, but they’re approaching it from various points of view, with their own trials and tribulations and at their own pace.

M: Can you recognize the constant hustle involved for the subjects of the film from an independent filmmaker’s point of view?

DR: Definitely. A big part of this film asks the bigger question: What is it like to try and make it in a creative industry in Canada? Hip hop culture is constantly misrepresented on TV and in movies, and we wanted to address that too. The music is there, and the hip hop heads are going to love it for that, but people are going to enjoy the characters and seeing them grow as well.

M: Where would you like to see this project go?

DR: That’s a loaded question, but I’d love to see it scooped up by a few broadcasters. We’d like to do a few more screenings across the country like the one we’re doing at Concordia this week, but ideally we’d like to see it on MuchMusic or Musiqueplus or any channel that wants to shed light on truly Canadian experiences inside hip hop culture.

Before It Drops screens at Concordia on Friday, April 21, 8 p.m. For more info, visit www.beforeitdrops.com

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