Northernplayalisticminivanmuzik

by MORGAN STEIKER

I was cruising through Off the Hook last week, checking out the new Rated Rookies line dedicated to the Habs’ 100th anniversary, when I somewhat accidentally met a lovely and interesting lady there. Her name is Martine Valles and she’s a professional life coach who works closely with artists, mostly in hip hop and R&B. She’s been travelling back and forth between Montreal and New York for the past 10 years after founding her company, Stellar Beatz, and has made some pretty serious contacts along the way, including Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Sean Paul, among others. Anyway, here’s the scoop—she’s been informed that a lot of urban labels in the U.S. are looking for artists from Quebec to cross over and enter the American market on a large scale. She’s received a green light from these labels to open a search for bilingual Montreal rappers and singers, so she is now calling on all you guys to contact her and hit her up with your music, if you’re focused and serious. For more info, check out soultherapyworld.com or call her at (514) 992-7803.

Local franco mic pro Koriass dropped Les racines dans le beton last week, his first LP on 7ieme Ciel Records, and I’m definitely fuckin’ wid it. The production is courtesy of DJ Manifest, one of my favourite producers in the city, and it really provides a consistent backdrop to the album. Meanwhile, the Ste. Thérèse representative lets his soul bleed on the tracks, with a contagious conviction of doing it simply for the love of music. Noble first effort.

SUPA TROOPERS: Payz Play

Another French record that’s been rotating this week in Shirley (that’s what I call my iPod) is Abd Al-Malik’s Dante. He’s the face of Parisian slam, a more poetic and less rhythmic form of rap that’s been getting a lot of shine in the past few years. For his third opus, he gets a helping hand from Gérard Jouannest, a long time pianist for Jacques Brel, in the form of six beautiful melodies, and another from Alain Goraguer, who produced a great deal of Serge Gainsbourg’s early work. In the shadow of two giants of French culture, Brel and Gainsbourg, Abd Al-Malik still manages to carry the torch with pride and send a real powerful message.

I’m gonna be at Sala Rossa on Friday, Dec. 5, checking out a live performance from Payz Play, the crew of two Supa Deejays (Naes and Ephiks) and two Supa Emcees (R.U. and Egypto), which formed out of Atach Tatuq to become its hyperactive, electronic little brother. They’re also launching their new mixtape, Dark Side of the Play, the following night during their monthly Pow Wow at Inspecteur Epingle.

Wednesday, Dec. 10, Foufs is hosting rapper/columnist/horror film screenwriter R.A. the Rugged Man along with Reef the Lost Cauze, the Lyricists, MC La Sauce and Chemistry for a night that should pack a good amount of nasty punchlines and quirky horror references. See you there.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1… BOOM! DABEATSEEKER@GMAIL.COM