The molding era

by MORGAN STEIKER

There was a time in the late ’90s when almost everything coming out of France had that timeless, golden-era quality. Hammer-esque one-hit wonders sometimes penetrated the airwaves, but the landscape was rushing with poetic texts that would’ve made Rimbaud tip his hat and instrumentals that would make RZA say “hold up.”

But the times caught up and nowadays it’s full of chopped-and-screwed vocals, auto-tune effects and whatever else is working for platinum-selling U.S. rappers. The only one that really pulls it off and keeps it lyrical, in my opinion, is Booba. His menacing baritone and slow-flow delivery offer some of the most hard-hitting rhymes I’ve heard in years, and the exaggerated bravado, although more entertaining than believable, is still compelling. Catch his return to MTL at Telus Theatre on Friday night.

Same night, Obscene Kidz are launching their debut album, Langue Sale. This lewd and crude collective has been pumping out some youthful electro-rap and ghetto-tech for a while now, opening for the likes of Omnikrom and Payz Play. Although the album doesn’t reach an intellectual level higher than a cabbage, it’s still a fun listen. At SAT with an opening set by Jarco Weiss.

Saturday night, mighty duo Thunderheist will be in town, performing at Club Soda with locals Winter Gloves and the Peer Pressure DJs for Exclaim’s 17th anniversary tour. The duo is coming to rock the city right on time for the recent release of their new self-titled opus and the video for the single “Jerk it,” which won Grand Prize for the Music Video category at SXSW’s film fest.

Funniest answer to the following question gets you two tickets to the show and second place wins a copy of the album and a Thunderheist poster: Who would you most wanna see jerk it and where? (example: Kermit the Frog on top of a cop car.) Answers related to masturbation will be disqualified—unless they’re painfully hilarious.

SAVOURE MON STEEZ…
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