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United independents >> Subterranean Cypha gives Mtl hip hop a kick in the ass by SCOTT C
"We wanted to make a home for independent hip hop culture right here in Montreal," says Subterranean Cypha organizer Simahlak. "There are a whole lot of people representing all areas of the culture in Mtl, and no place to regularly feel that." Taking over Club Tropican on Friday nights, the Cypha aims to bring together MCs, DJs, breakdancers and graffiti artists on a regular basis. "As well as the four elements of hip hop, I'd also like to bring more attention to what I call the fifth element of hip hop, which involves making beats. A lot of talented producers get lost behind some wack MCs." If all this sounds like some sort of crusade to save hip hop, it's because MC/producer/DJ Simahlak takes his love of the culture very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that the first Friday of every month will be dedicated to the Tabou Turntablist Tournament--Simahlak's answer to all the DJs who never see any real technical head-to-head contests before qualifying for the Montreal eliminations of the DMC. "So many DJs get to the DMC and can't even compete, let alone scratch. We're just trying to weed out some of the wackness so that when the time comes, we have ourselves a real battle on our hands... 'cause Mtl has the DJs to do it." With in-house judges DJ Blast and DJ Devious coming from seasoned DMC backgrounds, things shouldn't get too out of hand. Grand prize winners will naturally advance to the 1999 Mtl DMC eliminations. Everybody knows that this city is filled with talented people just waiting to get their chance. What are they waiting for? Who knows? Hip hop in this city needs a kick in the ass; maybe something along the lines of the CHOM l'Esprit contest. This 20-year-old battle of the bands has been showcasing local indie rock forever. Groups are encouraged to get their shit together in the hopes of taking it one step further, and all of this is, of course, backed by piles of money and commercial radio. I don't want to preach, but I'm pretty certain that there's enough hip hop talent in this city to get people excited about taking it to the next level. You have to start somewhere, though. "We want to plant the seed," says Simahlak. "The potential for growth is here, it just has to be realized. We're taking this from the root to the fruit."
Subterranean Cypha happens
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What does any self-respecting lover of hip hop do when he's faced with the prospect of his city being overrun by part-time MCs and fat-headed DJs, who spend more time choosing their names than they do honing their skills? How do you deal with the constant comparisons to the Toronto scene, and a teeming overabundance of talent in your own city that can't seem to get their show out of the basement? You create a forum in which these people can showcase and therefore develop their skills, in front of a real audience and alongside like-minded artists, bringing the basement to the stage.