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Life after death >> R-Kade: avenging angel putting wack MCs six feet under by SCOTT C
At the centre of this writhing freestyle circle was a mountain of a bald-headed brother, eyes closed and rhyming with focus. Everyone in the mix was hanging on his every word--and the words just kept coming. As he opened his eyes and passed the invisible mic to the next contender, it was clear that longtime Montreal MC-killer R-Kade was in the house. Mirror: Is getting into the circle and just freakin' it with other MCs you respect important to your growth? R-Kade: Most definitely. When you get into a cipher and you hear new songs or demo verses from your peers, it automatically makes you want to improve your craft. It's an evolution. That's why we don't sound like the brothers who were rappin' back in '78 or '79. M: Are there a lot of cats in Montreal who keep you on your toes? R: No. Only a selected few. There's a lot of rappers--very few MCs. M: So the scene doesn't inspire you? R: For a while everybody was listening to what was coming out of the States and trying to duplicate just that, and I just have more respect for people who represent themselves. We're finally getting our act together--or it looks that way. M: Tell me the story about how everyone thought you were dead. R: Oh, man! I was in the States playing football for the Plattsburgh Northstars, like I do every weekend from Friday to Sunday... M: So you weren't even in town! R: No! Somebody was reading the obituaries in the Gazette and saw that a guy named Roderick Kelner, or something, had died. My name is Rodney Kelman. This person said, "Oh my God, that's R-Kade!" M: Do you know who that person was? R: I have no idea--I'd love to know. He called CKUT and told them I had died in a car crash and he'd read it in the paper, blah, blah, blah. So people start writing eulogies and reading them on the air--people calling my answering machine crying and shit. M: Your answering machine? What good is that if you're dead? R: People were like, "I can't believe you're dead!" It was nice to see people rally and support 'cause it's like you always want to see who'll show up at your funeral--but I'm very much alive. M: What did your parents say? R: Luckily, it never made it to my parents' ears. My grandmother was down from Barbados at the time, so it would've been heart attacks all around. M: You have to write a song about that. R: Yeah, it's definitely in the works for an upcoming track. M: "Shattered Realms" is kind of from beyond the grave, isn't it? R: That song talks about the wickedness of the world seen through the eyes of an angel. Angels being God's chief messengers and assassins. I used Gabriel's persona as the instrument of destruction. M: Do you identify with Gabriel? R: Yeah, I'm an MC who's come to clean house of all the wack MCs, fixing up my father's throne... which is hip hop. R-Kade releases his new 12" at Montreal Massive 3, Friday, September 25 at Isart, $8
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Last Friday night, I walked into Cabaret ready for a show that I knew was not going to be a disappointment. One, because the performers (Hieroglyphics) were actually in the building; and two, the place was crawling with people hyped for some great hip hop. Somewhere between the steady flow of Hiero hopefuls and the lineup for the bar, an animated group of MCs bounced with the bass, huddled into a world of their own, spitting lyrics non-stop.