Buttered on both sides

>> Montreal's Butta Babees have been busy

by SCOTT C

It would be safe to say that you're not likely to see any members of the Butta Babees just hangin' around, killing time on some random afternoon. You will see them, though, at most notable hip hop shows that happen in Montreal, passing flyers and stickers and even getting wet in the cipher.

Most of the rest of their available time is spent in the studio, where they weave lyrical webs in every corner of the night and file away the beats like pirate booty. With mic-man Manchilde well in control of the lyrical tone set by the group, Ziplocks backs him up properly both on the mic and behind the boards, with additional production and DJ support by DJ Raid. With the recent release of their EP The Entrée, the Babees stress that they're only getting started, and plan to move forward in the most direct route possible. The Mirror spoke to Ziplocks after the Butta Babees radio show, Ill Groove Garden, heard at 11 pm, Sunday on CKUT.



Mirror: So after all this time, you guys are now "officially" out there.

Ziplocks: Yes! We are now available to all CD buyers. Except for the little bit of hand-to-hand shuffling that we've been doing over the years, this is the first time it's been available in the CD format.

M: I was saying to Manchilde just last week that I really wanted to hear some new stuff from you guys, and on The Entrée, there's three out of the four songs that a few people may already recognize. How come you didn't take this opportunity to release some brand-new material?

Z: We released those songs because this is the first time the mass market has been able to actually purchase them. People in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa may already know those songs, but for the rest of Canada, that stuff is brand-new. We're just makin' sure those tracks get the full love that they deserve.

M: I understand you guys have a video coming out?

Z: Yeah! We're about to shoot our first video for the first song off the EP called "Understand Yourself," as well as releasing it as a single. You can look for that same song on Urban Eloquent, the album coming out on Bandit Records later this year.

M: Would you go as far as saying that you get more love in Toronto than you do here in Montreal?

Z: Well, our response in Toronto has definitely been positive. I mean, we get love here too, but Toronto has a much bigger scene that's not split into English and French. The whole hip hop industry there is a little more structured, and we've been taking advantage of music conferences like NXNE and Canadian Music Week to help promote what we do. We did a key show there, too, with Mos Def and Jill Scott, that helped make things nice all around.

In the hip hop lounge at Sona on Friday, April 27, and with Slum Village at Club Soda on May 18