by SCOTT C

A lot of people will tell you that the difficult job of representing Montreal hip hop to the greater Canadian and international community is a position that hasn't been filled since the glory days of Shades of Culture. In a city ripe with the perpetually burgeoning fruits of musical trench-work and too many MCs to count, we still find it hard to cite a strong, identifiable sound that people here at home can get behind, along with the rest of the country.

The Butta Babees have been putting in work right here at home since 1997, from their CKUT 90.3 FM Sunday-night staple Ill Groove Garden to rocking stages across the city and the country, thanks in part to a slew of independently released singles and some sharp videos to boot.

This month marks the release of Urban Elo, their debut full-length album and a testament to the work that they've been doing. Those of you familiar with Manchilde know that he is a lyrical and eloquent MC and a fierce freestyle force, but many don't know that he also makes beats. Ziploks provides that missing link between the audience and the music while also sharing the production detail with DJ Raid.

While the Babees continue to grow outside of Montreal and beyond, we thought it might be a good idea to let those of you who aren't familiar with this talented crew in on their personal point of view. The Mirror spoke to Manchilde and Ziploks here in Montreal.

Mirror: Seems like the job of representing Montreal hip hop is a position that's always up for grabs. What makes the Butta Babees qualified to do the job?

Manchilde: Already, a lot of other people outside of Montreal, at least in Canada, see us as Montreal representatives. We're sort of the de facto reps, based on a lot of the work that we've been doing already, and it's interesting because we haven't exactly gone out there carrying the torch of Montreal. It's an image of us that people have arrived at on their own.

M: So you're saying that you haven't officially been hired for the job, but you're doing it anyway?

Ziploks: Yeah. We've been doing this for a long time!

MC: We know that we're not the only crew in the city that's perceived that way, but we've been putting in work. Now it's time to get paid to do the job [laughs].

Z: It would be nice to get a paycheque once in a while.

M: Is this a full-time commitment for you guys, or are you balancing the music with other jobs?

MC: Everybody knows you gotta moonlight in order to survive. The reality of the industry in Canada is that it's not like it really can afford to pay you. I mean, if you make 60, 40 or even $20,000 a year in this business, then consider yourself lucky.

M: So it's not the money?

Z: Nope.

M: Well if it's not the money, then why would you want this job?

MC: It's not that we want the job, man. It's that people have sought us out for the job. We've been doing this because we love to make music and happen to love living in Montreal.

Philadelphia, Quebec?

MC: One of the things that we've been trying to push as we've travelled to different cities is that we think of Montreal as the Philadelphia of Canada. It's a little theory that's been building. Like New York is the Mecca, Philadelphia is the alternative. There you can find people of a certain style, of a certain lifestyle and approach, and we believe that Montreal is similar as compared to Toronto. Whereas Toronto is the commercial Mecca, and where you would go to do all your big marketing, Montreal is really a place that you can escape to, to find yourself artistically.

M: Don't you think that comparing Montreal to Philly based on that equation skimps on some of the charms and intricacies that make this city the great place that it is?

Z: Philly's where the Roots, Common, Jill Scott and all of them have been able to make their way -

M: But can you really liken that sort of movement to Montreal?

MC: Yeah!

M: I just find that the unity and sort of fortified musical support that strengthens a scene like Philadelphia's is something that has existed here, and as of recently, thanks to collectives like Kalmunity, shows very hopeful signs of being here for a while.

MC: It's a loose analogy, but it's how we feel when we're outside Montreal and people reach out to us. There are a lot of people making great music in this city, but next to Toronto, like Philly to New York, they're not the money makers or the chart toppers, but are really contributing some great music to the whole body of work.

New beginning

M: You heard any complaints about the new album?

Z: What? Complaints? Nah.

MC: No, not really. I haven't heard anything particularly negative.

Z: People seem to like what we've been doing.

M: What if I said that I was a little disappointed with the absence of more new material?

Z: See, Scott, you are one of the few people who got to hear a lot of that rare material over the years. You have to remember that this is a national release. A lot of those people have never had the chance to hear that music, let alone hold that music in their hand. Most of our stuff has not been for sale.

MC: I don't worry about all that. I don't worry about whether people think it's this way or that way. I just ask myself this first: If I never put out another record, or release another song, am I happy with this album? And that's where I start from personally, as a person. I'm not talkin' about Zip or Raid, or even Manchilde - I'm talkin' about me, Osei. I am happy with it. I like how the new material is worked in together with older material. I was talking to Darryl at Urbnet, and he said the CD played right through and he didn't even realize that it had started again because the vibe was so nice, and that's exactly what we set out to do.

M: I kind of look at Urban Elo as the beginning for the Butta Babees. Even though it's taken you guys a while to get to this point, and the release of your first album, I think you're only getting started.

MC: It's not easy. Dread, I'll be very honest with you, I'm just finishing up at Concordia after all these years, after putting my life on hold for six or seven solid years where I was just doing music, and it's not easy on that kind of level. The people who haven't heard of us far outnumber the people that have, and we hope to get to those people.

Get the ball rolling

M: Tell me a little bit about your upcoming mini-tour.

MC: Man, Zip hooked up a grant with the Canada Council for us to go down to Philadelphia and do our thing in April, and that's like a little dream come true for me.

MC: You guys got connects down there already?

Z: Yeah, we're working with Irize from A Touch of Jazz records -

MC: And we're gonna do Black Lily!

M: The Roots' unknown showcase, that's hot!

MC: We've been talking to Seven Heads Records for years, ever since we played with J-Live, Scienz of Life and them. It's really nice to meet and talk with the people that you respect, finding out firsthand where they're coming from. Even at that show when Talib Kweli came to town, we didn't really get a chance to chill backstage, but we came offstage after our set -

Z: I see this guy with a Roc-a-Fella chain, and start thinking to myself how much I hate when people profile like that -

MC: So, I'm chillin' with Raid just burnin' a little somethin' and this guy comes up, "Nice show, nice show, good energy," and I didn't even know who this guy was. He turns around and leaves the room and Raid goes, "That was Kanye West!" [laughs] Another time I was working on the set of Rollerball with LL Cool J here in Montreal, and they told us not to talk to or approach the stars. Of course, I walk up and say I'm an old fan from back in the days - check a verse! And I start spitting rhymes at the guy! Right there on the set! You know what he does? He turns around and starts rapping right back at me! [laughs] I was like, what!? It was great because we traded verses but never actually talked.

CD launch with Motion at Petit Campus
on Friday, Feb. 20, 9pm, $10

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