As Quebec feels the weight of winter melancholia getting heavier, rappers and producers from the province are warming up for a wave of impactful projects planned to come out just in time for the beginning of spring.
LaF and Planet Giza are both groups aiming high with promising full-length albums scheduled to come out in the coming weeks, and from what I heard, colourful vibes and beats are expected. For now, the world can already enjoy some quality projects from the likes of Dead Obies’ 20Some and Greg Beaudin, as well as Gatineau’s D-Track. The legend Roi Heenok also made an epic appearance on the Rapolitik podcast.
20Some and D-Track Go Back to their Roots
Both rappers have always appealed to certain rap fans with their 90s references. But even with parallel careers, commercial demands have made them carve out their own lanes. 20Some’s new album FIYAH and D-Track’s Territoiredelours mark new phases for the strong lyricists.
Rap Queb fans remember 20Some’s work on Loud’s “On My Life” or “Explosif,” a Dead Obies classic from Gesamtkunstswerk. After waiting for a solo release, he dropped the somewhat formulaic Home Run, but with FIYAH, he’s bringing the project fans have been waiting for. It also helps that he reunited with Obies’ beatmaker VNCE Carter.
As for D-Track, he’s continuing down the drumless/boombap path, collaborating with beatmakers like August Fanon, Sadhugold, Nomstks, and Nicholas Craven, which will make fans of his Hull album happy.
Roi Heenok Gives His First Interview in Years on Rapolitik
The biggest moment of the month in Quebec rap had to be Roi Heenok being interviewed on the Rapolitik podcast. With the mix of exuberance and madness that we’ve come to expect from the legend, the most well-known Quebec rapper in France sat down for his first real interview in nearly a decade. He was free-wheeling during the interview, dropping quotable after quotable: gun talk, rap beefs and throwback references from back in the day, like where he lived in Queensbridge. It’s impossible to understand Roi Heenok’s importance on rappers in the francophone world. A must-watch if you’ve ever wanted to know more about him.
Here are some notable rap queb tracks that recently dropped: