Music

Bare-bone blues

by Darcy MacDonald

The Shine spotlights local hip hop artist SRH and the new video by Dirtwork and fellow Montrealers Magnum, Millz, L.E.S. and I. Blast. Then it’s all about birthdays, DJ nights and live shows (and we mean live).

Opining for the sake of opining is a good way to start either a career in commercial daytime talk radio or a religious war — or both at once. Sadly though, it makes self-respecting music columns blow.

So rather than force it, let’s get straight to business this week and I promise you something will either impress the pants off of me or piss me off between now and next Wednesday.

That said, keep an eye on Cult MTL tomorrow for a feature with local mic controller Monk-E, who launches D3stin 3t B3yond the same night. Then come back the following day for some Q&A with Houston, TX freestyle freakshow RiFF RAFF, who plays Laval Friday night.

SHINE ON ARTIST:

SRH
I first really noticed West Island-raised spitta’ SRH in a video he put out a couple of years back in which he rapped and flung pasta all over the Pointe-Claire train station tunnel.

The young man is comin’ up fast, with both a well-received EP and mixtape under his fitted and a new one, co-starring producer Frankmusik, dropping in November. Moody single “Drive & Smoke” premiered yesterday. If the entire project sounds like this, it’s gonna be a hot winter for SRH.
 
SHINE ON VISUAL:

Two weeks ago, I couldn’t say enough about Montreal beat architect Dirtwork’s “Feels Like Home” single (from the upcoming From Tragedy 2 Triumph LP) and he has since released the video. Dirt, Magnum, Millz, L.E.S. and I. Blast did an amazing job here, top to bottom, and the video definitely brings it home. This shit is a cut above, period.
 

 
Lotsa fun on deck this week and a lotta live band-backed hip hop — always a plus.

Wednesday — It’s Full Course’s birthday. Find him and go party with him! Seriously though, give yourself a present, on him, and cop last year’s Entree LP for free at his site. Happy birthday, sir.

Thursday — Elementality presents Latin Soul Nights, Vol. 1, and it’s definitely gonna get spicy. Agua Negra (Paranoize & El Cotola), Alquimia Verbal, the O.C., HR3 Jazz Power Trio, Nomadic’s Lou Piensa, Butta Beats and Waahli and Siham Naim bring the hip hop, jazz and soul powers to Underworld

Friday — Vox Sambou holds it down at les Bobards to launch his new video, “Vox In Havana.” Openers BerekYah, Xav Ier, Webster and Emirical make it toasty, and Vox is backed by several of the city’s finest players.

Meanwhile, Groundfood face the age-old question as to whether or not they can kick it, at le Piano Rouge. (Answer: yes, they can.)

Saturday — The Fresh Paint Gallery lives on (after facing potential closure), and so the Beaux Degats/Fine Mess art battle returns, at 7 p.m.

Later in the evening, A-Rock brings his illicit cargo to En Cachette as a special guest at Moonshine Saturdays alongside resident DJ Sagewondah. ■

Can we talk about the mail, please, Mac? shinecultmtl@gmail.com

Posted in Music

by Darcy MacDonald

Contributor
Darcy MacDonald has been with Cult MTL since day one, a decade ago. Which means today, he’s a middle-aged white guy (albeit one more interested in other people’s ideas than in his own). He was previously a columnist and reporter for Montreal Mirror, and has also created content (FKA “written”) for RBMA, Noisey, Montreal Gazette, The National Post and probably some other great places he’s forgotten about. Music, culture, community and miscellaneous questions in search of answers all come across his desk, sooner or later.

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