The evening of June 15 at the Francos de Montréal was particularly busy for rap fans. While Imposs, Yes* and Souldia awakened the Place des Festivals, the TD studio welcomed 8ruki and his members of 33 Recordz followed by NeS for a generous guest performance.
The 8ruki and NeS concert was a festival in itself. With the first two games, the color was already announced. It was Franz Keloh who got the ball rolling. Quite discreet on social networks, the rapper represented a great discovery. Controlled flow, precise texts, Franz Keloh may not offer the most innovative, but he knows how to captivate his audience. After performing several pieces from his latest project Like the moon, Franz Keloh was joined by DND and LDZP, two French rappers who often collaborate, heating up the scene even more. They came as part of the collective and media Remasteredwhich connects emerging rap artists from Montreal and Paris.
An unequal second part
It was Vago who took over for a second part… difficult. Stage fright, fatigue, we don’t know, but the rapper from Gatineau struggled to put his voice on his songs. Less demonstrative than Franz Keloh who communicated with the public, Vago gradually faded away, sometimes leaving his backer alone at the microphone. A regrettable situation which did not allow the public to fully discover its universe which nevertheless deserves to be explored.
While all seemed lost, the young rapper regained momentum when part of the audience brought the crowd into the atmosphere. Ambrose and Labri, members of 33 Recordz (8ruki’s label) then joined him on stage. The trio then delighted the audience with Kim Kardashian, a joint track released in 2023 following a trip to the French capital. The pogos were thrown and did not stop, the energy had been transferred.
8:45 p.m., the evening was just beginning.
Wearing a red and white cap and a backpack, 8ruki took the stage like Sasha, taunting the audience like so many Pokémon with his charismatic and energetic attitude. The rapper, however, did not venture out until Green Lobby, her album released in 2020 (to the greatest regrets of the one who writes these lines). 8ruki still gave us a generous performance going from plug to trap by performing the majority of his albums For what!! And INT8NTION with some solo pieces like Interlude and the most recent, Methadone.
8ruki was happy to be here, the public too, and it showed. The rapper signed autographs, high-fived the front rows and gave big smiles to the audience. This is the beauty of many concerts by French artists in Montreal: an indescribable energy emerges. Perhaps it’s due to travel or the omnipresence of orange cones. 8ruki also maintains a special relationship with Montreal: he notably produced his (mini) EP Overseas in Montreal in 2019 with Mike Shabb.
Ambrose and Labri finally returned to the stage, this time offering a rather promising exclusive! And because getting on the railing is not enough, the CEO of 33 Recordz joined the public for yet another pogo.
NeS then ended the evening in style. Despite his young age (20), the rapper from the southern suburbs of Paris is particularly technical. We feel that he made a point of offering an impeccable performance. With its unstructured productions and new-wave sounds, NeS conquered Studio TD despite the fatigue that was making itself felt.
The scenography, contrasting with previous performances, helped to maintain the energy that had been in the audience since they entered the room. The play of light and the screen at the back broadcasting visualize added a captivating visual dimension. Offering different atmospheres, the prolific rapper has drawn from a good number of his projects (FOR REAL, IT’S GOING TO BE OK, The RACE, CQSS, NES vol.1…). And as the more, the merrier, Yvnnis arrived on stage to CQSS And -94°. Ultimately, NeS met the same fate as 8ruki and jumped into the pit for the first time in his life on the song AGILITY. The crowd was largely wild, although the pit didn’t give way this time.
