Over the last thirty years, Limoilou has seen the birth of an impressive number of rappers who loudly proclaim their belonging to the neighborhood. Without pretending to be an expert on the subject, I wanted to take the pulse of the rap scene in the neighborhood today. By speaking with rappers and different players in the hip-hop world, I became interested in the evolution of the rap scene since the 90s, the issues that concern artists, what motivates them to write and what which connects them to the neighborhood. I therefore propose, in this series of three articles, a portrait which, far from being exhaustive, will, I hope, shed light on a culture at the heart of the identity and development of the Limoilou district.
A little genealogy
Aly Ndiaye, alias Webster, is undoubtedly one of the pillars of Limoilou rap. He evolves in hip-hop[1] since the early 1990s. Member and co-founder of the group Limoilou Starz, he also has five solo albums to his credit.
When we talk about rap in the Limoilou district, his name is on everyone’s lips.
A historian by training, Webster is interested in the Afro-descendant presence in Quebec. Over time, he has organized several conferences and events to highlight this little-known part of Quebec history. He collaborates in the development of the exhibition On lyrics: the sound of queb rappresented at the Musée de la civilization in 2023.
Although he left an indelible mark on the landscape of Quebec hip-hop, particularly in Limoilou, Webster insists that he was not the first to rap in the neighborhood.
The first three rappers from Limoilou were Goo/Gu, Rugi and Rich.
“Goo/Gu, Rugi and Rich, these are people who didn’t release an album, but who gave birth to this culture in the neighborhood,” he explains. When we talk about Quebec City, we talk about the Presha Pack, but in parallel with the Presha Pack, there were these three guys who lived on Marie-Clarisse. »
They were Shoddy’s neighbors. They were the ones who inspired him to start rapping with Mastakay. The duo in turn inspired Webster, who a little later founded the Limoilou Starz collective with Shoddy. The group Presha Pack is also among the pioneers of rap in Quebec City.
Putting words to your reality
The arrival of hip-hop and rap culture in Limoilou in the early 1990s gave young people the feeling of being represented. Rap then registers as cultural content created by the margins and intended for the margins.
“It was an analysis that came a little later, but what I realized was that it was the first time I saw myself represented in a cultural medium,” notes Webster. I did not see my experience translated into the public space, as a young mixed race from Limoilou. Suddenly we felt represented.”
Born in the black American ghettos, rap found an echo in the Limoilou district, recognized at that time as a dangerous place. “Even though we weren’t in the Bronx, there were certain elements that came to touch us,” explains the rapper.
Rap gives a voice to the people of the neighborhood. It allows them to get rid of this label by loudly proclaiming their belonging to Limoilou. “We were facing real issues, but which were magnified by the media and people who did not live in the neighborhood,” believes Webster.
Photo credit: Jean Cazes
A culture lived in community
At the time, rap was broadcast daily and everywhere. In street corner, living room, kitchen freestyles, hip-hop culture is experienced collectively. This is what fuels the creativity of rappers. This friendly competition that sets in stimulates writing. Rappers try to translate in an original and unexpected way what is inside them and wish to present the environment in which they live. Webster remembers the gatherings at Place D’Youville: “The whole town gathered there. That’s how we experienced hip-hop even before doing concerts and albums.”
As the rap scene grew, more formal concerts were organized. “Ultimately, it was the show that gave you credibility and brought you to people’s ears. It helped to cement this collective and community way of doing things.”
Community radio stations also contribute to the dissemination of rap content, at a time when it is still a very marginal culture. Stations like CKIA, CKRL and CHYZ then supported this emerging scene with shows like Les Arshitechs du Son, still on the air today.
New distribution channels
The advent of online listening platforms and the rise of social networks have considerably changed the way rap and music in general are distributed. These new technologies facilitate diffusion, but somewhat undermine the collective dimension of hip-hop culture.
“Nowadays, you can practically have an international career without leaving home,” notes Webster. An interesting phenomenon in that it makes it possible to bypass the control of certain major media by broadcasting all types of rap and reaching a considerable audience, something unthinkable twenty years ago.
However, not all types of rap circulate in the same way, Webster nuance. “When we talk about rap which is more present than ever, it depends on which one. In public space mainstreamfor the most part, it is people who are not politicized, who do not come from neighborhoods that we prefer to forget and who do not present realities that we do not want to see in the public space. »
The neighborhood
In thirty years, the Limoilou district has changed enormously. The negative aura that previously reigned there has dissipated to make it a renowned and fashionable place to live. This wave of changes has certainly weakened the community spirit and affected the feeling of attachment to the neighborhood experienced by part of its population. “I will always remain a guy from Limoilou, but I no longer see myself there as much as at other times in my life,” says the rapper.
“Saint-Pie It’s important not to cling to an outdated idea.”
Guide the next generation
Throughout his career and still today, Webster remains a strong presence for up-and-coming rappers. Like a big brother, he guides emerging artists by giving them opportunities to be seen and progress in the industry.
“I always say, ‘I can’t open the door for you, I can’t break the door for you, but I can help you assemble the axe’”
[1] Hip-hop culture has five pillars or modes of expression: breakdancethe graffiti, the beatboxingthe DJing and rap.
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