In the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles in Montreal, on the stage of the hip-hop festival Distrix, Guadalupe Galvan, Doble G of his stage name, raps his compositions with ease and confidence at the age of 16.
This year’s MC Challenge 12-17 champion, who is originally from Mexico and has lived in Quebec for four years, was invited to take the stage with renowned rappers. Her talent is clear and yet she has only been rapping for a few months.
I am a violinist. I learned to read music at four and play the violin at seven. “I have given concerts with orchestras in Mexico, but not alone on stage,” she says with a smile and wears her small braids.
Hear the report from Karine Mateu broadcast on the show All terrainon the waves of ICI Premiere.
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Doble G, winner of the MC Challenge 12-17 2023, on stage at the Distrix Festival.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Karine Mateu
Doble G sings primarily in Spanish and is inspired by his origins, his loves and his dreams when composing his songs. And one of his dreams is a career in music.
I really want to dedicate my life to this topic. Make big stages, world stages. I really want to go far in rap, she hopes.
The MC Challenge 12-17
The MC Challenge 12-17 was launched two years ago by End of the Weak Québec in collaboration with the cultural centers of ten Montreal boroughs. This is the teen version of the MC Challenge “End of the Weak”, born in New York in 2000 and arriving in Quebec in 2011, also known as “End of the Weak”.
The rappers have to compete verbally by showcasing different facets of rap, such as free text, a cappella or improvisation.
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Benoît Beaudry, co-founder of End of the Weak Québec and initiator of the MC Challenge 12-17 in collaboration with the City of Montreal.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Karine Mateu
The youth version has been expanded through writing workshops and mentoring in around thirty schools, youth centers or youth organizations, explains Benoît Beaudry, co-founder of End of the Weak Québec
Competitors will compete in the district finals at the cultural centers before the grand final at Jarry Park.
Doune
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Jahlia Jason, or Dounette, as her stage name is, won the 2022 MC Challenge with 12-17.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Karine Mateu
Originally from Guadeloupe, Jahlia Jason, known as Dounette, had only been in Quebec for a few months when she won the MC Challenge’s first grand final of 2022 12-17, tied with Jojo, another rapper. She was only 13 years old at the time.
I started writing when I was eight years old. It comes from my stepfather, who I consider my father, who was interested in music and who took me to his studio when I was little. “He was the one who made me grow in this passion and become what I am now,” she says.
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Dounette, winner of the MC Challenge 12-17 2022, on stage at the Distrix Festival.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Karine Mateu
Before, I was very shy and not particularly sociable. Since I’ve been making music, I’ve been who I really am. Before, I didn’t take responsibility for myself, I didn’t take responsibility for my body. Now I dress how I want, I style my hair how I want, I do what I want.
Since her victory, she has produced several music videos and even inaugurated the new Maison de la culture Maisonneuve at the invitation of the city of Montreal.
She also sees herself shining on many stages. I want a little girl to see me and say she wants to be like me when she grows up, like when I saw a lady singing as a child and I wanted to be like her! There are too many emotions! shouts Dounette.
Jojo
The other winner of the 2022 edition is Joshua Ogbebor, known as Jojo. He is tall and strong and seems rather reserved, but on stage he moves, he dances, he explodes.
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Joshua Ogbebor or Jojo, his stage name, is the 2022 MC Challenge 12-17 Champion.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Karine Mateu
“I started rapping when MC Challenge came to my school. I didn’t rap before, but I wanted to try something new,” says this young man, who was 16 years old when he won.
Representing LaSalle County, Jojo composes and sings in English. I try to capture feelings with the song. “I capture depression, love, fear,” he says in very good French.
He also thinks big: I want to do rap, but also photography, cinema, fashion. “I want to be the best artist, not just the best rapper,” says the business student. I think to be a good artist you also have to be a good businessman.
Spirit
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Samuel, or Ghost, his stage name, was a finalist in the MC Challenge 12-17 competitions.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Karine Mateu
Samuel Lantin, or Ghost, his stage name, was a finalist in both editions of the MC Challenge. He was also invited to take the stage at the Distrix Festival and took part in the Champions MC Challenge music video filmed by End of the Weak Quebec with the winners. For him, rap is much more than just entertainment, it is liberating.
A few years ago I lost one of my loved ones and I wasn’t too far away. I had a lot of anxiety and depression. I spoke to a social worker at my high school and he told me to find a solution to get the black ball out that I had in there. “I started writing and rapping, it was something extraordinary,” he says.
Judges and mentors
The young people were supervised by mentors, rappers like Witness, who is known as a veteran of the battle rap and freestyle scene in Montreal.
This is also where I filmed my first official scene, in the same square we are in. It was the summer of 2000, at the end of the Franco Folies. I had just turned 16. I knocked with my little voice and everyone screamed. “It really gave me a big boost,” recalls the man who has been rapping for almost 25 years.
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Rapper Witness is one of the MC Challenge 12-17 mentors.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Karine Mateu
Now it’s the turn of the young people he met in writing workshops in schools and youth centers.
My technique is to give them confidence, not to tell them how to do it. I show them why a text is good. I show them all the idioms that exist in writing. All ways to make it beautiful to the ear. Writing is my greatest passion.
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2023 MC Challenge 12-17 Champion Doble G and Ruby, renowned rapper and MC Challenge judge.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Karine Mateu
Ruby, a well-known rapper on the Montreal scene, is the judge for MC Challenge 12-17.
“I’ve been doing this for so many years and I remember when I was her age and trying to get there. “So if I can share my experiences with the next generation by participating in this project, it’s an honor,” she explains.
Each of the young people she saw perform stood out, she said, but the winners stood out, among other things, for the quality of their words. She also complains about the trend towards more lightness in rap.
In the past, conscious rap was much more important. Nowadays people are looking more for an atmosphere, an atmosphere. Not everyone has the time to listen to your story. It was lost over time. People are more superficial and want to party more.
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Joshua or Jojo, his stage name, champion of MC Challenge 12-17 in 2022.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Karine Mateu
A return in 2024?
At Montreal City Hall, far from the vibrations of the Quartier des Spectacles and hip-hop, the executive committee’s head of culture and heritage, Erika Alneus, does not hide her enthusiasm for the project.
This enables young people to experience French through rap, but also to discover cultural centers and thus acquire the culture, says the consultant.
She adds that even if in the final the young people sing in their original language, in Spanish or in English, the MC Challenge still places emphasis on French: the rap workshops were conducted in French and for some young people it was a first Contact with our beautiful language.
The project was also carried out as part of the Union of Quebec Municipalities’ Fous du français initiative and cost $103,000. Erika Alneau does not confirm the return of the project next year, but assures that she really wants it.
End of the Weak Québec co-founder Benoît Beaudry wants to continue the adventure and much more.
I think young people across Quebec need to express themselves and this is a great way to do that. I think there is room to expand this project and make it a national final: the MC Challenge 12-17 across the province with the champions from all cities. It’s a bit of a dream, but it’s not impossible!