In the 90s he called himself Disoul and founded the first successful hip-hop group in Quebec history with OTMC (Ousmane Traoré) and DJ Choice (Alain Benabdallah). On the occasion of the new release of the album The power to understand by Dubmatique, The newspaper Jérôme-Philippe Bélinga asked eight questions.
Why did you want to offer a new edition 25?e Birthday?
“For us, the years have passed, but we still have the same joy from this album, which is an integral part of our lives and has changed our lives. Never in our wildest dreams did we believe this album would be re-released 25 years later, so when we were approached about this project we were thrilled.”
What did this album mean to you?
“A lot, before and now.” It started as a dream. We were all on different continents, but we had the same dream. The release of this album on April 30, 1997 was an achievement in itself.”
And for Quebec?
“To our great surprise and joy, Quebec adopted our album and us. For us, it was a form of integration to be able to share our passion for this music, a genre that was still in its infancy at the time, with our Quebecers. We come from different continents, but we have shown that we can have the same passion regardless of our origins. Destiny does things well because our chemistry was incredible.
Archive photo provided by Larissa Media Relations
Did you expect your album to be so well received?
“Absolutely not! But we hoped and wanted it with all our hearts. It was wonderful! When we opened for the Backstreet Boys before the album was released, our music became known. We were unknown, but our mission was to get 15,000 Keeping girls on their toes in front of the BSB. Their work ethic taught us a lot.”
What is your best memory from this time?
“There were several, but when we won Group of the Year Felix that was one of the biggest moments. It was more than symbolic for us, it showed the music industry’s acceptance of a new genre of music. The gala hosted by Celine Dion! It was surreal. When we won, everything went in slow motion, we couldn’t believe our eyes and ears, it was great!”
Archive photo provided by Larissa Media Relations
This is an album that ages well. Why do you think?
“The three of us wrote and composed this album, combining everything we had back then with sincere and somewhat naive words from our early twenties. We wanted to recreate the world. Even today people say thank you and that we shaped their youth. It’s our first salary.”
I imagine you are excited to introduce this work to new young admirers?
“Quite. Many of our supporters back then now have families and are responsible for introducing their young people to our music. Hip-hop today, young people swear by it. It’s really great. Even today we all have children; it’s a possibility “To experience this with them and it takes on a whole new meaning to be able to show them what their father was capable of back then.”
What do you think about hip-hop today?
“It’s really cool that these young guys have taken over and are taking the torch to prove that this style is here to stay. I can only admire and appreciate the approach.”
-The album The power to understand New edition 25e Dubmatique’s anniversary is available in digital format and on vinyl.