It wasn’t just a marriage of classical music and hip-hop Friday night at the Grand Théâtre de Québec; It was a mix of generations, a mix of multiple universes and the perfect way to democratize a style of music that was still too niche.
The Quebec Symphony Orchestra and provincial rap legends La Belle put on a more than interesting concert, and although the Grand Théâtre was far from full; The image of the crowd as seen from the sky was quite unique. There we saw whiteheads, nostalgic people in their thirties with their caps turned back, going out as couples or families, and several teenagers wearing 83 vests.
Marieme shone in her role as host of the evening, although not as much as in her interpretation of Brûler les Ponts, in which she was accompanied by her colleague from Limoilou, Souldia. The singer and rapper’s powerful voice rested beautifully on the OSQ’s crescendos to give the song even more emotion.
Marcel Tremblay / QMI Agency
Marieme’s big brother Webster provided the most powerful performance of the evening with his song “Qc History OSQ Notes”.
Sans Pression clearly caused the greatest excitement among the audience. The man nicknamed the “Godfather of Quebec rap” was in top form to launch Territoire Hostile, one of our province’s most emblematic pieces of hip-hop.
The Muzion trio put the icing on the cake of this beautiful evening by performing the anthem with the flavors of Haiti, which still stands out among the songs in their repertoire. The festive sound continued to welcome all artists to the stage; A scene marked by pride and a great sense of achievement, as T-Mo from 83 mentioned in an interview with Le Journal on Thursday.
Le 83, the rap collective that shocked Quebec show business in 2002 by interrupting the ADISQ gala, performed its classic J’fait que j’can to the delight of the audience, who stood with their hands in the air. As with the other pieces, the orchestral instruments only emphasized the weight of the lyrics conveyed by the MCs.
Two other facets of hip-hop, DJing and breakdancing, were utilized during this fruitful marriage of cultures. The initiative to mix the sound of DJ Fade Wizard’s turntables with the orchestra was ambitious, but despite the undeniable talents on both sides, this idea still has room for improvement and great potential to be fully exploited.
Today’s line-up was perfect and represented very well the 40 years of hip-hop in our province, although the MCs from Quebec and the ones from Montreal could have swapped stages instead of being presented on one side and the other from the break onwards .