Maestro Dmitri Zrajevski has made some changes to his playlist to add Souldia and Webster to the Beethoven pieces he usually consumes, all in preparation for the Orchester symphonique de Québec (OSQ) show celebrating 40 years of Quebec hip-hop . Friday evening.
“I mainly listen to Beethoven and Tchaikovsky,” admits Dmitri Zrajevski. But hey! Music is music; I loved immersing myself in hip-hop culture and listening to the works to prepare myself. »
“I had a huge crush on all the rappers who will be on stage with us,” says the maestro, who will lead the OSQ at the Grand Théâtre de Québec. “We have the best of the best,” he says happily, admitting that he had to do his homework to learn more about hip-hop and rap from our province.
In addition to the orchestra, which gives its own touch to the classics by Souldia, 83, Sans Pression, Webster and Muzion, a DJ and drummer will also give a more rhythmic touch to the pieces presented.
“During the show there will also be Mozart, among other things,” mentions the maestro.
Respect and trust between artists
Almost all rap artists have used classical music sequences when creating a song; However, it is rare that professionals of these two styles find themselves in the same room. For T-Mo, one of the founding members of 83 and Tactics, the respect between the rappers and musicians was noticeable during rehearsals.
“We had lots of fun [lors des répétitions], everyone clapped between songs and had a smile on their face. We felt like the musicians had fun making our songs their own,” notes the MC from the south coast of Quebec, who admits that this exercise requires a lot of trust between the artists.
“These songs are our babies. We did everything ourselves and we managed to make our sound resonate throughout Quebec,” explains T-Mo. “So it takes a lot of trust to let the musicians do what they want, but everyone is so professional; “The trust was quickly given to them,” he says happily.
Feeling of accomplishment
” We [le rap au Québec] leaves from a distance; I remember our first shows in our early twenties at the Paul-Bouillé Community Center in Lévis; “We organized everything ourselves, the sound was faulty,” remembers T-Mo. It gives us great pride that we can now do business with major venues and institutions like the OSQ. »
This sense of achievement is not only associated with the Grand Théâtre and the OSQ. According to T-Mo, this is proof that hip-hop is being accepted and appreciated at its true value, which hasn’t always been the case.
“We now feel accepted in an industry that never opened the door to us,” he claims. When we first started, even the stage technicians didn’t seem to want to be where we were doing our shows. Now I find it extraordinary to see that classical music artists are not only interested in what we do, but also want to participate in it. »
►The Quebec Symphony Orchestra’s concert celebrating 40 years of Quebec hip-hop will take place on October 6th and 7th at the Grand Théâtre de Québec.