Video: Wasiu – “Outer Space” (Prod. by Noah Barer & Cakewerk)

The Montreal Rapper Plots His Next Move in His New 2001: A Space Odyssey-Inspired Video Premiered by The FADER

04.20.2016

Critical Praise for Wasiu:

“Wasiu is the hip-hop voice of Montreal.” – i-D

“The young Montreal rapper has been working steadily to make a name for himself and it looks like he’s on the right track.” – Pigeons & Planes

“Wasiu is another one to look out for this year.” – Complex

“Many rappers twice his age would be wise to take notes…” – Okayplayer

“Wasiu is pretty much the embodiment of Montreal’s cultural shift.” – Noisey

“Wasiu has exhibited a desire to creatively tackle a variety of topics, and he raps about them in a way that proves he’s a more-than-formidable emcee.” – HYPETRAK

The Video:

Montreal emcee Wasiu plans a major invasion of the US rap scene in the video for “Outer Space,” debuting today via The FADER. In the video, Wasiu finds himself alone in a stark, monochromatic, minimal landscape with only a monolith inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey to keep him company. At the song’s halfway mark, the Noah Barer & Cavewerk-produced beat shifts and the monolith transforms into a window, providing a peek of the Earth’s atmosphere and a glorious sunset. “Outer Space” is the opening track from MTLiens, Wasiu’s acclaimed 2015 EP. The title of MTLiens is a homage to Outkast, but while ATLiens fits the warm and welcoming Atlanta, the cold and aggressive MTLiens mimics the frigid winters of Quebec’s Metropolis.

“The objective of the song was to serve this idea that me, and the Montréal scene, is invading hip-hop or the music industry by force,” describes Wasiu to The FADER. “The song has an aggressive tone to it, and has a cold feel. Of course, MTLiens is a play on OutKast’s classic ATLiens album. Whereas ATLiens had a more welcoming atmosphere and Southern Hospitality to it, MTLiens is the polar opposite, just as MTL is geographically to ATL. Just as Hip-Hop was dominated by East Coast-West Coast in the mid-90’s, and Atlanta was under their shadow, Montreal is under Toronto’s shadow from being recognized as a scene.”

Wasiu has been busy since the September release of MTLiens, Wasiu starred in a Canadian ad campaign for Kijiji, Canada’s more nationally popular version of Craigslist, and played three official showcases and one presentation at this year’s SXSW. In just his first year of releasing music, HipHopCanada recognized Wasiu as #4 up-and-coming Canadian rapper, only behind the likes of Jazz Cartier, Tory Lanez, and Roy Wood$. Unlike those three, Wasiu remains unsigned and committed to being independent. On May 7th, Wasiu is set to play at Canadian Music Week at Adelaide Hall in Toronto. Wasiu is currently working onMTLiens 2, set to drop later this year, as well as a collaborative EP with TripSixx, a member of Roy Wood$’ UTU collective.

Watch “Outer Space”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8lyd7B9u8o

Check out the premiere: http://www.thefader.com/2016/04/20/waisu-outer-space-music-video

Please contact Michelle or Rory if interested in talking with Wasiu.

Wasiu Background:

For Wasiu, being a pariah has always been a constant. A child of divorce from a Nigerian Muslim father and Haitian Protestant-Christian mother, he was torn between worlds, seen by both communities as impure, and a “mixed breed”—not entirely Haitian, not quite Nigerian. Even though he’s Québecois (a Québec native), his immigrant parents tainted his claim to the province. Raised by his mother after his father moved to Toronto, he felt obliged to fit in with her side of the family. Resentments towards his father’s beliefs and culture led him to drop his father-given middle name—Wasiu—so that he wouldn’t be teased in his predominantly white school, where he battled black stereotypes by pushing his intellect past expectations.

Overcoming adversity and using those lessons as lyrical fuel is Wasiu’s strongest suit. He is preparing his debut album which funnels his life experiences into a culturally defining opus that balances both optimistic and pessimistic perspectives on human themes. “I’m showing what people view as both the good and the bad,” he says, “and how without the bad, you can’t have the good, and so you start to appreciate the bad… for the good.”