MP3: Wasiu – “Many Dreams” (Prod. by Da-P dabeatX)

Premiered by i-D, the Montreal Rapper Releases Inspiring Track With Soulection Producer In Anticipation of Forthcoming Album

04.16.2015

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 Song:

“Wasiu is the hip-hop voice of Montreal,” said i-D in their premiere post of the 24 year-old Quebec native’s latest single, “Many Dreams.” Wasiu delves into his struggles and outlook on life, the positive side of materialism, and the desire or yearning to achieve a goal or endpoint. He teams up with Soulectionproducer/fellow Montrealer Da-P dabeatX, who crafts a melodious instrumental that builds around 2Pac‘s posthumous Biggie collaboration, “Runnin’ (Dying To Live).”

“We all have dreams and aspirations,” Wasiu explains to i-D. “Some of them are altruistic in nature and others selfish and materialistic. This record focuses on the latter. With the overall theme of the album being a relatively dark and heavy depiction of our society, I wanted to include some lighter and fun moments. That being said, this song is simply about the material dreams of a broke rapper aspiring for more.” Wasiu’s previous single, “Bout 02 Blow,” which features production by V X N Y L, premiered via Pigeons & Planes, who stated, “There comes a time in every young artist’s career when it feels like the stars are finally beginning to align…they know their time to shine is rapidly approaching. Wasiu’s ‘Bout 02 Blow’ is the result of just that.”

The Nigerian and Haitian, Quebec-bred rapper has received praise from the likes of Noisey,HYPETRAK, Okayplayer, and more, making waves in hip-hop with his distinct sound. Wasiu’s forthcoming debut album funnels his experiences into a culturally defining opus, with songs that explore a diverse set of themes on human life. “I make music to give my city a voice, to give minorities a voice, to give black people a voice, to give me a voice,” he says. “My experiences are experienced by all minorities. My music is expressed with the intention of force-feeding the world into accepting us for who we are, and seeing the bigger and smaller picture that get unnoticed.”

Listen to “Many Dreams”: https://soundcloud.com/i-d-online-1/premiere-wasiu-many-dreams

Check out the i-D premiere: http://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/wasiu-is-the-hip-hop-voice-of-montreal-and-were-premiering-his-new-track

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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.

”I wanted to fit in and didn’t want to feel like a stereotype, so I’d force myself to excel but make it seem like it was no sweat,” he says, “In a sense, I was assimilating myself to white Christian standards, and dropped my middle name to evade humiliation. That same name now is the one I use to represent myself, and it empowers my blackness due to its African origins.”

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.”