Question: Which Quebec rappers unexpectedly launched an album together on Friday, May 22, 2020?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Answer: L\u00e9o Foug\u00e8res and Emmanuel Dubois, better known under their respective pseudonyms of FouKi and Koriass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welcome to G\u00e9nies en herbe<\/em>, a 14-track surprise album that will stoke the fans of the two flow-masters and undoubtedly grow their audience. Because this collaboration, which began about a year before the pandemic, is proving to be more than fruitful. There\u2019s a chemistry that works here, a fluid complementarity. The frontal assaults of the weathered thirtysomething dovetail perfectly with the more muffled volleys of his colleague in his early twenties. \u201cLeave me the alone, damn it, I’m fixing myself up \/ I’m quarantining you, it’s not COVID-19\u201d, FouKi raps on the title track, the only one where the reviled virus is allowed to be mentioned, before Koriass goes on to say “It’s not COVID that’s going to isolate me \/ It’s in my madness, I’m a prisoner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the duo\u2019s minds and mouths emanate a flow of words whose tone ranges from serious causticity (\u201cHerbog\u00e9nistes\u201d) and trash talk (\u201cFait chier\u201d), to faux braggadocio (\u201cI.T.P.P.N.A.\u201d and \u201cMar\u00e9e haute\u201d) and self-mockery (\u201cTout c\u2019qui faut\u201d). As the genre obliges, self-references accumulate, notably mentions of Steve (Jolin, alias Anodajay, boss of the prosperous rap stable 7i\u00e8me Ciel). <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the music department, seasoned beatmakers Ruffsound and QuietMike assume the bulk of the workload, supported by Manifest, Pops, Rousseau, Jay Century, June Nawakii, A.C., and RealMind. Lots of pleasant sounds here, including the half-funk, half-Afrobeat guitar chords on \u201cBruit\u201d. Good idea to quote Rock et Belles Oreilles<\/em> by inserting between the tracks, excerpts from classic Quebec sketch-comedy show\u2019s historically hilarious game-show parodies. It strategically lightens the mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Special mention to Brad Laplante for the cerebral illustration on the cover. The video for \u201cTout c\u2019qui faut\u201d<\/a> is already online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n