Montreal celebrates the essence of hip-hop with Nomadic Massive

Nomadic Massive performing at POP Montreal / Photo by Stefano Rebuli / The Concordian

The local collective hosted a block party as part of POP Montreal on Sept. 26.

This year marked the 20th year of local hip-hop collective Nomadic Massive. The group hosted a free block party on its anniversary, Sept. 26, as part of the POP Montreal music festival. They held the show in Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood, right below the Wala Volo mural on the Carré de Gaspé building.

Formed in 2004, Nomadic Massive is a hip-hop collective from Montreal that has brought together several different MCs and musicians from various backgrounds across two decades. Concordia professor Yassin Alsalman, also known as rapper Narcy, described the collective as “a microcosm of what the world can feel like. Collaboration, international, peaceful. It’s a great testament to hip-hop and our motherlands.”

Montreal rapper Raccoon was the show’s first opener, and he delivered an energetic melodic rap set with clean-hitting 808’s, even to a small crowd. The Indigenous rap group City Natives, who hail from the Maritimes, also gave a compelling performance filled with powerful, lyrical delivery over hard-hitting, traditional hip-hop beats.

Nomadic Massive took the stage at 8 p.m., treating the crowd to a display of the diversity that hip-hop has to offer. Its three main MCs — Waahli, Lou Piensa, and Butta Beats — were joined by an entire live band including a DJ, bass guitarist, keyboardist, drummer, horns ensemble (trumpet and trombone players) and a trio of background vocalists. Together, they captured the classic, jazzy, funky, and boom-bap feel of hip-hop’s golden era in the late ‘90s and early 2000s.

The crowd was invested in the performance from the start, responding warmly to the call-and-response chants in the songs, jumping along, and even giving the group an ovation just two songs into the performance. Later tracks like “Duty” and “If I Want To Live” would continue hyping up the crowd, with hands waving and clapping along.

Nomadic Massive launched into tracks from their recent EP Out of Town including “Fly Shit” whose boom bap drums and beeping melody evoked Nas’ classic track “NY State of Mind” and sounded crisp over the sound system. 

The precision of the rapping from artists like Lou Piensa and Butta Beats’ was reminiscent of popular conscious hip-hop artists from the 2000s, notably Common and Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def). In a reprise of sorts, keyboardist JMF hopped on the microphone to rap a spontaneous verse, after which the crowd roared enthusiastically. 

Vocalist and MC Tali Taliwah’s rapping recalled Ms. Lauryn Hill’s style, and her fiery entrance alongside Meryem Saci fueled the group’s overall energy, while also driving up the crowd’s enthusiasm.

Cultural diversity shone through the performance as the numerous MC’s seamlessly navigated through different languages during the set, from English to French, Spanish, Creole, and Arabic. “Moving Forward” was a track that notably combined all of them.

Narcy, a former member of the collective, was one of several special guests throughout the night, appearing specifically for an animated performance of the 2007 track “OWD (Oil, Weapons, Drugs).” His synergy with the other members was outstanding as they collectively rapped, moved around the stage, and even acted along to the lyrics.

Narcy notably invited the students in his Hip Hop Icons: Artist in Focus class to attend the show as part of the course’s curriculum. 

“What we learn and talk about in class got a real-life example through the block party and what it represents — hip-hop and culture, the music scene,” said Matthew Daldalian, a third-year journalism major currently taking Narcy’s course.

Nomadic Massive’s performance proved to be a communal experience, with one big musical family gathering onstage.

Their rich, soulful, diversely-rooted hip-hop catalogue shone before a crowd of several hundred people who were equally present to celebrate the essence of hip-hop music.

“[It was] amazing to see our family all back together on stage. [It] felt great to see them get the love they deserve in the city,” said Narcy.

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