Author: Qasim Warraich

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Student Life

When hip-hop and cartoon culture meet

The online platform Montreality is taking the Montreal hip-hop community by storm

Sina Ghiassi didn’t know his love for both cartoons and hip-hop would one day collide, leading to one successful project.

Within the vivid colours and mystical worlds of childhood cartoons, Ghiassi believes there is a driving force that pushes people to follow their dreams. Cartoon heroes take on the world and face trials at every turn, all while figuring out exactly what their superpowers are.

After years of being inspired and enamoured by these heroes, Ghiassi heard the whispers of his own superpowers at age 16.

Nestled in the crowd at a Talib Kweli concert, Ghiassi fell in love with hip-hop. He realized he didn’t belong in the crowd, but backstage, amidst the workhorses and geniuses that made these concerts run smoothly.

Nine years later, Ghiassi has built a rare archive of interviews with some of rap’s best.

Montreality is an online platform devoted to the curation of interviews with various world-class and local artists who are dominating the rap and hip-hop scene. Ghiassi has interviewed and met some of the most sought-after artists in hip-hop, and he’s developed his own interviewing style. Often, he will ask quirky questions about first jobs, favourite cartoons and favourite books.

Montreality operates through a YouTube channel, Facebook page and website.

Over the past year, not only has the group’s Facebook page increased from 20,000 likes to two million, Ghiassi also had the chance to meet talented MCs and producers, including Rae Sremmurd, Schoolboy Q and Metro Boomin.

The Montreality team, made up of Ghiassi and his partner, Daniel Yañez, have collaborated with Belgian artist Robin Velghe (RHYMEZLIKEDIMEZ) to create stunning visuals for the website and the filmed interviews, all inspired by the cartoons and video games Ghiassi grew up with. “I wanted it to feel like Saturday morning cartoons,” he says.

Photo of Ghiassi by Galton Celestin

The Montreality project all started with Ghiassi and his best friend Yañez sneaking backstage at concerts, trying to get their favourite rappers, to give “Montreality shoutouts” on camera. That was a mere six years ago, at a time when there was no full vision for these interviews—just some kids looking to meet their heroes.

Ghiassi still carries that youthful enthusiasm and intense fervour with him as he continues to build his platform. “I feel like cartoon characters, I looked at those as my role models. I feel hip-hop artists are superheroes as well, or super-villians some of them—they’re all characters,” says Ghiassi. “Ash [from Pokemon] wants to be the very best, he wants to catch them all and that’s what I want to do, I want to capture every artist on my list.”

Ghiassi learned much of what he knows about the hip-hop industry from the books lining his shelves, and from his experience interning with the legendary Montreal harmonica player Bad News Brown and Bad News’ manager, Henry-Francois Gelot.

When Ghiassi worked with the team, the pair saw a tenacious work ethic in him, as well as an eagerness to learn. Though he learned a lot from them, he also brought his own set of skills to the team. He started as an intern, creating graphics, but always soaking up as much information as he could in Gelot’s downtown office and on tour with Bad News. Eventually, he became their executive assistant.

“I would have messed up big time at some point without mentors like Bad News and Henry,” said Ghiassi. “As soon as I was introduced to hip-hop, I was like, I have to be a part of this. I want to bring something to the culture. It’s my duty.”

Categories
Opinions

Canada’s foundations are based off of immigration

Graphic by Thom Bell

Exploring multiculturalism and immigration during these turbulent times

The word ‘immigrant’ evokes many emotions in me every time I hear it. It connotes a sense of hope and excitement that a family will be starting their new life in this country, yet it’s paired with a sense of nervousness for the trials they will face. Canada is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, and many citizens will be marking this day by reflecting on their own cultural diversity, demonstrating how immigration has essentially shaped this country over the last century.

Being an immigrant anywhere in the world is often a daunting and terrifying experience. To gather up all you own and say goodbye to the home and friends you’ve always known for a chance at something better is a perilous task many of us will never have to face. I myself have had the privilege of being born a Canadian citizen because my parents immigrated to Canada from Pakistan over 30 years ago.

“One out of five people in Canada’s population is foreign-born” according to a 2011 report released by Statistics Canada. Approximately 1.1 million foreigners immigrated to this country between 2006 and 2011, according to the same report. New data should be available in the near future though, considering the Trudeau government conducted a nationwide census in 2016.

But the question remains—is Canada truly home for immigrants and their families? Yes. I think many immigrants would agree. Canada is the country that has given many a new life, opportunities and freedoms. For my father, it’s a place where he has been able to see his children benefit from things he could never have dreamed of as a child, such as the education or healthcare systems.

Many families who have immigrated are now seeing their former homes face catastrophic war or other devastating situations. This strengthens our sense of gratitude for our new home and the opportunities it has brought our families.

However, it’s not as if we’ve forgotten where we came from. Many of my friends refer to themselves as Pakistani-Canadian, Syrian-Canadian or Vietnamese-Canadian, and consider both Canada and their former or parent’s former country as home.

Sadly, Canada still has a long way to go to be considered truly multicultural. For example, public schools rarely celebrate or educate their students about any holiday traditions other than Christmas, such as Hanukkah, Eid, or Diwali. Though the cultures are prevalent, they are not really celebrated in the mainstream.

Without question, the experience of being a non-immigrant Canadian is much different than that of an immigrant, or the child of an immigrant. I can’t count how many times, after telling someone I’m Canadian, I’ve gotten the response, “No, I mean where are you actually from?” Though harmless questions like that are the least of my worries, I am concerned by the recent surge in racist propaganda that has popped up on Canadian campuses, including McGill and the University of Toronto. Flyers with “Make Canada Great Again,” or “Fuck Your Turban” strewn across them in big letters have made appearances at across schools in the country, according to CBC News. So, although Canada is unquestionably our home, there’s still a sense that many people here don’t agree. And what can be done?

Realistically, we have to continue moving towards bringing multiculturalism to the forefront, especially to the younger generations. Growing up, it was rare that anyone was curious about my Pakistani heritage, but as I got older and met international students, I found they were much more open and curious about my culture. This is the key—to open our minds and continue to learn about each other’s pasts.

Categories
Student Life

My religion: My Muslim faith

Warraich and his siblings as children. From left to right, Ahmed, Qasim, Fatima and Mohammed.

One Concordian’s honest portrait of what his faith means to him

As a Canadian-born Muslim, I’ve learned to live and grow in this country during one of the most trying times for Muslims around the world. Faith seriously entered my life when I was eight years old. My father had just been diagnosed with lymphoma and leukaemia, and his situation was quite dire.

We had been a relatively religious family up until this point, going to the mosque most Fridays and spending time within the Muslim community. However, my father’s sickness deepened our faith. We heavily relied on God and on our knowledge of the Islamic faith to get through that hard time.

Warraich’s father and brother

At the worst point of his sickness, it seemed not much more could be done, so my father planned a visit to the holy city of Mecca. There, he performed the Islamic hajj pilgrimage—a must for any Muslim before they die. After his pilgrimage, my father had a miraculous recovery, which further solidified his faith, and our family’s faith.

Religion is all around us. For thousands of years, it has been a driving force behind civilizations and understanding societies and the people who fill this planet. Sadly, it has also been the cause of many acts of war, genocide and persecution—whether it is a group of people using religion as a front to further their own political motives and agendas, or a group being persecuted for following a particular religion.

It seems to me that, these days, people increasingly dislike the concept of religion. Many cite it as outdated and the cause of the barbaric acts of violence we have all seen throughout the world.

I have found it difficult to refute these ideas in discussions with nonreligious or atheist people. Many who don’t practice any religion know very little about religion. As such, I believe when people see images and videos of people carrying out acts of violence in the name of religion, they paint a picture of that religion based solely on the brutality—ignoring all the positive sides of religion.

Islam is based on five pillars all Muslims should adhere to. The first pillar is “ shahada,” a declaration that there is only one God, and the Prophet Muhammad is the last of his messengers.  The second pillar is “salat,” a prayer Muslims perform five times a day. The third pillar is “zakat,” which means giving charity to the poor and to those in need. The fourth pillar is “sawm,” which is the act of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. The final pillar is “hajj,” the pilgrimage to Mecca.

These pillars represent the basis on which Islam was created. Growing up, my parents really emphasized the importance of kindness and generosity.

“This should be the focus of your time here on earth,” they’d say.  Islam’s pillars reinforce kindness. This is why faith plays such a big part in my life. Many people say: “What if it’s all fake? And you’ve lived your life trying to be good all for nothing?” Yet, that is the point of Islam and many other religions in the first place—to sacrifice, and live your life for others, having faith that this is your purpose.

Warraich’s father (top left), with his siblings and other relatives

For me, regardless of whether it’s all fake or not, religion has taught me these key principles. To be kind, generous, empathetic, honest and to help people, regardless of their faith. Living with these ideals and trying to uphold them regularly is, in my opinion, a good way to live your life—this is regardless of what you feel happens after we die. This is why I find religion so powerful.

On Jan. 29, in la grande mosquée de Québec in Quebec city, six men, four of whom were fathers to young children, were massacred as they stood for evening prayer. The term I want to introduce here is “shahid.” This word is used to denote a martyr, a person who has died fulfilling a religious commandment.

Though people will say these men were not fighting for Islam in the typical way we think of today, these men are the brightest and most valued of Muslims—innocent, humble and hardworking fathers who were taken from this world and from their children too early. We must not forget what happened almost 10 days ago, we must not forget the names of these men, and we must always remember what they and their families were forced to go through in order to shed light on the problems our society faces. May they find their way into eternal paradise and may their families be lessened of the burden they now face.

Categories
Student Life

Live on the edge with Driveclub

Press photo

The thrilling, realistic, virtual experience of road racing packed into a game

It all started with one word in Netflix’s search engine: Road.

It was late at night and I was surfing Netflix, looking for something exhilarating, dramatic and inspiring. I ended up coming across a documentary my brother had recommended, so I decided to watch it. The film was centered around the story of an Irish family of motorcycle road racers.

The sport of road racing takes place on closed public roads. The racers zip around at speeds of over 300 kilometres per hour on roads lined with trees, garbage cans and driveways.

Press photo

Today, this traditional form of racing is not as common, and really only survives in places like Ireland or on the Isle of Man. The documentary details the rise of two brothers, Joey and Robert Dunlop, who sacrifice everything for their passion of the sport. Completely unafraid of death, the brothers choose to live on the edge doing something they believe in. Both are unanimously worshipped by fans of the sport, and now Robert’s sons, William and Michael, have also become champions.

The documentary left me feeling utterly worthless and craving an opportunity to live my life with such fervour as the Dunlop boys. Although I’m chasing my dreams in real life, I don’t feel like a road racer, I thought to myself. How could I become a road racer? I knew I had to be in class the following morning, so I settled on pursuing the answer in my PlayStation Store—that’s when I found the game Driveclub.

For $16, I got the entire racing game, including hundreds of car choices, and for an additional $16, I got the bike expansion. This is the kind of thrill I needed.

Driveclub Bikes is the perfect concoction of thrill, challenge and, most importantly, fun. The game features 20 bikes from 10 different makers, including BMW, Agusta MV, KTM, Kawasaki and Yamaha.

The motorcycles are astonishingly detailed and come in an array of colours for you to customize exactly how you please. The technical part of the game is to be admired just as much. The racing is challenging and highly realistic. Players have to take corners at the right speeds, brake perfectly, switch gears and avoid colliding with the 10 other racers. The best part of the game is the six camera angles that the player can choose from while racing. Driveclub has improved upon traditional first-person views by adding a camera that sees directly out of the racer’s eyes, as if you are looking out from the helmet.

The game has a dimension of realism, achieved by the changing weather which ultimately makes it hard to see through your helmet.

The game includes six country choices as well: Canada, India, Chile, Norway, Japan and Scotland. The resemblance is amazing.

All in the all, the game matches up to competitors such as Forza, if not surpassing them. With similar games selling easily for up to $80 today, Driveclub is a refreshing addition to the market.

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