MP3: Wasiu – “I Got It” (Prod. by Dear Lola)

Premiered by HYPETRAK, the Montreal Rapper Shares Confident Rhymes On Dear Lola Remix of Jay-Z and Kanye’s “What U Need”

06.08.2015

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:

Haitian-Canadian rapper Wasiu has been building a name for himself with the release of several tracks this year. On his latest release, “I Got It,” he teams up with fellow MTLien, RAW Records co-founder/producer Dear Lola, who remixes Jay-Z and Kanye‘s infectious “What U Need” with a funky bassline and dance floor-ready swing. The song premiered via HYPETRAK, with Wasiu weaving comical yet determined metaphorical rhymes into the song. “Knew she was hip I can tell by her waistline” he says, later claiming that he’s “tryna book a thousand gigs like a terabyte.”

“Dear Lola (co-founder of RAW Records) sampled Kanye West & Jay Z’s “Gotta Have It” and I immediately felt like they gotta have my music. My music is that ’80s crack shit, that classic shit, ‘I Got It,'” Wasiu said. “The song is about having the hottest shit that everybody wants, but because the demand is so high, so is the price. Sometimes, you give suppliers consignment, and they don’t bring your money back, which is when you have to go and handle them with extreme measures. The weather is getting hot, this is my summertime anthem… Back in the kitchen, lets get to cooking, and turn these customers to fiends. This is that crack music.”

The 24 year-old rapper first debuted back in January with his Kaytranada-produced video single “Physical,” and has since gone on to show his range of politically-charged, socially conscious, and self-confident rhymes. “My music is empowerment, and defeat. It’s the whole spectrum,” he explains. “I’m showing what people view as both the good and the bad… and how without the bad, you can’t have the good, and so you start to appreciate the bad… for the good.”

Listen to “I Got It”: https://soundcloud.com/w-a-s-i-u/igotit

Check out the HYPETRAK premiere: http://exclaim.ca/Music/article/wasiu-picture_imperfect

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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.

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.”