Single: Wasiu – “Angry Black Man” (Prod. by High Klassified)

Produced by High Klassified (Future’s “Comin On Strong” ft. The Weeknd), the Noisey-Premiered Track is the Latest Single From the Upcoming MTLiens 2

10.10.2017

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 is a rapper in a league of his own” – High Snobiety

The Song:

A skilled rhyming technician and excellent conceptual thinker, Montreal rapper Wasiu makes forward-thinking rap music with a message. Confronting the racism pervading our society head on, Wasiu vents his frustrations in “Angry Black Man,” his latest single. Riding a looping, circus-style trap instrumental courtesy of Fool’s Gold signee High Klassified, Wasiu fires on all cylinders on the track, commenting on the current NFL protests, decrying the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and speaking out against those who would rather he be silent: Going ape shit when I come don’t hide/Proud to be black as when the sun don’t shine/Might just take all the lives that I can if I hear all lives matter one more time.” Premiered by Noisey, “Angry Black Man” is an aggressively lyrical track and a highlight from MTLiens 2, Wasiu’s upcoming album.

“As a black man in North America, I constantly have to deal with fighting Stereotypes,” explains Wasiu. “Amongst them is the ‘Angry Black Man’ one. As a kid I often found myself suppressing my feelings for fear of being labeled as an ‘angry black man’. But growing up I realized that I had every right to not only be mad but express my anger. That’s exactly what this record is. An explosion of repressed aggression and expression. It’s my response to that motherfucka in high school who said, ‘Why are you so mad, slavery and racism is over you’re just being lazy.’ High Klassified provided me a thunderous beat. The way those drums hit so aggressively, made me channel my anger and go raw on this record. Usually, the rappers on HK’s songs are melodic or on that new wave of cadence-based type stuff (for example, ‘Comin Out Strong’ by The Weeknd ft. Future). I think I’m the first one to rap some heavy bars over his production.”

A fierce ambassador for his hometown’s art scene, Wasiu recently shared two singles that captured different aspects of Montreal. Most reccently, Wasiu shared the “Artbeat Cypher,” a single dedicated to ArtBeat Montreal, a society that gathers Canada’s best producers to show off their best beats and one of the pillars of the MTL underground. Earlier, Wasiu shared“Cigarettes & Poutine,” another Montreal-themed single, premiered by Highsnobiety, focusing more on the sights and smells of Montreal during a late night out. In the wake of his hero Jay-Z releasing his new album 4:44, Wasiu doubled up Jay-Z’s classic “22 Two’s” into “44:4 (44 Four’s)“ using 44 variations of the words “for” and “four” in two and a half minutes. The video, premiered by Mass Appeal, playfully brings the concept to life, with the Afro-Canadian rapper emceeing in a large amphitheater, generating a clone of himself every time he says a variation of “4.” Earlier this Summer, Wasiu released Snow Mexican, an accomplished, politically charged EP. Inspired by a fake (yet believable) Donald Trump tweet and stuffed with innovative electronic production from the likes of Tommy Kruise, Dear Lola, and others, Snow Mexican finds Wasiu exploring what it means to be an outsider–approaching issues from the perspective of an African in Canada, an English-speaker in a French-speaking city, and a Canadian trying to make it in the American rap industry. Watch out for MTLiens 2, Wasiu’s next full album, coming later this year.

Listen to “Angry Black Man” (prod. High Klassified): https://soundcloud.com/afrowasiu/angryblackman

Check out the Noisey premiere: https://noisey.vice.com/en_ca/article/a3kpmg/wasiu-and-high-klassified-go-ham-on-stereotypes-in-angry-black-man

Please contact Michelle or Dharmic if interested in talking with Wasiu.

The 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.”