Winnipeg State of Mind Producers NIGEL WEBBER
Staged photo of Hoopaloop’s Akai gear - photo by Brett Enquist
“Just think while I sink into the brain structure” Erick Sermon Hip-hop music in Winnipeg is in a moment. Artists representing different sub-genres of rap, from boom-bap to new school to trap, all are finding their place in Winnipeg in 2020. While most of the attention is usually heaped on the rappers and DJs, less attention is given to the producers, those responsible for making the actual music in the song. With the lack of attention comes a lack of understanding of proper titles. An i mportant distinction must be made between a producer and a beat maker. Producers typically work with artists in-studio and are often involved in the writing of the song as well as the mixing and mastering. A beat maker typically will make a wide selection of beats, tailoring them to a famous artists’ sound — called ‘type beats’ — and then upload them to YouTube where other artists can download them and use them in their own songs for a small fee. Winnipeg has its fair share of both beat makers and producers, but in this special edition of Winnipeg State of Mind, let us take a look at three local producers all with varying levels of experience and expertise.
Hoopaloop Hoopaloop is coming at hip-hop production from a different angle than most. Making beats for about three years, Hoop started his musical journey playing guitar and singing in metal bands. He knows that he’s got a lot of catching up to do in the hip-hop world but in 2020, he’s well on his way. The metalhead past has lead to the frequent use of live guitar, bass or piano on his tracks and a noted love for analog recording equipment, particularly the Akai brand and their MPC gear. There is a through line that connects Akai with some of the most impactful moments in Hoop’s music career. Hoopaloop is most associated with the local rapper Kairo. They just released an EP titled Give Thanks in late February. The two first met on the
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recommendation of Pollyfree, an Edmontonbased rapper who worked with Hoopaloop while living in Winnipeg. Before their first real recording session, Hoop and Kairo had to make a stop at a music store for some headphones. It was on that day that Hoop purchased the MPC X, Akai’s new, software connected, drum machine and sampler. At that first session together, on the first take, the pair made the song “Radiate.” Hoop still regards it as one of the favourite tracks he has ever produced saying “‘Radiate’ is kinda what set the bar for us.” The song also got a video treatment from director Brett Enquist. A few months after the “Radiate” video came out, Hoop asked Enquist to come to his studio where they staged a photo that shows all of Hoop’s Akai gear artfully assembled in his Trendkill Productions studio. Hoop posted the photo to his Instagram and moved on. But a few months later, the Akai official Instagram page re-posted the photo of his studio. As cool as it was to see that, the repost lead to one of Hoop’s biggest successes. One of the people that caught wind of Hoopaloop through the Akai re-post was Ishq Bector. A quick PSA for young Winnipeg hip-hop heads: know the name Ishq Bector. Then known as Sunil aka Sun Lo, Ishq was a founding member of foundational Winnipeg rap group, Frek Sho. Before moving to India in the early 2000s to be a Bollywood musician, Ishq rapped and produced all the beats for Frek Sho, who started in Winnipeg in 1994. Now living in Vancouver, Ishq is an undisputed star in India. He’s written songs for famous Bollywood movies, written English versions of popular Indian songs and continues to produce his own music. Ishq reached out to Hoop and asked if he would do a hip-hop remix of Ishq’s new song “Chaand Sitare ft. Supa J.” Within a day of first making contact, Hoop had the files in his inbox and was developing a remix off a background synth. Ultimately the remix helped introduce Hoopaloop to a new crowd of listeners and expanded his musical horizons saying “it was a real challenge but [Ishq] had faith in me so that meant a lot.” While that remix remains a one-off, it is Hoopaloop’s work with Kairo that is setting him apart. With a big 2020 planned, Kairo and Hoop were compelled to end 2019 with Never Back Down. Released as a single in the final days of last year, Never Back Down and its cover art will make sense to anyone who lives in Winnipeg. The art, made by Hoop, is a collection of headlines from local media, showing the record number of homicides that took place in 2019 and the police brutality at a local 7/11. Kairo reflects on that in the chorus of “I vow to never back down / All the bad shit occurring in my damn town / I can’t drown getting caught in negativity / the system that’s in place was designed just to get rid of me.” Hoop explains that, “it’s hard to find a constructive way to talk about it [but] we wanted to put light on it in a way that wasn’t just negative yet
could embrace the negativity of constantly seeing those headlines.” It’s been a dark time in Winnipeg of late but Kairo and Hoop want the community to know there is a way to talk about it.
Pascal (left) with Myazwe after winning the Winnipeg Beat League in 2018 - photo by David Akello Pascal Beatz On the south side of Winnipeg, a new movement in local rap is heating up and it’s largely due to Pascal Beatz cooking up in his home’s basement studio. Also making beats for about three years, Pascal was inspired by his older brother, a rapper, to get into production. Starting in his last year of high school, Pascal quietly learned his craft, only letting a few people, like his brother and cousins, hear his beats. But in 2018 Pascal heard of a new competition for Winnipeg producers and decided to enter the inaugural Winnipeg Beat League contest. Looking back now, Pascal remembers, “I was the youngest person there out of like sixteen contestants,” but he wasn’t about to be intimidated. As that night in November 2018 wore on, Pascal kept advancing to the next round. His trap-style beats had the crowd pumped up. When it was all said and done, Pascal was crowned champion. The plaque he won that night is now mounted on the wall of his studio, he gazes up at it while telling the story of that night, saying that winning “gave me the confidence to start sending beats out to artists and posting stuff online.” The first of those artists was Myazwe. The local rapper made waves in 2019 with the release of his album Things I Never Said and an opening spot for YG and Tyga at the MTS Centre. And much of that rise is fuelled by Pascal’s beats. While not the only producer Myazwe works with, Pascal produced more than half the songs on Things and expects to have a similar amount on Myazwe’s upcoming album. Pascal entered the 2nd Annual Beat League contest in 2019 and placed third. Disappointed not to repeat his title, Pascal humbly remarks “it was nice to see all the [other] producers in the city pop off.” He notes that the most important part of Beat League and similar events is to build up the community of producers so they don’t feel isolated, so they can share tips and tricks and just become friends.
