When you are young, growing up in Saint-Léonard in today's Montreal can be a challenge, especially if you are a member of a visible community. It becomes easier to get by when you have successful models of “Hood”, models like Freakey!.
Having lived in Saint-Leonard for as long as he can remember, Freakey! is a music producer and composer who collaborates with artists from Europe and the United States. The reason he is called that is because he considers himself to be “a bit weird, a bit different, and because [his] music, like him, is also weird.” More than six years after his first musical success, he has not left the neighborhood where he grew up.
“I developed a love of music at the age of 12. I started taking it seriously around the age of 14,” he explains. This interest in this universe created a kind of protective “bubble” around him. “By surrounding myself with good people, I succeeded in making a dream that I had since adolescence come true,” says the Montrealer. When I was a teenager, making music was an escape from the problems I had.”
While family and relationships play a key role in his eyes, he also considers himself fortunate to have grown up in an environment where his loved ones have never stopped encouraging him. “I have a very good relationship with my family. In some ways, it's thanks to my parents that I am where I am today.”
When he entered his teens, his hobbies often revolved around music. “At one time, I only asked for things related to music. My parents were fed up. Then they realized that if I stayed home and put my heart into it, it prevented me from hanging out and developing bad habits. In my music, I was in my world.”
At first, her parents had reservations. “They weren't too keen on the idea. When I told them that I wanted to make music, they saw it more as a hobby than a career, recalls the artist. Over time, they saw that I was really involved and that I was taking it seriously. They thought that by helping me in this way, it could keep me off the wrong path, that it kept me busy and kept me at home.”
From Haiti to Saint-Léonard
Born in Montreal, the producer does not hide the love he feels for his native culture. “I have always been very proud to be Haitian. This culture brings something new and fresh to Montreal. And I am proud to contribute with what I do,” he says. “I am really happy when I see that the Haitian community has Step Outside and has enriched the culture of Montreal,” he continues.
“My native culture has always been a big part of my life.” Her cultural heritage has also greatly influenced her career. “Since I was a kid, we've been listening to music at home. I started to be interested in this at a very young age and, as far back as I can remember, I developed a certain love for it upon first contact.” He says that “Haitian culture brings something tasty, not only in [his] life, but also in everything that it touches musically and culturally.”
The Montreal music producer has always lived in the same neighborhood. “All my life is in Saint-Léonard,” he would repeat several times. This sense of belonging is explained by her childhood spent in the neighborhood and all the memories associated with it. “I went to elementary school there, I always came out younger. I grew up there, I grew up there — and I still do today. It's a part of me,” he continues.
Growing up, he didn't have a lot of role models from the neighborhood — let alone in music production. “When I started, I was inspired by people like Southside, Young Chop. They are all from the United States. Coming from Saint-Léonard and having my own sound, my own music, is important. I want to influence younger people in the same way that Southside and Young Chop influenced me,” he explains.
His career developed slowly until the age of 19 when, overnight, his destiny changed. “A friend had started rapping. He was also a guy from Saint-Léonard; we've known each other since we were very young. I worked a lot with him and he was starting to become more well known in Europe,” he said. Then, one day, by chance and on the spot, I sent a message on Instagram to an extremely well known rapper in Europe — Hamza, a Belgian rapper — with a production that I had prepared. The next day, I was stunned: he answered me and even sent me back a song with what I had sent him. He liked what I had cooked up, and after that song my life and career changed a lot.”
Sticks in the wheels
While the producer was able to focus on his passion, it was not always easy for him to find his place. He attended a specialized high school for young people with behavioural problems. The establishment is located in Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, a few kilometers away.
“I was not good at school,” he says, letting out a chuckle. “From an academic point of view, it was a disaster. I was put in a class for young people with behavioral problems, and it gave me the impression that I was bad and different.” Today, he feels that he had more problems with concentration than with behavior. Despite everything, he considers himself “happy with the way things went for him.” A joker and sociable by nature, Freakey! laughingly recalls that he was “stupid” in class and with his friends.
When he started to invest heavily in his production, around the age of 18, his main obstacle was his lack of economic resources. “I put everything into my music. I saw guys making easy money around me, others who were honestly working part time or full time; I was self-employed. It was hard. I had to believe in myself and in what I wanted, because I was dependent, I did not have the means to fail,” he explains.
“I was lucky, I surrounded myself with a good group of people. It helped me a lot, because even though it wasn't the case at first, the loved ones who believed in me helped me not to give up and to keep going.” He gives a small smile before adding: “When you are a musician or an artist, you have no choice: you have to stay focused and disciplined. It may be hard at first, but when you succeed, you become a stronger person.”
As he began to make himself known to the industry, the death of his grandmother deeply affected him. “The year she left us was very difficult. I was super close to her. When I was making music, I didn't necessarily expect her to encourage me, I just enjoyed her presence near me. She motivated me, pushed me. When I lost it, I took a step back and needed time to get back to my art,” he says.
Advice for the youngest
Freakey! encourages young people to engage in music production, an area where it becomes more feasible to build a career, and which also offers an escape from the problems associated with violence in poorer neighborhoods. “I want young people to be able to see me and tell themselves that they need to take a good path in life. I want to give the youngest people who are watching me the strength and the motivation to achieve everything they want by making the right choices, avoiding the pitfalls and the violence that is linked to street problems,” he continues.
He returns several times to the question of perseverance. “If you want to make a living from your music, it is possible. You just have to focus on yourself and be able to discipline yourself. It's just that.”
According to him, it is essential to devote yourself entirely to your passion. “If I have a message to send to young people, it would be not to hesitate to make sacrifices for what you really want. Staying locked in with my music equipment instead of hanging out, cutting off bad people, allocating time — nights and days! — to my passion, these are sacrifices that seem enormous when you are young. But in the end, when you are inspired, it is the greatest gift you can give yourself,” he adds, dreamy.
Even today, when Freakey! appears on stage alongside other artists, we recognize him by the uniqueness of his character: it is difficult to miss his eccentric look and his energy, which he describes as “weird”. If we look at the musical culture, especially hip hop, of the city, it is impossible to miss this producer. He wants the youngest to be able to believe in their ambitions without their living conditions interfering with the achievement of their dreams. And for that, “we need more people from Hood who are successful and who can give back to their neighborhoods. The more time progresses, the more we must also tell ourselves that we are doomed to excellence,” he concludes.