Quebec’s rap scene is as niche as it gets but don’t get it twisted: the talent shouldn’t be overlooked, and Mike Shabb is at the forefront. His early work saw his French-centric bars fused Caribbean cadences with spacey, psychedelic post-Soundcloud rap production that captured the youthful essence of growing up in Montreal's Hochelaga neighborhood. And while much of that laid the foundation for his Quebec-centric base, it's actually his production that garnered significant attention from South of the border.
After landing production credits on Westside Gunn’s “Switches On Everything” (and apparently, Michelle Records), Mike Shabb’s stock went all the way up. He became a proponent of the drumless sample sound, which his close friend and collaborator, Nicholas Craven, specializes in. Shadow Moses, their 2023 collaborative project, captures the essence of their chemistry. However, it's hard not to deny how their working relationship and friendship extended to Mike Shabb's latest project, Sewaside III, which boasts a few Craven beats as well as some of his close collaborators, such as Boldy James.
“[Nicholas Craven and I] probably spent $1,000 every time we go up in this shit, trying to find the best sh*t we can. That's hip-hop, bro. Like, that's what we grew up on and shit,” Shabb told HotNewHipHop ahead of his performance at Festival D’Été De Quebec. “That's why I feel like we're special because we keeping the original recipe, we rocking it up a little bit.”
Just hours before Nas was set to take the stage (weather concerns forced the festival to cancel the Queensbridge legend’s performance), Mike Shabb delivered a high-energy performance alongside Nicholas Craven on the ones and twos and Trapmat as his hypeman. Before his performance, Mike Shabb chopped it up with HNHH to discuss his latest project, Sewaside III, his relationship with Earl Sweatshirt, and so much more.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
HotNewHipHop: How are you feeling before the show?
Mike Shabb: It's an amazing opportunity, I ain’t gon’ hold you. This is my first time here. Not my first time in Quebec but my first time at FEQ and sh*t so it’s big, bro. It’s a huge opportunity. It’s probably going to be my biggest show.
And, you’re basically opening ahead of Nas.
That’s a blessing, bro. I grew up on Nas and sh*t. That’s one of my favorite rappers of all time. It’s an honor, bro. It’s crazy.
It’s dope because I see you as someone at the forefront of Quebecois rap.
Especially in English, but like, yeah, and I mean, I feel like the music is kind of – not the same, but like, same essence and all that so yeah, that should that should definitely gon’ work. It gon’ work, for sure. It’s gon’ be fire.
You’re bilingual, too, right? Like, you also rap in French?
I try to slip a couple of lines here and there but it's like, bro, the thing with me is I grew up like fully French, bro. I had to learn English like with the music and shit. And then, I grew up with so many like English music type sh*t. I was like, “Yo, if I make music, it gotta be in English,” you feel me? At first, I started rapping [when] I was like 15. My English wasn't even that good at this time. I was still doing it because I was like, “Yo, this is what I want to do” and shit, then I just got used to it. I made a whole lot of English friends in my city so that helped me a lot, also. But yeah, well I was born – I'm a lil’ French Canadian boy, man.
You’re from the East Side too, right?
I’m from the East Side of Montreal.
And that’s usually the more French side.
It’s all French. All French and Haitian. [I’m] half Haitian, half French Canadian.
Yeah, I’m closer West so it’s a lot more English.
For real, Montreal is so weird because it's basically like two cities in one, you feel me? You got the whole English side then you got the French side but it's like all in the same. And everybody understands each other so it's like – it’s a blessing. Montreal is crazy. It’s an amazing city.
Sewaside III just dropped and it feels like a triumphant release for you after such a prolific run these past few years. Can you tell me a bit about the process behind this album including the features and how this project reflects your growth as an artist?
Damn, that’s a good-ass question, bro. I guess I was just trying to make the music I felt like doing at that moment. And then it was like – everything fell in place perfectly, bro. Since I linked up with Craven and sh*t, I’ve been going on trips with him. I've been going to Detroit with him, New York. So I met a lot of people through him. That's how I met Boldy [James], Navy [Blue] and all that. It just came naturally, bro, like the features and all that. N***as is just genuinely fucking with me, bro. So I was like let's do it. Then, as far as the concept for the album – I don’t know, bro. It's what I've been going through for the past years and shit. What I've seen, what I've heard. Bro, this shit is like – this is my life my whole life in one album, basically. Like all my pains, all that shit. So that's what I worked like maybe like a year on that sh*t. I made, maybe, 30 songs in a year and I kept 17, and that’s the album. I ain't even make that much music. Every song I made, I was like “yeah, this got to be the one.” So yeah, that's how it came about, bro. Sewaside III, that's just like… I think that's my best album. My most complete album and sh*t. That’s not even the end. I’m about to drop Sewaside 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Did you do the features in person?
Most of them I did in person. The Boldy James one, Craven was there. He recorded it for me because he was in Detroit with Boldy. I couldn't be there so I was like “Yo, get my shit!” And he did, though. Everything went smooth, though. Like, I ain’t felt like I had to rush n***as or anything like that. Sh*t just came naturally and now it’s out. And, it's a beautiful project. I'm proud of it.
Even working with Nicholas Craven on Shadow Moses, the sound itself is boom-bap –
It’s sample-based music, bro! Everything got to be sampled. Like, me and [Nicholas Craven], we go to the record store shit, we probably spent $1,000 every time we go up in this shit, trying to find the best sh*t we can. That's hip-hop, bro. Like, that's what we grew up on and shit. And I feel like producers nowadays don't even do that anymore because everything is digital. That's why I feel like we're special because we keeping the original recipe, we rocking it up a little bit. So it sounds actually actual.
You guys have amazing chemistry together. Like, you never miss a beat but I read that Complex interview where you said that you guys don’t even really work on music together.
That's what I'm saying. Like, man, me and Craven, we basically really good friends, bro. It's not even about music at this point. But I mean, he got a name, I got a name, so why wouldn't we? [laughs]
As a producer yourself, I wanted to know how the creative flow for you differs from being behind the board to working with Craven where he’s kind of – I’m not sure if your process is always him taking the lead in that sense or if it’s more collaborative.
I'm so picky with beats, bro. Exactly, because I make my own beats most of the time. So it's like, I'd be trying to pick stuff that resonates with me, but like sometimes I gotta go to 1000 beats before I find like five. So basically, that's how Shadow Moses came about, bro. That n***a played me like to 200-300 beats. I picked six, I said “yeah, that's gonna be the album,” and we did it. But like as far as me [and] the way I do my music, basically bro, I'll start making a beat and shit, and then I'll know it. I'll know exactly when. I'll be like, “Yo, yeah, this the one right there. I got to rap on this sh*t right now.” So that's how I work. I basically make the beat first. Like, my little ideas and sh*t. And then I'll just go and write, write, write some stuff, or punch in on the mic or whatever. And then I'll play around with the beat afterward and shit. I feel like that's how you make like complete songs and shit. You do your first step, it's like you got to make the beat, and then you got to rap all that shit. And then you can add little details and shit around the beat to make that shit, you know what I’m sayin’?
I have to ask about the Earl Sweatshirt co-sign. How’s that relationship developed? And have there been any discussions of collaborations in the future?
Bro, I don’t even remember how it came about, for real. I feel like I had posted a snippet one day on Instagram. And that n***a like, straight up – bro, he straight up DM’d me or some “Yo, you hard as f*ck. I keep running that.” He was talking about the “Buckshot Flow 93’” song and then he was talking about the “‘83 Beatstreet,” those two songs he was like, “Yo, I keep running this sh*t.” And I was like, “Yo, bro it's 100,” because obviously, I grew up on Earl, bro, like, the whole Odd Future shit bro… That sh*t had me in a headlock! Bro, I used to walk around with them long-ass socks and sh*t, bucket hats, all that because of them. Ophelia like I bro I used to walk fucking long as such fucking has all that because of them.
Basically, when he hit me up and shit, I was like, “oh, that's big, man.” And he gave me his phone number and shit. I talked to him on the phone. We text sometimes and sh*t. He's a real good dude, for real. And then he went on the fucking the interview, the podcast and sh*t, and then, bro, I seen him. You seen it, right? He was going through his phone. And he was like, “Oh, Mike Shabb, I f*ck with Shabb.” I was like, that's crazy. Yeah, he just blessed me right there. I earned like 1000 followers on Instagram in the hour, bro.
I f*ck with Earl, bro. And definitely we got some sh*t coming. I can’t tell you when but it’s coming. It’s coming, for sure. Me and Earl got some some sh*t coming, for sure.
Kevin Durant, Earl, Joe Budden – all these people checking you out. What do you think this means for Montreal’s music scene at large?
To be honest, bro, I feel like it's a wonderful thing. I don't know if Montreal people realize it, like how big that shit is. But like, it's gonna come naturally. And then, it's a blessing for me before anything else, so I just got to keep on doing what I do. If it's good for me, then it's good for the city, you feel me? That’s basically it.
Final question: you mentioned that Sewaside 4, 5, and 6 are on the way but is there anything else you’re working on that we could expect from you before the end of the year?
I'm working on some more trap shit right now, I ain’t gon’ hold you, you know I'm saying? Like I did my part in the drumless scene, now I'm trying to get back to my old sh*t. But yeah, definitely gonna drop another tape and shit. Maybe, by the end of the summer. [I] already got like 20 songs stacked up. We ain’t stoppin’, bro. This sh*t never stops. I'm just gonna keep applying pressure and do what I do. Some real shit. Yeah, we definitely dropping some more sh*t in 2024.
