Blog - The Movement Fam, Independent Hip Hop Record Label - Toronto + Montréal
Viewing entries tagged
Richard Bastarache
Back in December, Cee dropped his 12th single of 2017, "Net Neutral". Once again helmed by Notion, soulful harmonies provided the backdrop for Cee's timely bars, touching on the recent Net Neutrality repeal, social media addiction and cryptocurrency, all contributing to an appropriate year-end wrap up.
Now Cee has teamed up with King Richard yet again for the FX and message-heavy visuals, shot in Montreal.
Summer in Canada is a time for celebration, and Cee teamed up with German super-producer Shuko for a soulful trap banger to soundtrack the hot months.
Shuko has worked with some of the biggest names in the game, including Omarion, Tyga, Bow Wow, T-Pain, Talib Kweli, Keith Murray and Vinnie Paz, so teaming up again was an honour for Cee. They first connected on "Where I Belong" from Cee's Top 10 album "This Is All I Know", and "Hazy" brings some of that soulful flavour with a modern vibe.
The dichotomy of Cee rapping his bars to himself (double time = double Cee) expresses an inner desire to give himself a message of hope and persistence by painting a vivid picture of everything he has gone through to get to where he is. Cee as the stone statue slowly breaking the shackles of his confinement represent the MC and entrepreneur coming into his own as a man, cracking through the hard shell of obscurity into the limelight.
Cee is kicking off 2017 with the first single from his new monthly series. "Meta" is nightmare trap; rolling hi-hats, eerie synths, vocal stabs and a drawling BPM that allows Cee to breathe as he casually delivers topical word association, with dark, creepy, Marilyn Manson-esque visuals to match courtesy of King Richard. Notion and newcomer Ben Tramer expertly laced the haunting soundscape; they'll be providing the sonic canvas for many of Cee's singles this year.
The arresting visuals, directed by Jonathan Emile and shot by King Richard, follow Cee as he discovers his neighbour (played by Angela Nashed) has been a victim of domestic abuse, so much so that she does something very drastic to escape her situation. The upbeat vibe and positive lyrical content are juxtaposed with the dark themes, providing a jarring and thought-provoking experience for the viewer.
One of the highlights of 2014 for The Fam was headlining the All Canadian Port Hope Jazz Festival at the tail end of the summer. On September 6th, Cee, Notion and Digital Junkie were blessed with the opportunity to rock for the entire Saturday night in a large tent in the park. An hour outside of Toronto, Port Hope is a small town with a huge appetite for music - and a three hour headlining set from a couple of rappers from Australia was most definitely something the townsfolk don't get to see too often.
It's actually a funny story. FlamesYall asked Cee to write a song for his upcoming sex-themed EP. Cee somehow managed to mis-read the email with the instructions and wrote the song that became 'PromNight', clearly off-topic. Instead of scrapping it and writing a new track, the two decided to release the tune as a single via Soundcloud. When Cee linked with Montreal-based videographer Richard Bastarache, they shot the video for the joint on location at Parc La Fontaine in the 514, and the rest is history.
