Montreal producer Freakey has gold and platinum plaques from both sides of the Atlantic, so for his latest album Condamné à L’excellence, he’s turned to his rapper pals in both North America and Europe for verses.
Freakey co-produced “Can’t Feel My Legs” by Don Toliver and produced “Mucho Love” by Belgian superstar Hamza. For his latest release, he’s got Toronto rappers Killy, Why G, and Burna Bandz lending their voices, as well as fellow Montrealers Fouki, Shreez and Rowjay. He also looked across the pond for spots from France’s Ateyaba and La Fève, among others.
The second video released for the project is “Feel Some” with Killy. The footage was shot by Montreality in 2018 on a trip to Tokyo where he met up with Killy and saw Juice Wrld in concert.
The first was “Caméléon” with Fouki.
“I wanted to do an album that was in English and French, you know? I don’t just work with European rappers and I don’t just work with North American rappers, so it made sense to just bring them all together. And they all did their thing,” Freakey said.
The album follows up 2020’s Désolé Pour L’Attente. He added that no matter where rappers come from, they’re all looking for the same thing.
“I think they’re always looking for new sounds. They’re no different.”
Freakey also recently celebrated signing a co-publishing deal with Wondachild, which is Wondagurl’s imprint.
“We’ve known each other since around 2017 and we’ve been building,” he said. “This year we made it happen, and I signed on my birthday, actually. We’re looking for more hits, more plaques, more everything.”
It also means travelling more outside of Montreal, which he’s always done, but plans to do even more of it in 2023. He just got back from a trip to Atlanta.
“They think it’s crazy. I have to tell them I’m not from Toronto because everyone they know from Canada is usually from Toronto,” he said. “And when I tell them I’m from Montreal they always ask me if it’s cold up there.”