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FYI

Lou Phelps: Come Inside (feat. Jazz Cartier)

A leading light on the Montreal hip-hop scene, this MC was recently nominated for a Juno. Here he teams up with the Juno-winning Jazz Cartier on a cool and funky new single and video. Phelps' brother, Kaytranada, adds deft production touches.

Lou Phelps: Come Inside (feat. Jazz Cartier)

By Kerry Doole

Lou Phelps - "Come Inside- feat. Jazz Cartier" (Last Gang): This highly touted Montreal MC gets an assist from Toronto's hottest young hip-hop artist, Jazz Cartier, on this sparkling new single.


Phelps' fluid flow is set atop a cool funky beat, and things kick up a notch when Cartier chimes in with his contribution. The result is a tune with a fun vibe, one a mite evocative of A Tribe Called Quest. Providing very smart production touches is the Polaris-winning Kaytranada.

The track is neatly matched by a video clip in which Phelps falls asleep while watching TV, dreaming that he hosts a late-night talk show. Initially a pleasantly odd experience, the vibe grows sinister when the characters on TV start interacting with Lou, staring daggers, dancing, and eventually growing violent.

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Long a favourite on the Montreal scene, Phelps is known for club-rap bangers. He started out with older brother Kevin (aka Kaytranada) in rap group The Celestics. 001: Experiments, last year's debut project, has racked up over 1 million plays on SoundCloud, and it received a recent Juno nomination as Rap Recording of the Year.

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Looking Forward: Canadian Music Industry Leaders on the Issues That will Define 2025
Photo by Desi Mendoza on Unsplash
FYI

Looking Forward: Canadian Music Industry Leaders on the Issues That will Define 2025

From challenges related to generative AI to debates over arts funding and regulation amidst uncertainty in the federal government, the Canadian music industry has a busy agenda for this year.

As the music industry ramps up in the post-holiday break, the agenda is being set and a number of issues have revealed themselves as the big conversations of 2025: AI, arts funding, government policies amidst uncertainty in Ottawa, support of independent promoters and venues, mental health, the divestment of DEI budgets, and many more.

Started by the late David Farrell, it has become an annual tradition at Billboard Canada and FYI to begin the year by approaching Canadian association heads and other music industry authorities for their reflections, plans and aspirations for the year ahead.

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