The wind is blowing in the stern for the crew of the Pirate ship, which is growing with the arrival of Green Montana on the 92i label. It’s time to take an interest in it.
If you follow Booba on Instagram, you must have heard of him. New colt freshly landed in the 92i stable since April 2019, Green Montana is regularly shared by Booba and also “validated” on his very select eponymous playlist between Maes and Niska. Also present on the project Life increases 3 Isha released in February, this young Belgian artist is slowly but surely starting to make people talk about him. Although surrounded and validated by big names, Green is also a talented artist offering a seductive and effective formula.
Green Montana, an artist surrounded and prepared
Active for about five years, the rapper from Verviers begins like many in a collective, the group Montana, from which he takes his name. The few sounds released on Soundcloud allow him to be quickly spotted by Isha and her future manager Stan with whom he will develop and deepen his solo projects. He then landed alone in 2018 on streaming platforms with two EPs that echo each other by their similar structure and atmosphere.
Composed of two sounds each, Night blue first released in July containing the titles “Lighter” and “Mom knows ”, suivix de Metallic orange in October revealing “Stay for dinner ” and the incredible “Amsterdam”. His appearance on Deezer’s “La Relève” playlist with “It starts again” in April 2019 earned him to be spotted by the Duke. He subsequently released four singles: “Risks ”, “6AM “ “Sequelae ”and“ The troubles ” who come teaser the upcoming release of his first album Alaska scheduled for September.
A refreshing and refined painting
With these few releases, Green announces the color: a midnight blue, a metallic orange which paint us a winter atmosphere in a universe imbued with nostalgia and melancholy. He talks about his daily life: drugs, sales, women, money, the desire to succeed without going overboard, in a disillusioned but determined tone. If the themes he discusses are nothing new, the refined aesthetic and poetry of his work on the other hand have the potential to blow a fresh wind on the landscape of French rap.
In fact, every detail is thought out, worked on. So much so that when you really pay attention to it, you realize this complexity. This is where Green is very strong: everything seems to flow naturally. He declares it himself in a interview for Yard : “When I hear the instrument, I instinctively know what the notes are and how to place my voice. It comes by itself ”. This asset is remarkable because this kind of ear and musical intuition are rather rare in the rap world and give birth to rich and bewitching toplines.
Regarding the productions, we are also on something quite minimalist, which leaves him a fairly wide margin of maneuver and also contributes to the refined character of his music. This is the case on “Risk”, whose prod is signed Dany synth where we find a line of arpeggiated chords on guitar and keyboard as well as rather clear and lightly loaded drums. On the other hand, we feel a meticulous work in terms of mixing: everything is perfectly mastered, all sprinkled with the exact dose of autotune.
A promising potential: “Mami, we prepare the best”
This sobriety also emerges in the visuals. He often appears alone or accompanied by a woman or a member of his team, in austere settings or in the middle of large expanses. The atmosphere that emerges is also due to a work on light and colors. No “bling bling”, no rhinestones, no neighborhood image or big teams. Just the artist in a disconcerting and poetic simplicity which may remind some of the clips “With ammonia ” or “Oh dear” of PNL… From the whole of his universe emerges a real sincerity and testifies to a real work on the image.
In short, Green Montana is a very slender artist. Thanks to his signature and his experienced entourage, he now has the means to fully exploit his potential and his talent. With Alaska, we can expect a meticulously thought out project while benefiting from the freshness of a young artist in the midst of the creative process. Being at the very beginning of his career, we can predict great possibilities for development and maturation of style. After its recent appearance in the “Validated” playlist, iall the keys in hand to succeed.
In the rest of the news, Booba and Maes: what can we hope for the future?
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