Dead Obies

One of the most iconic Quebec hip-hop groups of the past fifteen years, Dead Obies have played a key role in transforming the province's musical landscape by helping to establish rap as an essential force in popular culture, leaving their mark on an entire generation in the process. Montréal $ud, their debut album released in November 2013 via Bonsound, hit the Quebec rap scene like a ton of bricks, propelling the group straight to its forefront. Longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, this modern classic was also nominated at the ADISQ Gala in the Album of the Year - Hip-hop and Album of the Year - Critics' Choice categories in 2014.

After several major shows, a trip to Europe, a mixtape (Collation Vol. 2 - Limon Verde: La Experiencia), a Montréal $ud companion book, and a cartoon (4:20 avec Dead Obies), the band returned with a second album, Gesamtkunstwerk, in March 2016. Recorded partly in the studio and partly in front of a live audience during a series of three sold-out shows at the PHI Centre, Gesamtkunstwerk also made the long list for the Polaris Music Prize. Its single Where They @ has since racked up over 9 million streams on music services.

The undeniable success of Gesamtkunstwerk was a springboard for Dead Obies, allowing them to play several sold-out shows across Quebec. After participating in the opening show of the 2016 Francos de Montréal, Dead Obies opened for Kendrick Lamar on Quebec City’s Plains of Abraham (FEQ) and Georgio at the Olympia in Paris, among others. Their tour culminated in September 2017 with an immersive show in a packed MTELUS. Dead Obies' third album, DEAD. (2019), was a way for the band to close one chapter and start a new one: to die in order to be reborn. A tour across Quebec followed, including another memorable performance at MTELUS. Since the beginning of their career, the band has accumulated a total of more than 62 million streams on music services.

Authenticity, creative freedom, and rejection of convention are at the heart of Dead Obies' ethos. A true standard-bearer for Montreal Franglais (the city’s distinctive mix of French and English), the band has always refused to compromise on language. Much ink has been spilled over their openness to urban heterogeneity, even prompting The New York Times to interview them in 2020. Nearly fifteen years have passed since their first basement freestyles, but their passion for language and the raw talent with which they use it still burns as brightly as ever. After a five-year hiatus, Dead Obies are getting ready to prove it with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for fans: their return on stage.