The Posterz have seemingly been dubbed the "it group" to come out of
Montreal and take over hip-hop. Their press kit bubbles over with critical
praise ranging from urging Drake to bring them under his wing to comparing
them to Stanley Cup champions. The problem there is that the Habs haven't
won a Stanley Cup since 1993, so in my view the hockey analogy is a bit
ill-advised. That doesn't stop the accolades from rolling in though - the
Huffington Post put them on a "Top 10 Artists to Follow" list for 2014
and Complex said they "put Montreal on the map." Amazing they have all this
buzz and no Wikipedia page, but I digress.
Beat maestro Joey Sherrett and rappers Husser and Kris the $pirit make up
the three legs that this new group stands on. Sherrett seems inspired by the
OFWGKTA styles of production, creating gritty and atmospheric tracks that
aren't afraid to inject a little rock 'n roll into the mix for flavor. The
style reaches its peak on "Ben Up," which almost seems like a typo on listening
since they're not saying "Ben" like "Ben 10" but "been" like "I been on
already - you ain't know?" Another thing the song has in common with the
experimental Odd Futurites is that they're not afraid to go out of bounds,
taking the track to 6:09 and constantly challenging you to figure out what
direction they're taking it. Several natural ending points for the song come
and go, most notably at the 4 minute mark.
"Want It All" seems to be the choice for a lead single, since it's the only
Posterz track on the EP that includes a remix (a "Chopped 'n Screwed" take
on the track). It feels like a Freestyle Fellowship in the most positive use of that comparison. The
flows go where they want, riding with the beat but never ON it, going
anywhere the creativity takes them. There's an adolescent rebelliousness
to the song, complete with an admonition not to jack the beat for your
own instrumental, talking over what would otherwise be a quiet portion to
ruin what would be an ideal loop. The group dropped a video for this
song just under a week ago.
Initial skepticism aside, I have to admit that the Posterz seem to have
something going on, though I'm not willing to crown them the greatest thing
since sliced bread just yet. There are times that the vocal delivery could
have been a little cleaner (such as "Bulalay") and times that group seems
to be mimicking their American counterparts as opposed to giving a uniquely
Canadian Montreal perspective (such as "Rumble"). There's definitely a
reason to keep your eye on Posterz going forward, but this EP is only a
glimpse at untapped potential, not the means with which to herald their arrival
as the next big thing.
Music Vibes: 6 of 10
Lyric Vibes: 6 of 10TOTAL Vibes: 6 of 10
![[Junga EP]](../coverart/posterz-Junga.jpg)
The Posterz have seemingly been dubbed the "it group" to come out of
Montreal and take over hip-hop. Their press kit bubbles over with critical
praise ranging from urging Drake to bring them under his wing to comparing
them to Stanley Cup champions. The problem there is that the Habs haven't
won a Stanley Cup since 1993, so in my view the hockey analogy is a bit
ill-advised. That doesn't stop the accolades from rolling in though - the
Huffington Post put them on a "Top 10 Artists to Follow" list for 2014
and Complex said they "put Montreal on the map." Amazing they have all this
buzz and no Wikipedia page, but I digress.