KAYTRANADA, Anderson .Paak. "GLOWED UP." 99.9%, XL Recordings Limited, 2016.
You gotta love those Facebook friendship video notifications. Big Blue just reminded me that six years ago, I met Kevin Celestin (aka Kaytranada), when he and his brother, Louis, nervously registered to perform at Hip Hop Karaoke in Montréal. Looking a spitting image of Kid 'n Play with their backpacks and snapbacks, as soon as they stepped on stage, you could tell these kids were destined for greatness. Their nerves dissipated, raw stage presence took over as they fed off the crowd's energy, and I can only imagine they were hooked from there on out.
The self-styled "Celestics" returned to perform at HHKMTL several times (throwback videos below, pardon the audio quality) sometimes as a duo, other times a solo act, and often with their larger crew.
In the years to follow, the Montréal beats scene, affectionately called "PIU PIU music," took off (check the documentary), Kevin would proceed to work his ass off, make killer beats, tour the world, meet some legendary folks in the music industry, and produce one of my favourite, and Polaris Prize award-winning, albums with 99.9%. That record featured a stacked roster of guest appearances, including this jam with the incredibly talented Anderson .Paak.