Meduza

Interview

What music are you checking out these days?

Nneka, her sound is simply amazing; she combines her internal quarrel and power with melodies. Her message comes from the heart and she’s doing it in a way that is very pleasing to ear.  Other than that I’ve been listening to Queen Ifrika, Keri Hilson, and Miriam Mekeba, a musician from Africa and I’ve been going back to certain roots, such as Billy Holiday and Nina Simone.

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

Youth should know their rights when it comes to politics. People who reinforce the law, i.e. officials, can tell you whatever they want but if you’re aware and you have knowledge of what’s going on then that’s a powerful tool. Simply put: knowledge is power. When you’re in a democracy, and live in a free society where everyone is equal and people know their rights then politicians can’t take advantage or abuse of people’s ignorance and that’s why I think youth should vote.

It’s also important that people be aware of the society they’re living in from a young age, I think politics should be integrated into the education system; youth have to be aware of what they are growing up into and realize that they can make a difference. Because the people at the top can’t stay there forever and youth are the future

Youth can't be underestimated; they are curious and have open minds so it’s important to cultivate that. If they are growing up with awareness then we might have fewer problems down the road.

For you is there a connection between art and democracy? What is it?

Art is a way to freely express your perception of life and in my opinion, politics is what designs that way of life. Democracy is connected directly to art when you are able to express how you feel about those politics. However there is dissociation between the concept and the reality of how it actually plays out.

Why do you care about the community when it is so easy not to?

I was that child that people didn’t care about, living in a community that no one cared about. Up until now, I can’t claim that I care or that I’m doing anything that’s renowned for the community. Although working in a youth center has opened my eyes to the Canadian community and the Côte-des-Neiges community.

Growing up in Algeria brought on that sense of solidarity and community state of mind; from knowing your neighbors to getting together to create change. As a community, we were extremely oppressed and faced a lot of poverty and problems, whether it was floods, no electricity, no water to drink or bombs, and through it all, we didn’t always get along, but we stuck together during those hard times.

I lost that sense of caring when I arrived in Montreal. When I arrived here, I was scared of the individualism of people; it seems that everybody was left for themselves. I would see kids running across the street with no one to tell them to watch out. There was no relationship between people… and I asked myself: how can you make change when you can’t even say hi to your neighbor? People have to get together to make change and in order to do that; we have to overcome our differences and the coldness that is brought about by the individualistic state of mind.

Growing up near Hochelaga when I first arrived in Montreal, I felt the oppression and discrimination. When I started making friends, I wanted to bring to them that same vibe I had in Algeria, and that’s what Nomadic brought to me, the warmth that I lost. Meeting Nomadic Massive 5 years ago opened my eyes to the fact that some people still care, not just for music, but for a better living situation and that you can have an impact on this world, that it matters who you are and what you bring.

They gave me hope and made me realize that I am not the only thinking like that and I am not the only person who got displaced from somewhere else and is looking for that warmth, based on that, I told myself that I would try to get involved as much as I could but it’s a crazy fast lane life. We all have to work and pay bills, and I’ve been working really hard over the past year and I haven’t been able to visit the youth that I used to work with that I love so much. It's part of my near future plans to be more involved; whether it’s through workshops, visiting the youth, staying informed about what’s going on, otherwise I miss out. As soon as I started my career in real estate, I noticed how easy it was to get caught up in the work, run and pay bills cycle, and for what? If you're not aware and conscious of what you are doing and where it’s bringing you, you get lost.

We aren’t living to work and run, at least not for me. I am only working hard to have free time to make music and bring it to the world community. Yes, it is easy not care about the community in this society especially because people are taught to be self-sufficient and independent. It’s a race to get to the top to the pyramid and you can’t have people by your side if you are trying to surpass them. When things start going wrong and you see that you do need people to make anything change, that’s when you are going to feel the lack of community spirit, the lack of solidarity. We need those people that do care because they have the ability to inspire more people in order to bring about that change and/ or a better state of life.

What do you look for in a politician? What do you expect from your MP?

I would like them to be down to earth, and aware of what’s going on. I look for transparency, someone who genuinely cares, and not just looking for a chance to climb to power. Someone who is representing the people that voted for them, and when a politician represents a community, they are supposed to fight for it and let the people know what’s going on, exactly what’s going on.