Aly Ndiaye, a.k.a. Webster is a self-styled “SénéQuéb” who creates songs in the service of social justice as much as artistic expression. In an effort to provoke thought and perhaps a bit of controversy, Webster dubs his music “terrorhythms”. On his first solo album Sagesse Immobile (Immobile Wisdom) he croons to an R&B beat: “L-land baby, where I was born ‘n’ raised.” “L-Land” refers to Limoilou, a QC district largely populated by poor immigrants. Webster’s answer to Quebec City’s 400th is “Quebec History X“, a rap that invokes the forgotten histories of figures like Matthew da Costa, a multilingual African who travelled to New France as Samuel de Champlain’s interpreter.
Aly Ndiaye, a.k.a. Webster
“Ateliers“, from Webster & 5 For Trio – EP “Sky”, released September 2019, oscillates between rap flows and jazz/rock sounds. Ateliers, is a French term for a workshop or studio used by an artist or designer, with which Webster & 5 For Trio – three musicians from Quebec City, subscribe to perfectly in the use of repetition of the same letter sound across the start of several words to the beat of hip hop, rap along with some elements of reggae, that come together to produce a supafine hip hop track.
Webster’s art is a tool that he has been sharpening for two decades. Since 2009, he has presented numerous writing workshops on the creative use of French in music, including stops at Harvard, MIT, Howard, Georgetown and UCLA, as his lyrics so articulately illustrate.
Students and scholars in a class at M.I.T. or in a room at Howard 6 AM in the subway to go to the Bronx Bien for is the talk it’s like sunk in the bronze Dinner for the French Embassy in suit and Adidas I get up in Boston and go to Providence A big thank you to those who received me Remember you alliteration it’s so simple here
Veterans of the Quebec instrumental scene – 5 For Trio
5 For Trio, with a rock attitude rarely associated with jazz, stands out for its stage presence. A converted band inspired first by jazz, but also by prog, rock and metal, as well as hip-hop, in 2019 teamed-up with Webster, who is reputed for his wise lyrics and the smartness of his music, on a project where the double bass meets the electric guitar on a very hip-hop rhythmic basis to produce “Ateliers“.
The veteran rapper, active since 1995, has decided to move away from the usual hip-hop soundtrack to offer a completely different sound to his lyrics. His decision to switch from rapping in English to French fifteen years ago was a conscious choice, as much political as personal. “I’m among the first generation that witnessed the birth of Quebec hip hop”, says Webster.
“In the mid-90’s there was a big French hip hop craze. Some used to rap with French accents but when I started rapping in ’95, I started in English. English isn’t my first language; I didn’t have the same scope. In French I have more vocabulary and know how to work the language.”
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