Rest In Peace Matt Dutch Garner – We are deeply saddened to report the devastating loss of one of the Montreal scene’s biggest assets and supporters. Matthew Dutch Garner, 29, was also a good friend to HipHopCanada and one of our Montreal city reps who helped guide our coverage of the local scene.
This past Friday, November 11th, Matt was one of the victims in a double homicide in Montreal’s St. Henri neighbourhood. Police had yet to officially release names or significant detail but they revealed that one man burned to death in the apartment after being assaulted, while the other man passed away at the hospital. (Update: Through Facebook condolence messages it appears that the other victim is Einick Gitelman). They were Montreal’s 32nd and 33rd homicides of the year. Matt supported HipHopCanada from day one and he will truly be missed. Our condolences to the Garner family (and, if accurate, the Gitelman family) and all of Matt’s friends and colleagues.
Matt worked closely with some of the city’s most well-liked artists such as Magnum (Magnum 357), I.Blast, and Bad News Brown (R.I.P.), who was found beaten and shot to death in Little Burgandy exactly 9 months earlier. He worked with a lot of artists from across the city. He played a key role in the rise of Magnum as a leading force in the Montreal scene and had gained a reputation in cities outside of Montreal, like Toronto and Ottawa, for his business sense and good nature.
Matt was the founder of promotions company Escape Entertainment which he ran with Sebastien LaBerge. The company was one of the largest supporters of the hip-hop community in Montreal – through major events like the Ghostface Killah show coming up November 27th at Club Soda, and through their website EscapeMTL.ca. EscapeMTL.ca is a site ran by Matt that covers the Montreal scene and promotes local talent through segments like the Real City Countdown, and mixtapes like Real City’s Finest. He also gave a lot of artists the opportunity to open for some of the biggest names coming into town. As of late, Matt had been working on releasing local music while promoting the upcoming Ghostface Killah show. Always on top of his work ethic and promotions, Matt’s last tweet and BBM status emphasize his focus on that gig.
He had recently put me on to the incredibly dope amount of material that Reps Up Montreal artist I.Blast has coming in the near future. He originally introduced me to Magnum’s music some years ago and told me Magnum would be one of the city’s best. He wasn’t lying. His ear for talent was evident as I’ve only ever known him to work with incredibly gifted artists. This is a huge loss for the Montreal scene and the community is still in shock. His Facebook profile is covered with messages of condolences. One message summed it up: “Matt Dutch Garner He was the Glue that kept this city together!!! Rest In Paradise….Mourn ya till we join ya…”
CTV Montreal has more coverage of the investigation.
Rest In Peace Matt Dutch Garner & Einick Gitelman
Written by Jesse Plunkett for HipHopCanada
