fbpx
Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

HipHopCanadaHipHopCanada

Interview: Q&A

Montréal rapper Sammy Skills talks MonsturSqwad, the local scene & more

Montréal rapper Sammy Skills talks MonsturSqwad, the local scene and more

When I was on tour with The Beatnuts last winter, I met a couple of artists at the Montréal show. The first was a grizzly looking fellow with a long beard named Sammy Skills and his partner went by the name Gerila Gee. We got to chatting in the green room at Le Belmont and discussed everything hip-hop and the scene in MTL.

After returning home from the tour, I was able to delve a little deeper into what they represented as artists. Turns out they were a group named MonsturSqwad, some truly grimey heads that are unapologetically underground through and through. Recently they caught my attention with a new video entitled “Serial Killaz (Call Me Charlie Manson)” with Crazy Ace.

I sat down with Sammy Skills to get a better idea of what makes the Sqwad tick. You can check out the Q&A and video for “Serial Killaz” below.


Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Q&A: Sammy Skills of MonsturSqwad

HipHopCanada: So how did y’all meet Crazy Ace?

Sammy Skills: We met Ace through CY South West and King Mizery at various shows. When I came back on the MTL rap scene I didn’t release any music for the first year. I was doing shows to build up the scene and the spirit again it wasn’t what it is now. It’s flourished, and a lot of unseen talent are getting recognized like Crazy Ace.

HipHopCanada: What was the inspiration for the video?

SS: We wanted to do a Dexter type Tarantino bloody murder scene. The Manson reference in the hook catapulted us in that direction. Gerila created the plastic room scenery. We’re pretty hands on when it comes to our videos.

HipHopCanada: How long have you known Gerila Gee?

SS: Gerila Gee is my real life brother and we always roll together. He helps raise my daughters.

HipHopCanada: Has Gerila always been your producer?

SS: We do a lot of in house production. I went to school for engineering and he picked it up soaked it all in and started banging out beats. Even when we did the Madchild songs we kept it in house.

HipHopCanada: What made you guys come up with the name MonsturSqwad?

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

SS: Gerila Gee came up with the brand when I did the “Ceasar” video. The first talking ape crossed with a dark twist, more like Gerila Monsters.

HipHopCanada: What do you think makes the hip-hop scene in Montréal unique?

SS: It’s very diverse and I’m not even talking about the French rap movement which right there in itself is crazy. There’s so many styles out here too from trap to boom bap and everything in between…. gotta lot of crew’s too. Like Crazy ace rolls with #OTRWorld, a collective of rappers put together by King Mizery who is another MTL rapper. Blockmode, that’s another crew of rappers headed by Widget and King Jungle… lotta styles out here.

HipHopCanada: Do you have any upcoming releases planned?

SS: Yes, we are doing Crazy Ace’s next EP. We have another video we are working on for Gerila Gee’s first EP, and I’m re-releasing a video called “War Report” featuring Goon from Ottawa.

HipHopCanada: Finally, is there anyone you want to shout out?

SS: Yeah, I wanna shout out the team. Gerila Gee, Crazy Ace, Mike Drones, King Mizery, OTR, CY, Hellbound Bishop, Sky Productions, Merkermusic, Tek Luciano, King Jungle, Young Jungle, Stakdoe, Widget… everyone around the world who supports. RIP Mom and Pops and everyone who left too early.

Sammy Skills

You can follow @sammyskills514, @monstursqwad514, and @crazy.ace.otr on Instagram.


Written by Fortunato for HipHopCanada

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
5 Ways to Support HipHopCanada:

EXPLORE HIPHOPCANADA

Advertisement
Advertisement
Button with the words Canadian Music Industry Resources

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

Canadian Fresh Artwork

RESOURCES

An image generated by AI depicting a rapper and DJ performing.

Articles & Reviews

Storytelling is as foundational to rap as the beat itself, so testing AI’s ability to capture the genre’s essence presents an intriguing challenge. AI,...

More Stories

Videos

Canadian rapper Fortunato drops new visuals in support of his latest project with producer Sean One, Blue Collar 2. "It's You" was directed by...

Albums & Mixtapes

This past Friday, Mi’kmaq rapper Gearl released his new 15-track album, From The Ground Up. The album features a ton of great collaborations including...

Interview: Q&A

The world is getting it’s first look at a new Canadian producer named Smokewell. He’s currently got the underground buzzing with his new album,...

Videos

Fortunato has joined forces with LxVNDR and his longtime friend Scrimige to bless us with visuals for their single, “Pass The Mic.” The track...

Videos

Canadian rapper Fortunato is once again demonstrating his love for Western Canada with his latest video, “No Half Step.” Shot in downtown Edmonton during...

Videos

As the pandemic rages on so does Fortunato with yet another addition to his ever expanding library of music. This time he blesses us...

Interview: Q&A

In Halifax’s growing hip-hop scene, one artist has captured the hearts of a new generation. Shanii22, a Lebanese-Syrian artist, has been turning heads with...

Videos

Ottawa has always had an incredible hip-hop scene. Since the days of Brokenbridge and Organized Rhyme, to current artists like Belly and Dax, the...