“Muzion’s track ‘La Vi Ti Neg’ is such a classic rap anthem. I think that song and their first album were maybe not exactly ‘year zero,’ but close to it,” says Ghislain Poirier, a prolific producer of all things tropical, Afro and electronic. “There was hip-hop before that in Québec, but Muzion really gave it a Montréal flavor, as did Sans Pression and Yvon Krevé. They played with language in a way that was unique – this mix of French, English and Creole was already common among teenagers in certain neighborhoods.”

Poirier says the footprint they left wasn’t necessarily rooted in the music of their parents. “It’s not a direct link with kompa [a slow tempo, modern meringue with a consistent, pulsating beat] or rara [percussion-heavy Afro rhythms with Vodou roots], you know what I mean? This was a second or third generation of Montrealers making music their own way, reflecting the Haitian culture they’re coming from more through the language than the music, and making it about the Montréal environment they were immersed in.”

With Québec’s hip-hop scene experiencing a bona fide renaissance of late thanks to a few thrillingly original rap acts who spit Franglais rhymes casually, creatively and without any linguistic hang-ups (with Dead Obies and Alaclair Ensemble leading the charge), the influence of these early pioneers looms large.