Getting back to his original blueprint, while adding a little extra to his live performances, is the primary focus for this Canadian Hip Hop artist.
This summer Chomedey, QC native, Annakin Slayd is putting in long hours working on his upcoming 5th album which is a compilation of non-sports related anthems.
Slayd said one of his goals, with the next chapter of his career, is to give his fans a little more when they see him perform.
“For years I played with just a playback,” Slayd said. “I just found that it was taking away from the impact of the songs. Now, I have been rehearsing and practicing with a live five to six piece band and I’m finding that with the addition of the band that the songs really come out.”
Last November, Slayd released his album entitled Fahrenheit 514 which encompassed his greatest hits with all of his sports anthems. He has a legion of loyal fans for his Montreal Canadiens anthems “Feels Like 93” and “Rock The Sweater.” For passionate Montreal Expos fans, two of his more popular Expos songs are “Remember” and a tribute to his childhood idol Gary Carter, simply titled “Kid,” after the Baseball Hall of Famer’s nickname.
“The good thing about those songs is much as they are about a time and place they can be updated.” Slayd said. “When the songs first came out and they went viral, I was both flattered and impressed. What actually makes me more satisfied is how over time they have actually endured. For instance, with my Habs songs, last season the team wasn’t in the playoffs and I’m still getting messages from fans on how much they love the songs.”
The upcoming album is entitled “Nothing is Written” in reference to Slayd’s favourite movie of all time Lawrence of Arabia.
With the new tracks on the “Nothing is Written” album, Slayd said he plans to go back to his original roots of when he started rapping with a mix of political commentary, along with his stance on the state of hip hop music.
“I never thought more than ten years later people would look at me and say there is the guy that does the Expos and Habs songs, along with being a part of the movement to bring a baseball team back to Montreal,” Slayd said.
“This is not how I pictured things going. Not, that I mind it. But there are times that I wish people would listen to more to my songs that aren’t sports related. The funny thing is if someone was visiting my Spotify page, the top song is a non-sports song called “Loud.”
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For Slayd, he acknowledges at times when you are putting together songs, it can be a constant debate which particular ones will simply takeoff and others that are considered a dud.
“You never know what is going to be a hit and what isn’t,” Slayd said. “I can look at both of my most popular songs, “Loud” and “Feels like 93,” as perfect examples of this. One is a completely different market, with an entirely different topic and the other song is another market altogether.”
