by 
Thursday, October 30th, Halloween’s eve, rain is falling gently on Montreal. 8:30 p.m., I open the door of the BloK Bar and, without knowing it, find myself immersed in the Haunted House of Enlightenment, the universe imagined by Clan Supreme and Humblux for the release of the Blood Moon Prophecy EP. At the entrance, members of Humblux handed me a small yellow flyer, which I didn’t pay much attention to. However, after seeing some decorations: masks, sculptures, record players, I realized that it was actually a map of the six multi-sensory installations created by Clan Supreme, and that the door I had just walked through was the first stop: The Chains of Slavery. An immersive universe, where the music industry itself represents anxiety and oppression. The third installation, The Industry Trap, features an office lit by a halogen lamp, where a fake contract entitled “SlaveDeal Entertainment” is on display, an extreme version of the artist contract that is still common in the industry. The Clan parallels this type of contract to a sentence where any artist can lose their soul. The artistic setting represents the genesis of their musical project, which frees listeners from the vices of the musical industry.
The Clan is there, welcoming their fans at the entrance, guiding them into their world while mentally preparing for their performance. When Cotola, the project’s main producer, arrives, The Haunted House of Enlightenment electrifies. Little by little, the main room fills up.
The audience is illuminated by red neon lights facing the stage where the first artist of the opening act, Viva LaBleue offers a sensual atmosphere with her soft voice. Her last song, raw and descriptive, was dedicated to her husband, from whom she had not heard for more than 24 hours on the day of the event.
When the second artist arrives, a calm descends on the room. A beanie, a stool, and a guitar, that’s all MAZA needs to win over the audience. From the very first words, his soft and deep voice strikes me, reminding me of APEX in its intensity and sensitivity. Starting with a peaceful, almost lo-fi vibe, the artist, thanks to a looper pedal, played around on his guitar, treating us with several solos of disconcerting precision. The entire audience is hung on his every note. He then alternated between singing and prose, notably delivering a text addressed to his mother, in which he developed his thoughts on his family and humanity, an introspection performed live.
Finally, the last artist took the stage. Older than his predecessors, Widget’s experience becomes evident as soon as he picks up the microphone. Old-school conscious rapper, his energy and technique are solid. You can sense in his lyrics and his eyes that he has years of experience behind him. A fact that becomes particularly evident when he raps on Benny the Butcher and J. Cole’s Johnny P’s Caddy beat, which he obviously hasn’t cleared, but on which he delivers a memorable performance, almost making us forget the original.
After this diverse musical ascent, from sensual R&B to conscious rap, the stage is ready to welcome the CLAN. Cotola takes his place behind the turntables. Ol’Mann Supreme opens the performance a cappella, slamming a poem as he usually does during their live performances, a ritual of sorts: “Poets and MCs write to inspire but please do it with bleeding tears.” Personally, this phrase that concludes the slam hits me hard and moves me every time. Joined by the CLAN on stage, El Mega briefly explains the context of the EP, as the second chapter of their Eclipse series.
Following the introductory monologue, accompanied by a space synth, the project’s first official track, Blood Moon, blasts out of the speakers, benefiting from a powerful collective chorus on stage; the members are inviting you to dive into the project’s universe. The bassline, which dominates the next track, Pyramid God, combined with the band’s energy on stage, gets the whole audience on board. But it’s really on the penultimate track that I realize how cohesive the band had been throughout the concert. After having performed Slow Down, an ode to women in their own way (and my favorite track on the project), they launched into Haiku Supreme, a writing prowess where each bar is written like a haiku (short Japanese poem), consisting of 17 syllables divided into 5-7-5 per verse. However, the song is structured like a cypher, with a common chorus repeated at the end of each bar that serves as ad-libs. Clan Supreme’s synergy on stage becomes exhilarating for the entire audience. Their stage presence greatly improved since their previous performances. There is a noticeable gain in confidence in the synchronization of their movements and use of stage space, an aspect that is more than complex to master as a group. A clear and distinct evolution of the group as performers.
They became so accustomed to performing on stage that at the end of the album’s performance, they wanted more. They then offered to perform some unreleased tracks for the audience. About five or six songs were played, ranging from trap to solo tracks of each member, including one of the first tracks of Ol’Mann Supreme, the group’s elder member, recorded when he was fourteen in Pasadena. Those songs will be in the Clan’s upcoming Puretapes: Journey Tapes and Not Meant for Sale. Stay tuned as the first single “Passion” will come out December 19th ! With these songs, the audience discovered a different, more personal side to each member. Despite their respective individualities, we felt that they are part of one and the same family, Clan Supreme, and have been for generations: “Music is our life in our family. I saw my granddad and dad doing it, my sons saw me do it, and now I’m doing it with them.” Ol’Mann Supreme
