Humblux : the developement of Black Anglophone culture in Quebec

Founded in 2020, the Humblux collective’s mission is to promote the origins of Afro-American culture and help black Anglophone artists in Quebec.

When Shiyloh, a.k.a. CJK, and Shaliyshah, a.k.a. Cali Greens, arrived in Quebec in 2006, it was with their cultural baggage from California. And more specifically, their African-American culture. With a desire to share this culture, they decided to open their first hip-hop bookshop/squat, and went on to create the Eyes Wide Open Artistic Peace Movement. This movement enabled them to play an active part in the development of underground Quebec culture, and influenced many of today’s artists, including Monk E.

The movement will finally evolve into Humblux in 2020. This new collective was created with the aim of shining a spotlight on black Anglophone artists who are often overlooked in Quebec culture. CJK also feels that the musical culture here is not sufficiently informed about the history of hip hop and particularly the history of African-American culture. “Here, there’s a deep lack of understanding of black cultural experience behind the music”, he says, adding that this is certainly due to the desire to preserve the Quebecois language. This lack of culture can also be seen in the industry, with the various tracks that work in Quebec imitating, on the surface, a lot of what Americans do, without actually sounding like them. As a result, Quebec is investing less in this culture, to the benefit of Quebec culture and the French language.

With this in mind, they created Black Cultural Embassy (BCE), with the aim of balancing investment and making access to English-speaking culture easier.

Currently, the collective is made up of around ten members, 5 of whom are also part of the group, Clan SPRM, produced by the collective itself. The collective is also involved in other art forms, such as painting and fashion, and aims to promote black and English-speaking culture in all its different aspects. They want to teach artists to stand on their own two feet, by helping them learn skills such as editing, video and promoting their artistic products. Its ambition is to give them a helping hand in a culture that forgets them. “We are almost on a different world while still
being here”. But also to help them do what they want to do without depending on a label or institution. “I got in hip hop because i didn’t want to work for somebody”