Frenchi Blanco

Frenchi Blanco a.k.a. Jack Cartier can be likened to a ticking time bomb; the spark and the fire have been ignited, hes just waiting to blow. There are many hungry MCs in Montreal, but few with the actual talent to back it up. Frenchis love for hip hop started from his love for soul music. As a child growing up in Montreal, his grandfather would fill the house with the sounds of blues and Motown. From there, it was a natural progression into hip hop. However, the record that really got Frenchi hooked on hip hop was NWAs Fuck the Police. Says Frenchi, The fact that they were saying such controversial stuff made me realize that I could use hip hop to say what I wanted! Frenchi takes his craft so seriously that he cut down working his 9 to 5 so he could devote more time to writing serious rhymes. He admits, Before, writing wasnt a priority. I would come home from work and be too tired to write. I wasnt really happy, so I decided to do something about it. Thankfully this dedicated MC has a support system that includes his longtime family FP Crew. Though he is working on his solo project, Frenchi released his debut effort, Expos�, as part of the FP Crew. As the last member to join FP Crew, Frenchis role is that of the groups sole French MC, as well as the most prolific. His flow is strictly for the streets. Frenchi brings it hard and has a no holds barred attitude. He represents (French) Quebec at the level of the common man and speaks their language. Frenchi mixes it up with French and English to create his own Franglais (French in Quebec heavily influenced by English) that is peppered with joual or dirty French street slang. Though Frenchi plays an integral part of the group, he has created a body of solo work that stands alone. Over the years he has worked with established artists such as: Sans Pression (SP), Ray Ray (of Les Architekts), 2 Faces (of 83), and DJ Blast (3-time DMC Champion). Frenchis first release, Les Rues de Montreal, from the album Expos�, serves as the new anthem for Montreal. The track which features Ray Ray, depicts typical life in Montreal and Frenchis and the Crews love/hate relationship with their hometown. The track has been well received across Quebec and in 2004 the video reached 1 on the Hip Hop Top 5 French Videos chart on MusiquePlus, 1 on the VibePlus Top 5 V Videos chart and Expos� reached 3 on the their Top 5 V Album charts. In 2005 the accolades continued as Frenchi and the FP Crew received 3 awards at Quebecs first Hip Hop Gala organized by long standing radio show Montreal Underground. FP clinched awards for: Best Album (Anglophone), Artist/Group of the Year (Anglophone), and Best Music Video.