OKAPI

Check out OKAPI, a Montreal based reggae crew.

It's all about riddim driven sweet reggae music, mixing french and english in a pure Montreal fashion. Riding on a classic rub-a-dub and early dancehall vibe, the crew knows it's roots. It's the Hot Sauce Piquante mingled into music, it's an exotic mix of home and away, but above all it's QUALITY reggae music. Real #reggaekeb power.

OKAPI, it's the Caribbean up north, it's a heatwave all winter long, it's sunshine even at night!

Okapi was formed in 2016 due to a lack of warmth trying to cope with the Montreal winter. The idea was to assemble an all star crew dedicated to intertwining Quebec’s “patois” with caribbean classics. Songs and shows piled up quickly and pretty soon an opportunity to make a video for the song K.Li.T. (pronounced “ka-lee-tay”) sprung up.

Long story short, a friend wanted help to sell his condo. He got us to do a “quality” video in and around his place so he could diffuse his selling add through wider channels. The trick actually worked and we ended up with our first video that went on piling the views on our youtube channel.

Soon enough big radios heard the buzz and called us to spin the song on the airwaves. This says a lot about the catchiness of the song and the quality of its home made production. This left us with a nice problem, putting a full album together.

Spring 2017, Hot Sauce Piquante, Okapi’s first full length album is launched. Twelve songs and three dubs make their way on the record. Well received and appreciated by reggae lovers it was a handy card to book a tour. The Education Tour.

Since the primary goal was to make quality reggae in quebecois patois the tour works as a way to go out and reach people with our music. Mostly in french quebecois but well accessible to anglophones and people of all ages, the shows tend to really heat up a dancefloor. The guys don’t shy away from “pulling up” (the act of re-starting the tune from the top) in order to explain the “what” and “why” concerning the lyrics but also the many references cited in the music itself. All in all this tactic makes the Education Tour successful and really bring people together in the reggae culture.

Reggae being a universal genre, Okapi flows along the sound system culture where riddims are more often than not, well known from the audience. This recognition part helps making relations to past singers, groups and production teams in a respectful and intelligent manner. Relating to one’s audience, helping them having a good time through good vibes, reggae culture and knowledge is what Okapi’s all about.

Okapi, #reggaekeb at its best!