“I’m a black rapper. I’m not a gangster. I am absolutely not your stereotype. I have had cancer twice. I am a father. My goal is to humanize the regular black dude. When people see rappers, they don’t think about their neighbors and say, “Hello! I’m your neighbor!” »
Without asking him to give us a final word, this is how Dunnï concluded our most pleasant interview. For more than an hour, he spoke to us about his chemotherapy treatments, the loss of his father, his anxiety, but also his memories on stage with Muzion when he was 15, his young son whom we hear on the first track of the record and the best Haitian restaurants in Montreal – Piklìz is his favorite.
You would not suspect that he is so affable when you listen to his music. “The fact that I’m so chill might suggest that I’m harmless, but on record, I’m not to play with,” says Dunnï. That said, I want to be more vulnerable on my next songs. It weighs heavily on my heart after what I experienced. But the slightly arrogant side of rap, I have to do it because I’ve been doing it for around twenty years and I’m more respected in Europe and the United States than in Quebec. »
A cousin, Swifty Swift, allowed the young Dunny Brazz (the former name of Dunnï) to take his first steps in the world of hip-hop. Swift often went to New York to develop his mixtapes (compilations) at the turn of the 2000s. He took the opportunity to distribute beats from his teenage cousin. One of them made its way to 50 Cent’s studio, who passed it on to his partner Tony Yayo.
In 2002, when Muzion had just launched the album J’Rêvolutionne, Swift arrived at Dunnï’s house with two of the three members of the group, J. Kyll and Imposs, to record a verse from the latter. “He told them, ‘My little cousin raps and makes beats, he’s really good!’ Imposs was my favorite rapper. I’m super embarrassed, but I make him hear things. He immediately told me that he was inviting me to their crew. I was a DJ or hypeman during their tour. I was like their little brother,” recalls Dunnï.
About ten years later, he released OG’s Dream, his first album, in English. While he seems to be on a roll, issues with associates and the sudden death of his father shake the rapper who decides to take a break. He returned in 2017 with the song Russian Roulette, which can be heard in the video game Far Cry: New Dawn.
With the support of Koriass, Dunnï tried his luck in French in order to “get closer to the Quebec public”. Two songs were enough to convince Carlos Munoz, of the Joy Ride label, to offer him a contract in 2019. The pandemic slowed down the process, but the MC continued recording what would become @TonRappeurFavori.
His first cancer diagnosis was announced to him in October 2021, a few weeks before Normal de l’Est, by Connaisseur Ticaso, with which Dunnï collaborates, won the Félix for rap album of the year.
In October 2022, the cancer he thought he had beaten returned. “It broke my heart […] During my chemo treatments, I listened to music, audio books. I prayed a lot,” recounts Dunnï.
October 2023, a few days before the planned release date of @TonRappeurFavori, he meets his doctor. “When I saw his smile, I knew it immediately. He said to me: “See you in two, three months. Live your life !” I was like Hell fuckin’ yeah I’m going to live my life. I have an album coming out next week. »
His first offering in French now launched, Dunnï intends to continue telling his story, so that “[his] message and [his] person are understood”.