Montreal Rapper Kris The $pirit On His Latest Singles and EP, ‘Savvy’

Kris The $pirit via Instagram.

It’s to no surprise that Montreal has had quite a surge of artists making noise and captivating a culture of new listeners. At the forefront of that, comes rapper Kris The $pirit – a young artist who has shown his creativity in music with a versatile style that can lock you in bar for bar.

With tracks like ‘BISCUITS’ and ‘BOP’ with Eva Shaw and DillonPonders, Kris The $pirit embodies his name, with a show stopping melodic presence and strong lyricism. Kris also found himself collaborating with fellow Montreal artist Kid Riz on their spring single “Dat Shit New” through Mad Fatti Inc. / Create Music Group.

Talking about his creative style and his influences, we got to get a deeper look behind Kris music as he discusses his single ‘BISCUITS’ and reflects on his latest EP ‘Savvy.’ Read the interview with Kris The $pirit and stream ‘Dat Shit New’ by Kris The $pirit and Kid Riz below:

XMPL: What drew you to music and how did you find that outlet in Montreal?

Kris The $pirit: I’ve always been doing rap music since 11. I would rap with my cousin on weekends etc. I found when I begin actually recording and doing shows and tours that my city wasn’t the best outlet due to the French population but it’s something I’ve always done and will do, it was never a career move – it’s always been apart my lifestyle.

How would you describe the current music scene in Montreal?

Young, misunderstood and growing.

‘BISCUITS’ is your first single to kick off the new year. What was the mindset when creating this tune?

I just found the sounds with my producer Rob Mil, found the right 808 and I went in and just spazzed. I remember I was really oppy at the time.

2020 was a very impactful year for everyone. How would you describe your year and what it was like as a recording artist?  

It hasn’t changed much but studio time is a lot less accessible, so focus on one track at a time.

Was there anything you learned through the year that you will be carrying with you on future projects?

My attention to detail and quality, as well as keeping a nice variety of music throughout the projects.

You had a very prestigious release catalog in 2020, ‘Savvy’ was a great EP to listen to from beginning to end. What was it like creating that project? Was there a meaning behind this EP?

The project was put together around the time where I lost a family member and I wanted to express how I felt sonically. It just goes through the motions at a high and drops in frequency as you go through the project with sporadic moments in between and that’s just basically how I felt during that whole time of grieving.

Hearing your EP now how does it make you feel? Does it meet the expectations you had set for it?  

Expectations with that EP honestly was just to get it out. I wasn’t thinking of like numbers and progressing in my career per se but I was happy that I was able to express myself artistically and vent that very therapeutic release.

You were on ‘BOP’ with Eva Shaw & DillanPonders. How was the experience working on that project?   

I love working with experienced producers like Eva and rappers like Dillon because I’ve been doing this for a long time since I was 11 – freestyling, touring, dropping projects and working with various artists. I feel that I’m well prepared and at the caliber to be able to work with these kind of people and artists and ‘BOP’ is a testament to that.

What does working with other artists bring out of you creatively?  

It helps me dip into different pockets that maybe I wouldn’t normally and I like that I like to see where I’m at in that realm

You are one project in this year, what can we look forward to from you in 2021? 

2021 I can’t call it right now but what we do have plans with the Spirit More Volume 2 and several other projects with Eva Shaw and there’s just so much right now. Would do volume three and four if I had it my way.

Stream ‘Dat Shit New’ by Kris The $pirit x Kid Riz:

This article appears in the 12th issue of XMPL Magazine, originally published April 11, 2021.

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