In just three years, Fredz has become a phenomenon with millions of views, listens and subscribers. While he has just turned 22, the Quebec rapper will be released on Friday The weather will be nice tomorrow, his third album which he released on his own label. And he does everything to ensure that this success is not just a flash in the pan.
When you look at the figures, it’s enough to make you dizzy: Fredz has 340,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, 500,000 subscribers on TikTok and 157,000 on Instagram. His only song Stadiumreleased eight months ago, has been listened to more than 4.4 million times, and its music video has been watched 1.6 million times on YouTube!
Others get carried away for much less. Fredz remains calm. What impresses him is much more tangible, like the spectators who come to see his shows, here and in Europe.
“I only started touring two years ago. When I see full rooms, with crowds that are still big, and people singing my words… That’s what makes you dizzy! »
An album like a story
Fredz started music at 16, doing beatmaking in his room. He was noticed thanks to social networks by the French rapper K. Maro, who recruited him to his label E47 Records. The young man then released two albums, including the second, Astronautin 2022, exploded its popularity.
It’s his countless singles that have put him on the map, but Fredz hopes it will get people to listen to his new album in its entirety. “There is a story in it, an evolution. I worked on him so that he was more coherent, so that he lived on his own. Like an audiobook. »
In 15 songs, The weather will be nice tomorrow revolves a lot around the theme of heartbreak, but also anxiety and mental health.
“Are you okay, Fredz?” », we ask him, a little worried, after having listened to them one after the other while reading the words. ” Yes yes ! Of course if you read them like that… I wouldn’t want to be my mother! »
But the title is The weather will be nice tomorrow. It’s sad, but we feel that there is hope, that things will get better.
Fredz
People his age find themselves in his texts, he adds. This album also tells in a certain way the transition to adulthood, which comes with its share of challenges, but also anxieties about the future and the fate of the planet.
“I try to put myself in the shoes of someone my age, of what they would want to hear. I talk about myself, but I exaggerate, I romanticize, to make it interesting. » He also seems to have had a lot of heartbreak… “I experienced one! But she was violent. It’s been three years, but when I get back into it, I’m able to feel exactly what I felt. »
Fredz writes all his lyrics and melodies, supported by composers Toonz and Omska, who produced the album. The one who prefers organic instruments to computer sounds because it’s “more timeless” describes his music as pop rap, but we can really feel the influence of French rap in his work. “It’s the number one influence. But there is also American rap and Quebec rap. It’s a trilogy of cultures that come together and make who I am. »
Take Back Control
In Quebec, Fredz released his new album on his own label, which he founded after the closure of E47, a very unpleasant surprise which occurred during the promotion ofAstronaut two years ago.
That’s a bit of what the album is about. It was complicated, I found myself with nothing. I thought it was over.
Fredz
To regain control over his music and his career, he founded Nova Musique. “I met my two managers, we started from scratch and built our record label, with our rules. At the same time, in France, I signed with Universal to support us, because a fully independent record company is difficult. »
Quite an apprenticeship for those who study cultural production strategy at UQAM. If the secret is to be well surrounded, you have to have some business skills… “Yes! I don’t understand anything about Revenu Québec papers… But I’m learning, little by little. I just have training tomorrow! »
This is in addition to the upcoming tour – he will do his first solo Club Soda on March 9, will leave for France where almost all his shows are already sold out, before touring Quebec again and continuing to expand his audience. When he looks ahead, he hopes that he will have produced albums by other artists with his label, and that he will still make music. “But it’s happening so quickly. »
Is it this speed that makes you dizzy, ultimately? He nods.
“One day I had no audience, then I released a 20-second video on TikTok and, the next day, I had 20 million views. Everyone around me was happy, but I didn’t want to get attached to it because it created anxiety. I was so afraid that it would come down at the same speed as it went up. »
Three years later, he proved that it wasn’t “a one-liner.” “I don’t know if in 10 years my career will still be flourishing. But I hope so. »
Rap pop
The weather will be nice tomorrow
Fredz
Nova Music