Fortunato has joined forces with LxVNDR and his longtime friend Scrimige to bless us with visuals for their single, “Pass The Mic.” The track is the lead off their new album, Moonwater. The “Pass The Mic” video comes courtesy of director Jennex, a young visionary best known for his work with Quake Matthews. It’s an introduction to the dark mysticism behind the Moonwater album, inviting us into a tarot card reading that showcases each MC individually. Moonwater is an album that has been years in the making, starting with the re-emergence of Gamshooter, a producer best known for his early work with Angerville.
“It’s like everything came full circle,” says Fortunato.
“He was the first producer to send us beats. When we started we were rapping over instrumentals from audio galaxy and 12” vinyls. Gamshooter made us legit, without him there would be no Dear Dad. Gamshooter produced the entire Moonwater album, just like he did Rebellion and I think that’s what makes it so cohesive.”
The second piece of the puzzle was LxVNDR, a P.E.I. born MC who Fortunato met while judging Hopscotch Festival’s Best In Halifax competition. When asked about her role in the Moonwater album LxVNDR told us:
“It was a fun and unique collaboration with Fortunato and Scrimige. The beats produced by Gamshooter were so easy to vibe to! I enjoyed the mystical theme that the album ended up taking on that was further supported by the art work! A fun project that was beautiful to watch come alive with two very dope east coast artists that I was proud to share a vision with!”
The final piece was Scrimige, a longtime friend of Fortunato and his former hype man. When asked what motivated him to be a part of the Moonwater album Scrimige told us:
“I was in a really dark place during the time that we started the Moonwater project. I wasn’t doing any new writing or recording at all during that period, but when the homie Fortunato told me I should try to focus, get my head in the game and put all of this bad energy into words for a new album, I realized he was right, so here we are.”
The album was released by Black Buffalo Records, a Halifax-based record label that’s been a driving force in the Canadian hip-hop scene. Since switching from a record store to a label, they’ve been re-releasing classics like Trailer Park Hip Hop by Hip Club Grove while creating a platform for emerging artists like Aquasocks, Paolo 13, and bRavenous.
Moonwater is out now and is available on CD and vinyl via Black Buffalo, and for streaming via all DSPs including Spotify.
You can follow @iamFortunato, @Scrimige, @iamLxVNDR, @Gamshottah, @JennexProductions, and @BlackBuffaloRecords on Instagram.
