ICO94 to compete at Tiohtià:ke talent show

For local hip-hop artist Ikey Beauvais – known by the stage name ICO94 – this Saturday’s Monnaie Money talent show at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall in Tiohtià:ke isn’t just a competition, it’s a way to get known as an emerging artist.

“It’s always best to start with these local shows. Get familiar with the community and start performing. Then after that, it all comes together,” said Beauvais, who released his first album Product of Poverty online last fall.

Beauvais believes that in a time when many artists choose to focus solely on their online presence, showing up to events in person is how you can network in a meaningful way and grow a real following as someone fresh on the scene.

“I think it’s more important than being online, playing small shows when you’re starting out. You have to play as much as you can. You have to get used to performing, and also you have to start making a fan base from people who want to get out and see a show,” said Beauvais.

“If you’re expecting anyone to give support to you once you’re on stage if you’re on the phone all the time, no one’s going to pay attention. They’re going to be like, ‘who’s this guy?’ I think that’s the first thing you have to do, is play these local shows and then later make your social media accounts.”

Beauvais learned about the Monnaie Money show from another hip-hop artist from Kahnawake, Will E. Skandalz – Satehoronies McComber – who was asked to perform as a guest artist last year. The two of them performed the song “For the Ones,” which Beauvais features on.

“Once I was there, I was so amazed, and I’ve been aiming to get on this platform again since last year,” said Beauvais.

McComber has also been serving as a manager for Beauvais.

“The Monnaie Money Talent Show is a superb launching point for any young artist. Not many get the opportunity to perform in front of a sold-out audience so early in a career,” said McComber.

“As visitors in the hip-hop culture, it’s very important to gain the respect of the Black community, and the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall is one of the most prestigious venues in all of Montreal to do it in. I wish him all the luck in the world.”

Although Beauvais has performed on stage on multiple occasions before, this is his first time competing in a talent show like Monnaie Money, where he will compete against 22 other artists for cash prizes and attention from the city’s music community.

It would be nice to win, Beauvais said, but that’s not the be-all and end-all on Saturday.

“As long as I know I gave it my best out there, then nothing else matters,” said Beauvais.

Even with many performances under his belt, overcoming the nerves he feels before he hits the stage is still something he’s working on.

“It’s the buildup, the anticipation that makes you nervous, that makes you feel anxious. I have to conquer that, battle that all the way up until I’m performing,” said Beauvais.

“It’s almost like a doubt, feeling almost like ‘what the heck am I doing here?’ But once you start playing, it’s like, ‘I got this, this is normal, I practiced this,’ so it all goes away after you start performing.”

Tickets to see Beauvais at the show, which starts tomorrow, February 28, at 7 p.m., can still be found on Monnaie Money’s Facebook page.

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