Interview with Montreal Rapper Prblmchild

A little while back I was introduced to the music of an underground rapper from Montreal named Prblmchild through a mutual connection.At first, I won’t lie – I was expecting him to sound like any other soundcloud rapper. After giving his music a listen, I found that the lyricism and production quality were really strong. It is for this reason that I was so grateful to have the opportunity to interview him for this month’s issue. Without further ado, here’s the interview:

M: Alright, to get started, can you describe who you are? Where are you from, what do you do, that kind of stuff.

PC: My name is Wolf and I also go by Problem Child. I’m a professional tattoo artist and street artist from Montréal. [I] grew up in Montréal North to be more specific.

M: Canada really does produce the best talent eh… You’re undoubtedly a very versatile rapper. On tracks like “Winner”, you have more of a trap sound and on “Misunderstood” you are successfully able to sound like a 90s rapper. Is this on purpose?

PC: Thank you for noticing! Yes, I do it on purpose. I started making music with that specific intent of showing off my versatility! I grew up listening to various types of music from punk to pop to techno, and of course rap!

M: Speaking of versatility, who are your rapping inspirations, if any at all? Who influenced your unique sound?

PC: A lot of people inspire me. Tory Lanez [is] most known for his versatility as well. Russ, Hopsin, J Cole, Tyler The Creator, Joey Bada$$, [etc]. There’s much more but those are the main ones that I drew inspiration from!

M: I can definitely hear those influences in your tracks! Because of all of these different styles, most of your songs sound pretty unique. Do you like one of your songs more than the rest? If so, why?

PC: My favorite song as of now is “Misunderstood”. As much as I like doing some wavy trap, new wave sound, I’ll always go back to my roots of lyricism. Plus, I kinda touched on more personal topics and talked about my scars a bit more [in that track].

M: Honestly, that’s my favourite track too! Your production value is a real strong point compared to most underground rappers. Do/did you have a record label? Who directs/produces your music videos?

PC: Thank you! I direct all my videos. I come up with the concepts, scripts, location etc. Artistically I like to be involved as much as I can in every aspect of my music.

M: Very impressive. On Instagram, I see that you do tattoos and murals as well. These art forms are strongly connected with the hip-hop community. Did your art help you with rap connections?

PC: Yeah, lets face it, everybody loves tattoos, especially rappers, right? I’ve been tattooing [for] almost 10 years now and I basically live off my career! And like you said, it goes hand in hand. So often, you’ll be at an art event and it just so happens that a DJ, producer, or the next up and coming artist [will] be there! The art scene in Montreal is very real. It’s so underrated but I think that people are slowly catching up on the talent we got here!

M: Yeah, I think outside of the big places like LA, NYC, or Toronto, art is underappreciated in most places. Anyways, wrapping it up, do you have any plans for new music in the future?

PC: Yes, I’m currently working on my first album. [I’m] gathering features, writing scripts for the visuals, planning the promo, all that good stuff! I’m planning on dropping it sometime this year! Covid really gave me time to reflect and come up with a game plan, so now it’s on to execution.

M: I’ll be sure to give that a listen when it’s released! Lastly, where can we find your work? Where can we listen to your music or look at your tattoos and murals?

PC: Shoutout any social media you want If you want to be up to date, follow me on Instagram @wolf.lartist, I pretty much post daily on there! [You can] get my music on any streaming platform and YouTube (PRBLMCHILD Official) for the visuals! ___________________________________

There’s so much unrecognized talent in this world and I’m always glad to discover some new underground artists. Anyways, I’d suggest giving Prblmchild a listen. More specifically I’d suggest the songs Motion and Misunderstood. I listen to him on Spotify, but like he said, he’s on every streaming platform and Youtube. Thanks for reading and stay on the lookout for that album!