Gatineau resident David Dufour, aka D-Track, has been working for 20 years. His caring pen and his mastered technique have been highlighted on around ten albums.
The recent Hull (2021), Territoiredelours (2023) and this new L’Osstidtour stand out, among other things, for the quality of their production. This time, D-Track puts his rhymes on beats from his compatriot DaHeala, long-time collaborator of The Weekend, August Fanon, who has punctuated pieces by Mach-Hommy and Armand Hammer, as well as talented Quebecers nomtks, Ruffsound, Boogat and Stack Moolah. Quest, associate of D-Track, as well as the rapper himself also signed some instrumentals.
The variety of composers does not harm the cohesion of the work: the atmosphere is bright and groovy. This is above all carried, even propagated, by the friendly rapper. D-Track is one of the rare artists whose so-called committed songs do not take on a luster of self-satisfaction. His authenticity is palpable. His disarming sincerity is that of a man happy to express his joy of living.
On Flanders, D-Track pushes the good guy character to the extreme with hilarious lines, such as: “The fault I’m often criticized for is chu too polite/To send you shit no chu too not him/ I’m the biggest fan of compromise/I tip the clerk well.”
He offers a few other conceptual pieces. On Micro, with its magnificent beat, the rapper uses the title word in every way. The jazzy Chez l’opto imitates a visit to the eye specialist, but which focuses more on the way we look at life. The Osstidtour condo is in the same spirit as La rue principale, des Colocs. Even if it gives its title to the album, it is not among his most successful. D-Track is a good author, but some of his metaphors are questionable and some comparisons are old-fashioned. Although sometimes verbose, his flow impresses on a few occasions, like on Oh Mah God.
Good Times (with Sam Faye and Caro Dupont), The Most Beautiful Dreams, Keep On and Post-It to Oneself could inspire human resources departments lacking ideas to motivate their troops. Even I Want to Be Rich delivers more of a message about the value of art rather than the quest for dollars.
On this one, which benefits from a catchy chorus from Taga, D-Track emphasizes: “I can’t live on love and fresh water/It’s not love that’s going to pay my lease/The big guy I dream of/That commercial radio stations will start playing my joint.” It is inconceivable to us that his music, written in exemplary French, is not more present on the airwaves.
D-Track has never had great success, but a few signs of recognition from the industry, notable support, a good base of admirers and the pleasure of rapping seem to satisfy him. So much the better !