Since debuting in 2010, local hip-hop trio Winnipeg’s Most has released two albums and a mixtape, earned hit singles, garnered thousands of YouTube views, was featured prominently in a Maclean’s article on hip hop in Winnipeg and won more awards than Meryl Streep has Oscars.

MCs Jon-C (Billy Pierson), Charlie Fettah (Tyler Rogers) and Brooklyn (Jamie Prefontaine) make up the popular group.

Although Brooklyn is in jail right now, Fettah and Jon-C are preparing for a Winnipeg’s Most show at the Marquee Lounge & Event Centre (1875 Pembina Hwy.) this Friday, March 23.

After that, the duo hit the road for a month-long tour across Western Canada in support of the group’s most recent release, GoodFellaz, which came out last June.

“It’s going to be interesting spending that much time with Jon-C in a van and hotel rooms,” 26-year-old Fettah says with a laugh over a late dinner at Moxie’s in the MTS Centre.

He adds that the group’s members are close.

“We’re really like a family, and the music reflects it.”

What the music also reflects are the realities of growing up as young First Nations and Metis men in Winnipeg’s North End. Jon-C is Aboriginal, and Fettah and Brooklyn are Metis.

The name of the record label the group started is Heatbag - slang for “flagrant criminal” - but the members of Winnipeg’s Most aren’t full of hot air when it comes to talking about gang life and breaking the law. They’ve lived it.

Still, Fettah insists they’re trying to make sure their illicit behaviour remains a thing of the past.

Writing rhymes, then, is a struggle between accurately portraying their life experiences and glorifying a lifestyle they’re not necessarily proud of.

“I think the way that we were all living at a certain part in our lives, it’s hard to forget that stuff,” Fettah says.

“I have a great loving family … but I made the choices that I made to make money because I wanted fast money. And then to see the death, the destruction, the pain, the joy - everything that comes along with making that kind of money from the street - it influences everything that I say now, and it’s the same with all three of us.”

“I would be lying to my listeners if I said it wasn’t fun to go make a few thousand dollars in a day and then go out that night and spend it,” he adds. “But at the same time ... we tell both sides of the story. Yeah, it’s fun and you might get some money and some girls and some good times, but when you’re sitting in that cell doing five-and-a-half years, it’s not so fun anymore. There’s real life repercussions and you start putting more thought into your actions.”

Fettah and his bandmates started Heatbag in 2005, but it wasn’t until 2008 that they formed Winnipeg’s Most.

Renowned Canadian production duo Stomp and Jay Mak of Rezofficial Music approached the trio about working with them, and wrote and produced most of the music on Northside Connection, the free mixtape the group released in 2010, as well as the songs on the group’s two official studio releases, 2010’s self-titled album and last year’s GoodFellaz.

It’s been a whirlwind two years, with the band winning nine Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards - including each of the six awards it was nominated for at last November’s APCMAs. They’ve also toured and are recognized by fans in different cities across Western Canada.

Fettah and his bandmates now find themselves in the position of being role models to youth who look up to them. He says it’s intimidating.

“It’s hard to wrap my head around a lot, because I don’t view myself as a role model,” Fettah says, later adding, “We’re humbled by it, we try to learn from it, we’ve taught ourselves that we are a role model to (some) youth in Winnipeg and across the country, and I think we act accordingly more so than we did in the beginning.”

Ultimately, Fettah says, no one’s perfect and shit happens. Still, it’s almost never too late to start over.

“We advocate change,” he says. “We advocate turning your life around and doing something with it.”

- See Winnipeg’s Most perform at the Marquee Lounge & Event Centre (1875 Pembina Hwy.) on Friday, March 23
- Madchild, DJ Dow Jones, The Rupness Monsta with Cypha Diaz, Blu and Big Pesh & Halfstar will also perform
- Advance tickets $15 at NSHB Studio & Clothing Store (255 Vaughn St.), Hood Hop’rz (1348 Main St.) and Cloudy Daze (232 Tyndal Ave.), or $20 at the door
- Visit www.facebook.com/winnipegsmost or follow @charliefettah and @joncheatbag on Twitter

Published in Volume 66, Number 24 of The Uniter (March 21, 2012)