Quebec City artist Karim Ouellet, a Juno award winner and Félix award nominee who broke through with his heartfelt 2012 hit song L'Amour, was found dead Monday at a music studio in Quebec City.
The cause of his death is not yet known but sources tell Radio-Canada that his body was discovered Monday night at L'Unisson studio in Quebec City's Saint-Roch neighbourhood.
Ouellet's sister, fellow Quebec singer-songwriter Sarahmée wrote in a Facebook post that the family would "continue to celebrate his life, his talent and his legacy" and asked for privacy while the family grieves.
"Thank you for this outpouring of love for Karim, to those who were touched by his words and his melodies," she wrote.
Born in Dakar, Senegal, Ouellet was adopted at the age of three months by Quebec parents and grew up moving back and forth between Quebec City and France, Rwanda, Tunisia and Senegal, before returning to Quebec to study in his teens.
Ouellet first became known locally in 2007 for his collaborations with artists such as CEA, Webster & Limoilou Starz.
It was Ouellet's second album, Fox, that launched him to new heights, selling more than 33,000 copies and earning him five nominations at Quebec's ADISQ awards in 2013 and the 2014 Juno for Francophone album of the year.
He was also named best new artist by Radio-Canada in 2013 and the single L'Amour earned him the Prix Félix-Leclerc, presented by the Francos de Montréal music festival, which supports young up-and-coming francophone artists.
Ouellet had recently celebrated his 37th birthday and was working on his fourth album, before his death, according to his profile on Spotify.
'He was someone with a lot of spirit'
Though Ouellet later became known as a pop artist, Quebec City artist Webster told Radio-Canada's Tout un Matin that Ouellet was "born of the hip hop community in Quebec."
He said Ouellet had "a musical approach to hip hop" and would be remembered for his originality, his creativity and his lyrical sensibility.
"For me, Karim Ouellet was a genius in his approach to music," said Webster. "He was someone who really opened up a musical universe."
The two artists collaborated on Webster's song Quebec History X and became close friends.
"Our birthdays were close together, so we often celebrated together," he said. "Every time we saw each other we laughed a lot."
"He was someone with a lot of spirit," he said.
Quebec political figures expressed their condolences to Ouellet's family. Premier François Legault called Ouellet "a young artist who brought a new style to Quebec music."
Quebec Liberal leader Dominique Anglade said she was "shocked" at Ouellet's passing and quoted lyrics from his biggest hit, L'Amour.
"May these words continue to resonate in our hearts," Anglade wrote, in a tweet.
Quebec City mayor Bruno Marchard tweeted that Ouellet's gentle nature and his lyrics "would live on in the music landscape of Quebecers forever."
Upbeat music, melancholic lyrics
With songs like L'Amour & 2016's Karim et le Loup, Ouellet is known for his style of upbeat music with more introspective or melancholic lyrics.
"Because I don't want it to be all that sad," Ouellet said, in a 2016 interview with CBC radio's All in a Weekend. "When I listen to music, I like deep lyrics and sometimes really sad music, but when the music is happier, I like the result."
Ouellet said he drew inspiration from artists like Belgian singer-songwriter and musician, Stromae, whom Ouellet toured with in Europe and North America."When you listen to Stromae… it's a beat, but when you read the text, no music, like a poem, it's sad and you don't want to smile," he said. "But with the disco beat you want to move and smile, even though it's sad."
All in a Weekend Montreal9:18Karim Ouellet "Trente"
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Quebec musician Karim Ouellet, Juno award winner, dies at 37 - CBC.ca
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