Q052 is a Mi’gmaq rapper and activist from the community of Gesgapegiag in Gaspésie. His powerful and uncompromising music blends old-school hip-hop with influences from alternative rock, industrial punk, and grunge, creating a truly unique sonic signature.

 

Winner of Best Male Hip-Hop Artist at the International Indigenous Hip Hop Awards in 2023, Q052 is known for his lyrical intensity and deep-rooted activism. After releasing Rez Life (2018) and Qama’si (2019), he went on to share a series of impactful singles, including High Horse, All Eyes on Mi’kma’ki, Oil the Guns, Hello Rain, SQ, Red Dress Christmas, and Vati-Klan. In 2022, he released two full-length albums: The Calm and The Storm, the latter marking a turning point in his artistic identity. Q052’s prolific output is a testament to his boundless creativity, relentless need to compose, and his drive to push the boundaries of genre through bold collaborations.

 

His discography now includes 5 albums, 1 EP, and 9 singles, for a total of 70 tracks, and over 159,000 online streams. Over the past few years, Q052 has earned numerous nominations, including: Breakthrough Artist of the Year – Indigenous Music Awards (2019), Indigenous Artist of the Year – ADISQ (2021), Youth Leadership in Music Award – Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards (SSIMA) (2021), Expression Music Artist/Group and Blues or Rock Artist/Group – Gala Teweikan (2022), Hip-Hop Album of the Year – GAMIQ (2022), Best Songwriter and Best Male Hip-Hop Artist – International Indigenous Hip Hop Awards (2022), Hip-Hop Album of the Year – International Indigenous Hip Hop Awards (2023). 

​

A prolific and eclectic artist, Q052 has taken to the stage at major festivals such as FEQ, La Noce, OFF Québec, Innu Nikamu, Festival Kwe!, FME, Bleu Bleu, and the Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée. But his presence is just as powerful at protests, panels, and events advocating for land protection, education access, justice for Indigenous women and girls, and Indigenous political and economic sovereignty.

​

In the fall of 2025, he unveiled his ferocious Thunder Child. A true sonic manifesto, this album defies genres and asserts a resolutely free voice, where Q052 fuses old-school hip hop with cyberpunk textures and sharp political lyrics. Gritty, rebellious, and fiercely independent, Thunder Child is not simply an album: it's a sonic explosion.

​

Thunder Child will come to life on stage in April 2026 during a week of launches:
April 15, 2026: Montreal — Bar L'Escogriffe
April 16, 2026: Quebec City — Le Pantoum
April 18, 2026: Carleton-sur-Mer — Le Naufrageur

 

Q is for Quentin. 052 is the government-issued number of his reserve.
No Justice, No Peace.