[Column] Jérôme 50 - A maverick Quebec singer with a "chill" and "popularity"
Column en Folk Québec SkaPunk![[Column] Jérôme 50 - A maverick Quebec singer with a](/../assets/images/column-jerome-50.webp)
The moment the name “Jérôme 50” appeared
Text: mmr｜Theme: Tracing the trajectory of Jérôme 50, who connected Quebec’s youth culture, language sense, locality, and worker sense with humor and poetry, and considering the meaning of “populism” in contemporary Quebec music.
Urban indie pop and art-oriented francophone music had a strong presence in the Quebec music scene in the late 2010s. On the other hand, there were by no means many artists who brought to the fore the local city, worker culture, youth slang, and bar sensibilities.
Then Jérôme 50 appeared.
His real name is Jérôme Charette-Pépin. Born in L”Ancienne-Lorette, a suburb of Quebec City. He began writing lyrics as a child, and by his late teens was performing on the streets of Rue Saint-Jean in the old town. Later, he studied linguistics at Laval University and developed a strong interest in youth language and Québec colloquial expressions.
In other words, he’s not just a folk singer.
His academic perspective of treating words as a research object coexisted with his physical sense as a street musician.
Moreover, he did not confine himself to an academic position.
Rather, he actively approached areas that were often looked down upon by intellectual society, such as ““drunken people,” ““workers,” ““regional cities,” ““youth slang,” and ““chill culture.’’
His stage name ““Jérôme 50” is said to be derived from ““Labatt 50,” a beer that has been popular in Quebec for many years.
At this point, his aesthetic was already clear.
More familiar than lofty. Conversation over sophistication. It’s more about the people at the bar than the intellectuals.
This feeling becomes even clearer through his later works.
Jérôme 50 was a rare Quebecois musician who tried to connect intellectual culture and popular culture without separating them.
“La hiérarchill” – “The revolution of doing nothing”
In 2018, Jérôme 50 will release the album ““La hiérarchill’’.
With this work, he quickly gained attention in the Quebec indie scene.
The coined word ““hiérarchill” is a combination of ““hierarchy” and ““chill,’’ and was a unique concept that he himself proposed.
It’s not just an admiration for laziness.
Rather, it is being talked about as the younger generation’s passive resistance to neoliberal meritocracy.
Work. Be successful. Be productive.
In response to such pressure, it feels like the very attitude of ““doing nothing’’ is being weaponized.
He said this half-jokingly, but at the same time he meant it seriously.
The album’s musical style was based on folk, but mixed with alternative country, lo-fi pop, and chanson-like storytelling.
What was especially important was that the ““social criticism’’ was not preachy.
He avoids the high-level view typical of intellectuals and always looks at society through laughter.
This feeling remains consistent even in his later works.
The album was also nominated for ““Alternative Album of the Year” by ADISQ, and Jérôme 50 himself selected it as ““Révélation de l’année”.
His penetrating power was unusual for a young, independent artist.
"”La hiérarchill’’ was an important work that transformed the malaise of Quebec youth culture into humor.
An obsession with linguistics and slang
What cannot be overlooked when talking about Jérôme 50 is his unusual obsession with “words.”
He studied linguistics at Laval University and had a particular interest in the languages of young people and the changes in Québec French.
This perspective is not just an intellectual hobby.
It forms his lyrical world itself.
Quebec French is very different from Standard French in France. It is rich in colloquial expressions mixed with English and unique slang, and is closely tied to class and regional characteristics.
Jérôme 50 did not treat it as a “broken French” to be ashamed of.
Rather, it was affirmed as a culture itself.
He was later involved in a youth language dictionary called Dictionnaire du chilleur.
This was a highly symbolic event.
Usually, a dictionary is a device that fixes the ““correct words”. However, he instead focused on recording ““fluid and miscellaneous colloquial language.”
This attitude is also directly connected to the issue of identity in Quebec culture.
In Quebec society, which maintains a French culture within English-speaking North America, “language” is not just a means of communication, but also politics itself.
Jérôme 50 expressed the problem not as extreme nationalism, but as an affirmation of a “living language.”
This is where the intimacy in his lyrics comes from.
For Jérôme 50, language lived on the street corner, not in the dictionary.
The social phenomenon of “Tokébakicitte”
What decided his career was “Tokébakicitte” released in 2021.
This song was a huge hit on Quebec radio and was selected as one of SOCAN’s most popular songs.
But the important thing is that it wasn’t just a hit song.
“Tokébakicitte” spread against the backdrop of Quebec society during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The title itself is a colloquial expression with an emphasis on the Quebecois accent, and is strongly imbued with a sense of locality and common folk.
The lyrics simultaneously poke fun at both the environmentally conscious urban liberals and the discriminatory police culture.
In other words, he did not fully support either the left or the right.
As a result, this song expands beyond expectations.
It reached not only intellectuals but also truck drivers, rural workers, and conservative listeners.
He himself later said, ““I was surprised when I heard that it was being played at a truck driver rally.’’
What emerges here is the ““popular character’’ of Jérôme 50.
Although he came from an indie culture background, he hated being confined to a sense of “intellectual superiority.”
He later criticized the elitism that exists in Quebec’s leftist cultural sphere.
He was uncomfortable with the attitude of looking down on popular artists, calling them ““too popular.’’
This awareness of the issue is also in common with Les Cowboys Fringants and the Québec Redneck Bluegrass Project.
In other words, he was seriously aiming for ““music that connects with the people.’’
"”Tokébakicitte’’ was the turning point that took Jérôme 50 from the underground scene to the whole of Quebec.
“Antigéographiquement” - A look at regional division
"”Antigéographiquement,’’ released in 2023, was a work that further expanded his ideas.
As the title suggests, it is unique.
It is a coined word that includes the nuance of ““contrary to geography,’’ and is strongly conscious of the disconnect between urban and rural areas, differences in cultural areas, and issues of regional identity.
In this album,
- people who collect cans
- Hipsters who moved to rural areas
- porn consumption
- death
- Local culture
- Quebecers’ self-image
A variety of themes were covered.
Jérôme 50 does not depict local communities as simple nostalgia.
He observed both the crudeness of local culture and the arrogance of urban intellectuals.
In terms of music, genre-crossing has become stronger.
Disco. Ska. acoustic. pop. fork.
The composition changes the world view with each song, as he himself says, ““I want each song to have its own universe.’’
And with this album, he strongly pushes his “free spirit”.
An interest in human beings who exist despite their contradictions, rather than ideological purity.
This is the core of his style.
"”Antigéographiquement’’ was an album depicting the divided Quebec society as an observer.
Punk, Ska, and “Anarcolique”
In 2025, Jérôme 50 will release his third album, ““Anarcolique’’.
Here he made a major change of direction.
They boldly introduced ska punk, pop punk, bar folk, and a trash feel from their previous folk-centered line.
He himself cites the following as his influences:
-NOFX
- Les Cowboys Fringants
- Québec Redneck Bluegrass Project
etc.
In other words, it was a fusion of “folk spirit” and “punk spirit.”
More importantly, in this work he began to openly talk about his alcohol and drug problems.
“Y”a pu d”poude dans poude” “Chéri arrête de boeeere” “Le king de la consommation”
It is obvious from the title.
However, there is not only a sense of sadness, but also a mixture of self-deprecation and laughter.
He talked about living a sober life in 2025, saying, ““I just have to build up my life 24 hours at a time.’’
This realism gave his music a new depth.
He began to sing about himself, not just as a cheerful singer, but as a person with a ““consumable body.’’
"”Anarcolique”’ was Jérôme 50”s biggest turning point, a mix of celebration and self-destruction.
As an inheritor of Quebec culture
Jérôme 50 often
- Georges Brassens
- Richard Desjardins
- Jean Leloup
- Dédé Fortin
It is compared with genealogies such as
This is not just a matter of musicality.
What is important is that it inherits the chanson culture, which is the art of words.
He grew up listening to country music and Les Cowboys Fringants, and was also influenced by pop-punk and emo.
In other words,
traditional quebec songs
↓
fork
↓
punk
↓
Internet generation sense
This flow naturally mixes within him.
Moreover, he does not treat local culture as ““old-fashioned.’’
Rather, it is repositioning it as an important part of modern Quebec culture.
This is huge.
In a Quebec music scene that tends to be Montreal-centric, he dealt squarely with provincial and worker culture.
However, it does not lead to xenophobia.
Therein lies his unique sense of balance.
Jérôme 50 seeks to redefine contemporary Quebec culture from the local perspective.
Chronology
| Year | Events |
|---|---|
| Childhood | Starts writing lyrics |
| Late teens | Street performance in Old Quebec |
| 2013 | Independently produced initial EP |
| 2014 | Francouvertes participation |
| 2018 | “La hiérarchill” announced |
| 2019 | “Le camp de vacances de Jérôme 49” announced |
| 2019 | Révélation de l’année nomination at ADISQ |
| 2021 | “Tokébakicitte” announced |
| 2023 | “Antigéographiquement” announced |
| 2024 | “Dictionnaire du chilleur” related activities |
| 2025 | “Anarcolique” announced |
Discography
Studio Album
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2018 | La hiérarchill |
| 2023 | Antigéographiquement |
| 2025 | Anarcholique |
EP / Special works
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Le camp de vacances de Jérôme 49 (version campeurs) |
| 2019 | Le camp de vacances de Jérôme 49 (version moniteurs) |
Why Jérôme 50 is unique
He’s not just an indie singer.
He’s not just a folk singer either.
He’s not just a left-wing artist either.
he,
- Linguistic researcher
- street performer
- I love punk
- Quebec Culture Enthusiast
- Folk Culture Observer
I have all of these things at the same time.
Moreover, not one of them is recovered.
That is why his music is neither ““satire for intellectuals” nor ““simple popular music.”
We always move forward with contradictions.
Therein lies the charm of Jérôme 50.
In the history of Quebec music, he will probably be remembered as the person who updated “locality,” “popularity,” and “youth language” for the 21st century.
Jérôme 50 continues to translate Quebec’s “language of life” into music.
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