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In 2011, “swag” was defined by a number of artists, crews and labels, from A$AP Rocky to Kreayshawn, but no one artist embodied the undeniable cool and youthful exuberance the term entails more than 23 year-old Montreal beatsmith Lunice Fermin Pierre II. Like so many other artists that have built large internet fan bases, Lunice first gained notoriety through a video highlighting not his music, but his pop-lockin’ ability. While Lunice has been making beats since 2006, it was not until recently that his glitchy, turn’t-up production style really began to develop. Citing influences ranging from the French tastemakers at Ed Banger to Detroit legend J Dilla, Lunice’s two most recent releases, the Stacker Uppa and One Hunned EP’s, both released by the legendary LuckyMe collective, have pushed the young Montréalaise into the upper-echelon of up-and-coming producers.

Lunice’s roots are in Southern hip hop, and more recently “based” hip hop, but his latest releases take more from British maximalists Hudson Mohawke and Rustie, both members of LuckyMe. Glasgow and Atlanta are thousands of miles apart, in both distance and culturally, but Lunice has effortlessly melded the two, as can be seen in his LAZERmix series. Whereas Stacker Uppa strives for grandiose maximalism, One Hunned and several recent remixes with Diplo (released on Mad Decent) highlight a more introspective side of his music. Alongside Diplo, Lunice has remixed Julianna Barwick and Deerhunter into glitchy, indie-rock soundscapes that are deeply dissimilar to both producers’ discographies.  Self-described as shy, Lunice is anything but when he takes the stage with his handy MPD32. Bringing unmatched panache and enthusiasm, a Lunice show is equal parts trap hip hop, what New Yorker writer Sasha Frere-Jones calls “lazer bass,” and dance performance. I was lucky enough to see Lunice at the Los Angeles Mad Decent Block Party and he easily beat out the more established Major Lazer, Dillon Francis and Nadastrom for best set of the day. Whether he’s teaching the crowd how to cook, or dropping the latest LuckyMe sounds, Lunice always appears to be having fun, and is one of the few artists out there that genuinely likes to perform day in and day out.

In November at the esteemed Boiler Room, Rustie ended his set with a track credited to Lunice and HudMo that set the interwebz on fire. The track has yet to attain a release date, but if it is any indication of how 2012 will go, Lunice is in for a wildly successful year. If he maintains his indelible cool, and flair, Lunice will continue to tear down barriers and reach new levels of stardom in the earth’s final year.

Stream: The XX – Basic Space (Lunice Remix)
Download: Lunice – Freaky

Download: Azealia Banks and Lunice- Runnin

Download: Deerhunter – Helicopter (Diplo and Lunice Remix)