For Snotty Nose Rez Kids, the wait for Red Future was worth it
Snotty Nose Rez Kids' recent album, Red Future, was ready to go over three years ago, but the pandemic prompted a change in direction.
However, the wait seems to have been worth it, with the album earning the rap group one of three award nominations at the 2025 Junos — which happen to be taking place in their home city.
The group, made up of Quinton "Yung Trybez" Nyce and Darren "Young D" Metz, say they're stoked to be attending and performing at the Vancouver awards show on March 30.
The duo, originally from from Kitimaat Village in northern B.C., performed in Toronto at the 2022 Juno Awards. But Metz says performing at the Junos in Vancouver is "definitely a special moment for us, to be able to do what we do here in front of our hometown."
Red Future, the group's sixth album, is nominated for Rap Album of the Year. Snotty Nose Rez Kids are in the running for Rap Single of the Year with BBE, which stands for "big braid energy," and Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year.
While being nominated in the Indigenous category might seem like an obvious choice to some, Metz says nominations in two rap categories feel like "it should have happened years ago," acknowledging the confidence that it takes to be a rapper.
The rap category at the award show was first introduced in 1991, and the Aboriginal recording category, now known as Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year, debuted three years later.
Red Future
Growing up without exposure to Indigenous artists because of slow internet access on the reserve and no social media at the time, Snotty Nose Rez Kids say that their music is meant to inspire future generations of Indigenous youth.
Red Future represents the future generations of Indigenous artists to come. As Nyce describes it, the album tells stories of Indigenous futurism and excellence.
The album was initially slated to come out in 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a different release, Life After, which represented life after the pandemic.
After that came " I'm Good, HBU?" showing the world that the pair was good now. Now, Red Future looks into the future.
Committed to creating space for Indigenous art, the album features 12 other Indigenous artists, including Tia Wood, Dreezus and Travis Thompson.
"We wanted to have as many Indigenous voices as we could because we all come from the same place, but we all have different points of view," said Metz.
"A lot of people don't make music like we do. For us, there's only so many people that are out there that are able to digest our music. We make music for a certain demographic of people, and the way that we represent them, we take that very seriously," said Nyce.
Nyce says opportunities to perform were rare for an up-and-coming rap group in Vancouver. Because of this, the group worked to create that opportunity for themselves and others.
"We didn't have a lot of opportunity to be able to showcase what we were capable of in this city, but what we did have is each other, and we had a community that followed us anywhere we went."
Soon, they'll be performing again on one of the biggest nights in the Canadian music calendar.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Montreal's diverse Ensemble Obiora is changing the faces of classical music
Article content The classical music world is pretty white. But rather than simply accept the imbalance and hope things change eventually, Allison Migeon and her partner Brandyn Lewis decided to do something about it. Article content 'It started in 2021,' Migeon said. 'Brandyn and I were asking ourselves a lot of questions, like many people, about what we wanted to do and things we wanted to change professionally. Also, with everything that happened around (the death of) George Floyd, we took time to think — how could it be that in the milieu we had evolved in for so many years, there was so little representation of people of different origins? It was always the same types of people on stage, and the same types of repertoire being played.' Article content Article content And so Migeon and Lewis founded Ensemble Obiora, Canada's first orchestra comprised primarily of professional musicians from culturally diverse backgrounds. Migeon, who has experience in cultural administration, is the group's director. Lewis, a double bassist who is the first Black musician to perform regularly with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, is Ensemble Obiora's artistic director. Article content Article content They began reaching out to racialized musicians they knew, and as word spread, people began contacting them. Article content 'There was a lot of interest,' Migeon said. 'It's something new that had never been done in Canada. We're used to seeing this type of orchestra in the U.S., and there's Chineke! Orchestra in London, but in Canada, there's nothing like this in classical music.' Article content Ensemble Obiora is made up of approximately 50 musicians primarily from Quebec and Ontario, who come together in various combinations depending on the repertoire of a given concert. They are of African, South Asian, Middle Eastern and Indigenous heritage, with a few white players thrown in for good measure. Article content Article content 'Our goal is to reflect the society we live in,' Migeon said. 'We don't want to discriminate. It's important to have allies.' Article content Article content The orchestra is in its fourth year of participation in the OSM's Virée classique concert series, being held Aug. 13 to 17. As the ensemble in residence of the music department of Université du Québec à Montréal for the past three years, it engages in activities with students and performs regularly at UQAM's Salle Pierre-Mercure. Article content This weekend, Ensemble Obiora steps outside, performing for free Saturday at 7 p.m. in N.D.G. Park and Sunday at 2 p.m. in Ahuntsic Park as part of the Campbell Concerts series. For the occasion, the group will play music by composers of African descent. Article content The program features three works. Tzigane, for wind quintet, by Grammy-nominated American flautist and composer Valerie Coleman, 'a piece inspired by Eastern European music and the Roma,' Migeon said; Nonet In F Minor, by 19th-century British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor; and Danzas de Panama, by 20th-century American composer William Grant Still, whom Migeon describes as 'the don of African-American composers, and the first Black man to conduct an American orchestra.'
2 days ago
Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation contestant wins 2025 Miss Indigenous Canada
Cheers echoed through the James Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg Wednesday as Gena Boubard arrived home from Toronto as Miss Indigenous Canada 2025. Boubard, from Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation, wore the crown and sash they won at the pageant as they were greeted with hugs from family and friends. I'm feeling so many different emotions right now, mostly joy and just so honoured to be bringing the crown home to my community, Boubard said. When it came down to the moment on stage when a winner would be announced, Boubard said they were ready to congratulate their competition. Then Boubard's name was called. It was such a shock, and all of the emotions kind of took over, Boubard said. I could not stop crying in the moment. WATCH | Miss Indigenous Canada arrives home: In its second year, the 2025 edition of the pageant was held in Six Nations of the Grand River territory near Hamilton. The first Miss Indigenous Canada, 2024 winner Jessica McKenzie, was also from a First Nation in Manitoba — Opaskwayak Cree Nation. This year there were 19 competitors from communities across Canada. Contestants compete in four categories: an essay competition, an interview portion, a cultural presentation and a scrapbook to display the work that each contestant does in their home community. Enlarge image (new window) Contestants in the 2025 Miss Indigenous Canada pageant. Photo: Good Earth Media Boubard's work showcased representation. As a two-spirit and non-binary individual, they started a Pride committee in Sagkeeng and held the community's first-ever Pride festival this past June. Kapanaise Thiebault, a friend of Boubard, waited to greet Boubard at the airport. They've been working endlessly and I'm beyond proud to see what they've done and their efforts have paid off, Thiebault said. Taylor Behn-Tsakoza, the third runner-up in this year's pageant from Fort Nelson First Nation, 802 km north of Prince George, B.C., is a councillor in her community, holds a full-time job and is studying for a master's degree. Enlarge image (new window) Miss Indigenous Canada 2025 contestant Taylor Behn-Tsakoza. Photo: Artography by Tracy Behn-Tsakoza said she was inspired by the work and accomplishments of the other contestants. I want to go home and just continue to do good work, Behn-Tsakoza said. Boubard had words of encouragement to anyone struggling to find their place. I would tell them to stay true to themselves, authentically and confidently in their identity, and just know there is an entire nation of Indigenous people across Turtle Island cheering them on. Corrections A previous version of this story on CBC News website said that Taylor Behn-Tsakoza is from Fort William First Nation, but she is from Fort Nelson First Nation. This story was updated to reflect this fact. Jul 31, 2025 10:13 AM EDT Stefan Richard (new window) · CBC News Stefan Richard is a reporter for CBC Indigenous, based in Treaty 1 territory. His work has appeared on APTN, NPR, Corus Radio, Native Communications Inc., and Slam Wrestling. Stefan is a proud member of Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation.
CBC
4 days ago
- CBC
Doug Ford wears it, Russ refuses it... why gifts of beaded medallions are sparking debate
Social Sharing Beading a medallion is meticulous work and can take days for even skilled beaders to complete, so when non-Indigenous people are gifted these cultural adornments, some First Nations people question if they really understand their value. Ontario Premier Doug Ford's latest accessory, a beaded medallion given to him by the Ontario Native Women's Association at a meeting last week between premiers and national Indigenous organizations, has sparked debate online. The gift came just weeks after Ford made inflammatory comments that he has treated First Nations people "like gold" and that they "can't just keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government" and need to be able to take care of themselves. He apologized for his comments the next day. A statement from ONWA said the gift, given to Ford by their CEO Cora McGuire-Cyrette, was intended as a reminder of the leadership of Indigenous women and importance of their voices at decision-making tables. Ford's medallion hasn't been the only one getting attention this month. After a concert in Toronto, Italian-American rapper Russ came under fire for refusing a medallion while he performed. "What do you want me to do? Stop the whole show," he can be heard saying on stage in a video shared on social media. "I'm trying to perform and you're spending the whole show just trying to get me to look at this dumb s--t you're holding up." After, he took to TikTok and said a fan was using the guise of a medical emergency to call attention to the medallion, after his show had already been stopped once due to an actual medical emergency, and that he refused it on those grounds. This incident ignited discussion online about the cultural significance of medallions and whether their value is appreciated or understood by non-Indigenous celebrities and politicians. Kerry Benjoe, editor-in-chief of EFN Media and a Saulteaux journalist from Muscowpetung First Nation in Saskatchewan, worries medallions aren't respected the way they should be by recipients. "When somebody takes the time to make that piece for you, they're giving a piece of themselves to you and I don't think people from outside the Indigenous community fully understand," Benjoe said. "They don't understand the historical significance of a lot of this artwork. A lot of skill goes into it, a lot of thought." For Benjoe, medallions also carry ancestral weight, because artistic knowledge is passed down across generations. She said ultimately it is up to beaders to decide to gift their beadwork or not but she wants to see the pieces being honoured the way they should be. Gifts to build relationships Mariah Battiste, a Mi'kmaw beader and owner of Sundaylace Creations in Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia, has gifted many medallions, including to her brother Jaime Battiste, the first Mi'kmaw MP elected to the House of Commons. She said he wears them as a symbol of his identity and a reminder of his commitment to his people. Beading to gift is part of her cultural identity, she said, rooted in teachings of reciprocity and sacrifice. She said Mi'kmaq give gifts not as a transactional duty but to show generosity and build relationships, a tradition since before the signing of the treaties. "The [gift] giver is offering a little bit of our spirit, a little bit of our friendship, extending trust," said Battiste. She acknowledges the confusion some may have around gifting medallions to controversial politicians, especially those outside of the community, but to her it's about building bridges. In this way, she said she understands how, despite his recent comments, the ONWA gave Ford a medallion as a symbolic gesture to repair relationships. "Are we giving gifts to people we dislike… or are we trying to relationship-build with people who don't understand us and making that bridge using a sort of ceremony?" she asked. Battiste beaded a medallion for Prime Minister Mark Carney in June, which her brother gifted to him on Canada Day. She said she doesn't expect for him to wear it in the same way her brother does, but it's a symbol for building understanding with the new prime minister. Jocelyn Marshall, a Mi'kmaw beader from Membertou First Nation in Nova Scotia, said she has a casual approach to gifting her beadwork. A few years ago, her son encouraged her to bead a medallion for rapper Ice Cube, which he then tossed on stage at the end of a concert. "To me, it's just something fun to do, and I mean, if he got it, he got it," said Marshall. "If he didn't, oh well…. I had nothing to lose." To her surprise, she received photos of the rapper wearing her beadwork backstage later that night. Marshall said she felt happy to see him wearing it and later see it on his Instagram, but for her it wasn't about the recognition. She said just knowing someone was enjoying her art was enough. "Beadwork doesn't have to line up with anybody else's values but your own when you're a beader," said Marshall. "I like to say, 'I bead what I want, when I want.'"
