BeatRoute Magazine AB Edition May 2019

MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS
MARC DE VINCI
ORAL MORALS
Hip-hop duo Snotty
Nose Rez Kids think
ahead and look back
to the future with
responsibility
By SAFIYA HOPFE
Fast-rising West Coast rappers Darren
“Young D” Metz and Quinton
“Yung Trybez” Nyce remember when
their relatives in Kitimat would call
them “snotty nosed kids from the
rez” with endearment– carefree kids
who wouldn’t let a few boogers get
in their way. Now, they go by “Snotty
Nose Rez Kids” to honour being a little
rough around the edges, and that
this is what makes them beautiful.
The journey of the last couple of
years has been wild, and in many
ways unexpected– but they say it’s a
dream come true.
Since their 2017 debut, they’ve
been nominated for the Polaris, a
Juno, and best hip-hop album at the
Indigenous Music Awards.
But Nyce says, they’re not
in it for that. “At the end
of the day, it’s just to have
a positive impact on people.”
The project started as
a vision when the two
were in school preparing
to work nine-to-five
jobs. Since then, each album
has had what Metz
calls a “snowball effect.”
SNOTTY NOSE
REZ KIDS
Vancouver:
Thursday, May 30
Fortune Sound Club
Victoria:
Friday, June 7
Capital
Calgary:
Tuesday, May 21
Commonwealth
“With each project” says Metz, “trying
to get up there, trying to define
ourselves and our style, we healed
in ways that we thought we couldn’t
heal. And not just that, but helping
others heal.”
In late 2017, The Average Savage
marked Nyce and Metz’s emergence
from their shells. This sparked a
healing journey as they explored
their roots and their power through
verse. New record Traplines, signifies
that they now have their confidence.
It was this confidence in their collective
voice that brought it into being.
Last summer, the two wanted to
make a mixtape, Rez Bangers & Koolapops,
but realized a project of that
scale wouldn’t be true to them. They
wanted to make a full-length record–
and they wanted it to have a message.
And the time really couldn’t be
riper. After all, as Nyce points out,
our planet is dying, slowly but surely.
Describing the album, he says, “It’s
a reminder to people that the land
we come from comes with responsibility.
Our ancestors upheld those
responsibilities and passed those responsibilities
down to us.”
He adds, “People need inspiration
from an outside source, not necessarily
holding them up on the frontlines.
We give them a different energy. We
Edmonton:
Wednesday, May 22
99ten
Tix: $15, Ticketweb.ca
make anthems for that
sort of thing.”
Although forward-thinking
action is
definitely a focus of theirs,
Snotty Nose Rez Kids are
far from forgetting where
they came from. Having
been raised in a culture
and an environment
where oral storytelling
is pivotal, their work is
in many ways shaped by
what their grandparents, parents,
aunties and uncles shared with them
in hours spent at the dinner table. “A
lot of the stuff on Trapline, is a lot of
just that,” says Nyce.. “My mum’s on
the opening skit, she’s telling us exactly
what our traplines are and what
they mean, letting us know that we
don’t own these traplines we don’t
own this land, but we have a responsibility
to preserve it, protect it, and
pass it onto the next generation for
us to survive. So we give and we take,
when it comes to storytelling.”
They aim to speak not only for
themselves but for all of those who
came before them. Nyce describes
this as a relationship of responsibility.
“Without us, there’s a missing link.
The generation before us can’t have
that information passed on to the
generation after us without our link.”
Metz says the plan for the future
is to keep building, and do whatever
they can to make a difference.
“Whether or not that means being
the first people to run through the
brick wall, you know, cause the first
one’s always the bloodiest. All we
want to do is start a ripple effect.” He
finishes on a note of hope. “We want
to help heal this one so the next generation
comes up stronger.” ,
ON TOUR
May 4 Vancouver KW Studios
May 8 Calgary The King Eddy
May 10 Edmonton The Sewing Machine Factory
May 12 Winnipeg Forth
“as comforting as it is uncompromising”
PITCHFORK (8/10)
FLEMISHEYE.COM
MAY 2019 BEATROUTE 29