The Revolution Is Ready for Prime Time on Snotty Nose Rez Kids' 'RED FUTURE'
One can draw parallels between the treatment of black people in America, which inadvertently fueled the creation of hip-hop generations later, and the cultural genocide of Indigenous people in Canada. Horrific atrocities were committed by white folks against disparate tribes lumped together as an undesirable "other," people considered property or standing in the way of progress. Either brought here in chains or marginalized and assimilated, both know all too well about the dark side of colonialism in North America, and the sacrifices forced on them to build these nations.
A similar spark of righteous indignation that lit a fire under the likes of Paris and Public Enemy in the late '80s and early '90s burns bright in the lyrics of "Free," "BBE," and the empathetic intro to "One of the Best." The world is still taking its time to acknowledge the actions of our forebears on the globe's Indigenous populations, and how that still impacts us today. It was only in recent years that we began to admit what really happened at residential schools with the stolen children, to recognize broken treaties and unceded territories, and to demand action on countless missing Indigenous women. Snotty Nose Rez Kids don't throw back to the spirited political hip-hop of decades past so much as help lead the current conversation, evidenced in their sound as much as in their lyrics.
A notion commonly attributed to Emma Goldman goes, "If I can't dance to it, it's not my revolution." As much as the politics of SNRK challenge the status quo and inspire new frames of thinking, they are also the lifeblood of the party. With Yung Trybez & Young D enlisting the likes of Eestbound, 7ink, Brodie Metcalfe, Kato on the Track, Kyrigo, BZA, OVRCZ, Dom Dias, Jamie Kuse and Whodunit in the studio, RED FUTURE is rotten with the stankest Auto-Tune, most skittering 808 percussion and absolutely ballistic basslines to huff, puff and blow the rave down. This album is massive.
Despite name dropping Eazy E and Limp Bizkit, "No Dogs Allowed" is far more on the hallucinogenic Indigenous futurism tip than old school anything. The bass is as massive and distorted as Skrillex, vibing like J Dilla dropped a single on Dome of Doom Records, while the vocals sound like a Lil Jon party anthem, not to mention the imagery in its music video looks like the nightclub at the end of time. It's a moment of ecstasy, but even in pure release, there is a sense of rebellion, of pushing forward to create the future our children deserve rather than accept the sad fate laid out by our complicated and often disappointing past.
The moody bass and prickly trap percussion of "Peaches" is delightfully underscored by a Beetlejuician piano line, while the absurd flows of Young D and Yung Trybez bring to mind the cartoonish lunacy of Fu-Schnickens. It's one of the sickest tracks on the album even before Princess Nokia shows up to declare the future brown and red, and lay down the most incendiary guest verse on a record full of impressive appearances. RED FUTURE boasts such notable contributors as Travis Thompson, Aysanabee, Drezus, NorthSideBaby, Tia Wood, Lakeeysha Marie, Electric Fields and Polaris Prize winner Jeremy Dutcher, who adds his operatic vocal prowess to "Future Ancestors." That's a big list of names, following a big list of names a couple paragraphs back, but these all feel more like a community coming together organically than a desire to prop up a mainstream pop album with trendy guest stars and the hottest producers.
Community is the point, after all. The intro to "One of the Best" contains a meditation on sound and creation, positing the idea that, "When you sing, that is medicine healing others and yourself." The song itself represents an interesting dichotomy as the refrain alternates the phrase "I'm one of the best" with "I'm stuck in my head," speaking to the struggle to stay positive against all odds. Indeed, it's a song of healing, on both an individual and communal level.
The biggest anthem on this album of anthems is arguably "BBE" —that's "Big Braid Energy." Many consider braid culture to show a connection to those who came before them, the creator and the earth itself, and this track injects that rather serious concept with a heavy dose of hip-hop swagger as vital as Leikeli47's Acrylic. They hold up a rather specific cultural signifier and open that umbrella, highlighting the expanse of individual expression within (seriously, watch the video and appreciate the style). They're just so damn cool, and their pride is infectious.
They have quite a sense of humour too. Nestling a bizarre hodgepodge of millennial pop culture references in bass-worshipping main-stage beats like the Halluci Nation (formerly A Tribe Called Red) if given a bbno$ makeover, these guys shout out Shoresy, Redbone and the sandlot exclamation, "You're killing me, Smalls" in a track titled "Murder She Wrote." The ridiculous high pitch hook for "Let Ya Hair Down" strikes a grin-worthy tone of self-deprecation and undeniable skill over a beat that squeals and oohs, and the intro to "Burning Man" sounds like an outtake from that time Professor Elemental chased his ape butler Geoffrey into a dystopian future with his backup time travel trousers. The comedy here is as compelling as the drama.
If there was any justice on this styrofoam burger wrapper of a planet, RED FUTURE would beat all of Drake's streaming records on Spotify, but at least SNRK are practically guaranteed another trip to the Polaris short list with it. Then again, Young D and Yung Trybez do have a semi-biographical scripted comedy series in the can for the CBC, simply called Snotty Nose Rez Kids, so perhaps that exposure will earn them the odd future they deserve. This revolution is more than ready for prime time.