Lets flip it for a minute , I ’ m the one who pulled the trigger on a young white victim
And admitted that I did it , tell me would I be acquitted , would they keep me out of prison , oh no no no and the difference
Oh Klanada , I ain ’ t mad at cha , you were born this way on some savage shit
party album they were working on for the label , Rez Bangers & Koolapops , and instead parted ways and self-released an entirely different and much more political album , which was Trapline .
“ It was more like an internal thing with their management . I don ’ t think our album was being managed properly . So , it just wasn ’ t a right fit for us and we just went a different direction ,” says Nyce about RPM , not wanting to elaborate on it any more than that .
“ I mean , [ being independent ] is the move for now , but that ’ s not to say that we ’ re against signing some type of deal ,” adds Metz . “ We ’ ve been in talks about the idea or the possibility of us starting our own label or something like that , and then signing a licensing deal with somebody . But we just want to move smartly and make sure our moves are the right moves , because a lot of people are quick to sign the first deal that they ’ re offered , which isn ’ t necessarily a bad thing . It ’ s definitely a learning experience . But especially as the pandemic goes on and you realize how crucial it is to own your masters in this game , being independent just works for us right now .”
That is not to say they don ’ t have a trusted team around them , whether that ’ s their manager ( Brodie Metcalfe at Meta Arts Management ), agent ( Tom Kemp at Feldman Agency ), publicist ( Amanda McCauley at Indoor Recess ), and others . “ We have mentors in our lives that help us through it , hold our hands through certain situations that haven ’ t been explored before ,” notes Nyce . “ For me , the biggest advantage of being a Canadian artist is that we have so much access to grant funding . The main thing for me when it comes to being independent ,
What you put us through , made me savage boo , so don ’ t shoot me down while I pray
– From “ Red Sky at Night ”
is being able to access those grants . When we were with the label , a lot of those advantages disappeared . For us , we got to move smartly when it comes to being in with those grant agencies , because for us , that ’ s our deal . So , I feel like any label that we do sign with would have to offer us something that is worth taking all that money away . There ’ s a lot of funding there for our albums , and that ’ s why we ’ ve been able to push out albums like we have .”
Growing up on the same street in Kitimat , BC , Nyce and Metz ( who are cousins ) were ferocious consumers and students of rap . It was the era of CDs and listening to albums from front to back on repeat . That , they say , is what instilled a belief in the album format as a cohesive body of work that is strong all the way through .
“ For us , when it comes to making an album , you don ’ t want to have an album where there ’ s skips . I feel like a lot of that does come with getting complacent , becoming monotone , not doing as many takes as you should , and not pushing yourselves creatively ,” adds Nyce . “ I think with this last album , we had a lot of time to be able to experiment with our voices . One of our things is we don ’ t ever want to make the same song twice . So , we work with our voices and we push ourselves out of our comfort zones . We try to make ourselves sound different in every song , using our voice as a tool , almost like how singers do .”
I said to them , and they ’ ve heard it a lot , that their vocal dexterity , and the way they bounce of each other from verse to verse , is almost unchallenged in today ’ s rap scene .
“ Sometimes we got to fluctuate our voice or say something a certain way . If one of us is going hard , one goes slow or medium tempo and stuff like that ,” explains Metz . “ It ’ s really yin and yang with the both of us , because we ’ ve known each other all our lives . We already had a chemistry from growing up playing basketball together . It ’ s like , knowing that my brother is right there with me , and he ’ s going to bring the best out of me , and I ’ m going to bring the best out of him . I want to say it ’ s competitive , but it helps us and we push each other to not get complacent . Five years ago , we would never be doing the sound we are right now , but that ’ s because we ’ re constantly learning and growing , and learning what we can and can ’ t do with our vocals .”
And when you combine their vocal skills , their ear for a great beat and groove , and their lyrical brilliance and fearlessness , there are very few rappers going today who can compete with Snotty Nose Rez Kids . With Life After racking
I ’ m what you call a decolonizer I ’ m real deadly , need another Pfizer Ahead of my time , word to the wiser I ’ m too much for you old timers – From “ If I Die Today ”
38 CANADIAN MUSICIAN