,British Columbia hip-hop duo SNOTTY NOSE REZ KIDS (SNRK) have released their latest single ‘Cops With Guns Are The Worst!!!’ in support of the Wet’suwet’en pipeline protests currently taking place across Canada.
The latest single will appear on SNRK’s upcoming EP, ‘Born Deadly’, set to arrive next month (3rd April) and comes hot on the heels of single, ‘Real Deadly.’
Next month, the guys will head out on their first ever U.S. headlining tour, which kicks off April 12 in Portland, OR and wraps up June 13 in Detroit.
‘Cops With Guns Are The Worst!!!’ represents a response to the current eviction notice that was served by the Unist’ot’en People to Coastal Gaslink in Northern British Columbia — Wet’suwet’en territory — and an expression of solidarity with the protests sparked by the eviction notice. Coastal Gaslink have proposed a 670-kilometer fracking gas pipeline to run through the mountains from Dawson Creek to Kitimat, BC. The proposal does not have the support of First Nations leaders and communities because the lands of British Columbia are unceded, meaning Indigenous people never sold or transferred the land to the Canadian government. The rightful land-owners should have control of what forms of industry happen on their lands, and as land protectors, Indigenous people are standing up to big business to protect the land and environment for future generations.
Snotty Nose Rez Kids
Protests have swelled across Canada, and protesters have come up against injunctions, police brutality, and heavy-handed tactics by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. And yet, the movement continues to grow. SNRK’s music, in particular anthemic songs like “Skoden,” “KKKanada,” “Johnny’s Teeth,” “The Warriors,” and “The Resistance,” have been at the center of all of this, played at protests and incorporated into chants. SNRK wanted to offer a new song in response to the current anti-pipeline movement. “Cops With Guns Are The Worst!!!” highlights police brutality and the perseverance of Indigenous people in times of struggle.
Discussing “Cops With Guns Are The Worst!!!” and the anti-pipeline movement, Yung Trybez and Young D stated, “People close to us have been on the ground day in and day out putting their lives on the line to protect all our futures. We’re obviously frustrated by the lack of respect for Indigenous land rights and ownership, but watching the RCMP arresting our people for defending their land and protecting their territory, we felt rage. There’s such a long history of RCMP inflicting violence on our people and that rage boiled over into this song. ‘Cops With Guns Are The Worst!!!’ is a rager, and for us this was the only way to tell that story. We see the Indigenous youth leading the current blockades. They’re fighting not just for the future of tomorrow, but for the future of today. This song was made specifically for them.”
Check out ‘Cops With Guns Are The Worst!!!’ below…
Following the video release for her anti-Valentines single ‘Strangers’ (currently the blog’s Music Video of the Month), Canadian soundscaper SELCI returns with the languid electro-R&B number, ‘Hide Forever,’ which will appear on her second EP in less than a year, ‘A SOFT PLACE’, set for release via Inner Ocean Records on June 23.
As the world is gripped by the Coronavirus pandemic, the track’s message of finding comfort in isolation seems especially fitting in these uncertain times. ‘Hide Forever’ is a slumbering reflection of the artist trapped in a sleep state during a periodic low. Produced with the help of prolific Vancouver beatmaker Neighbour and tempered by Selci’s narcotic vocals, the track flows like a curl of smoke.
“I wrote ‘Hide Forever’ when I was in a major depression and I wasn’t able to face the world,” Selci says. “Sleep was my only place of solace. The world would shut off and I could drift away. For A SOFT PLACE, I needed to dig into the places that made me feel safe, where the fear and stress of the world was silenced: laying on a couch with family, dancing by myself, or sleeping. Sometimes finding a soft place is a site of peace. Sometimes it’s a place of refuge or a part of you that you need to protect. Now with people all over the world going into self-isolation, this song seems to resonate more. I hope that people who are struggling with their mental health because of the pandemic are able to find their own places of softness and comfort. While you may feel like hiding forever, just know that you’re not alone—we’re all in this together.”
‘Hide Forever’ is now out today on all download/streaming sites. Have a listen below…
Set to cause serious waves across not only the Nigerian and African music scenes but the international music industry at large, with his infectious, signature Afro-fusion sound, Nigerian-born OXLADE has released his new single ‘Away’, taken from his forthcoming debut EP ‘Oxygene’ out this Friday (27th March).
The melodic, Spax-produced track ‘Away’ sees Oxlade building on the major buzz he has been causing since the release of his first single ‘Shugar’ in 2018 – and a slew of top notch solo tracks and collaborations – and gives fans a taster of the upcoming project which will offer a formal introduction to the talents of the exciting Lagos-based musician. With a mix of Afrobeat, Hip-Hop, R&B and Country influences, Oxlade’s distinctive, soulful vocals and mesmerising songwriting and storytelling, is backed-up with production from some of Nigeria’s top class producers, ‘Oxygene’ is set to be a must-listen EP.
Speaking on the forthcoming ‘Oxygene’ EP, Oxlade said: “Music is the air that I breathe, which is why I’ve named the EP ‘Oxygene’. With the play on words with Oxy’ being my nickname and the biological ‘gene’, I’m letting out a part of myself to the world which contains love, consciousness and pain.”
After receiving a firm backing from the likes of BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson, alternative electro/pop outfit BETTY PULLS A FAST ONE (BPFO) are back with full force for their first release of the year titled ‘PlantHunter’.
An airy bed of lo-fi electronics introduces the three-and-a-half minute piece, providing the perfect platform for the delightfully askew vocal performance – which puts you in the mind of 80s pop band Orange Juice and 90s alternative rock band Pulp – to claim centre stage.
BPFO consists of Mal R and Jon K, who came under the radar with their 2016 debut song ‘Today I am Prince’, followed up by their debut album ‘Dressed in Birds’ released in 2018, which chronicles unrequited love and how the planet seems to be set on course for a downward spiral.
The album included their first official single ‘It’s Her Kindness (That Turns Me On)’ which was played on BBC 6 Music and described as ‘classic songwriting’. Tracks from the album have since featured on Lonely Oak Radio, Wolfman Radio and Radio Candy.
As well as providing vocals for BPFO, vocalist and songwriter, Malo Ramsoir has appeared on Hungary’s national Petőfi TV and has also recorded with musicians in the UK, Argentina, Hungary and Spain. As vocalist, he also makes one half of the electronic duo, LiiN.
Songwriter and musician Jon K also has another project up his sleeve with an instrumental collection of music under the name S.W.O.R.N.
Available on all major music platforms from 25th March, ‘PlantHunter’ is the first release from their album, coming out later this year.