鈥淎 little bit of pain is a good thing.鈥
So goes the eerie sample that opens the new project from rapper and producer Backxwash, priming listeners for what鈥檚 to come: a harrowing and relentlessly heavy album that achieves catharsis through anger and noise.
Last October, Backxwash won the 2020 Polaris Music Prize for her album 鈥淕od Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It,鈥 becoming the first transgender woman to win the prestigious award, which recognizes the best Canadian album based on artistic merit. Combining the intensity of industrial metal with the poignant lyricism of hip hop, the gothic and thunderous album was a provocative and uncompromising statement from a pioneering artist.
On June 20, Backxwash, whose real name is Ashanti Mutinta, released her followup LP, titled 鈥淚 Lie Here Buried With My Rings and My Dresses.鈥 Recorded in Montreal, Mutinta鈥檚 new album represents an attempt to develop her sound while remaining true to the core values of her previous work.
Backxwash won the prestigious Polaris Prize in 2020.
Chachi RevahThe Star talked about the project via email with Backxwash, who now lives in Ottawa.
Music writers go to great lengths to describe the sound of your music: horrorcore, gothic rap, industrial hip hop, etc. How do you describe it?
My music is more like industrial hip hop, experimental hip hop, with a bit of industrial metal in the mix.
Who are your main musical influences?
Danny Brown, JPEGMafia, Lady of Rage, Nine Inch Nails, D盲lek, Death Grips 鈥 there are too many to count.
鈥淕od Has Nothing to Do With This鈥 felt like a very personal album about the challenges of reconciling one鈥檚 identity with the religion they grew up with. Your work is obviously very critical of Christianity, but it also feels like it鈥檚 informed and influenced by it. Thematically, how would you describe 鈥淚 Lie Here Buried鈥?
鈥淚 Lie Here鈥 is mostly about pain and facing the pain. Not dealing with it but knowing that you are powerless against it. It is not an album about redemption or a phoenix rising. It is knowing that you are going to die and not being able to do anything about it because you are powerless.
Your previous work featured samples from early heavy metal bands, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. The new album feels less sample-based, instead relying on heavy industrial production. What was the sound you were aiming for this time around?
I was aiming to draw more from interesting sounds and melodies rather than samples from actual songs. I think in place of sound design my mind usually works by saying: 鈥淚 need a sound that sounds like this鈥 and then incorporate it into the music. I am not skilled at sound design, but I think I am much better at formulating what sound I need and using sounds (cats, sound of a car taking off, wind, etc.) to fit the description of what I need.
On the song 鈥淭error Packets,鈥 you sample a clip of American activist and abolitionist Angela Davis speaking about police violence and the inevitability of 鈥渆xplosions鈥 like we witnessed following the murder of George Floyd last year. What made you want to include that specific clip?
Angela Davis spoke true to what a lot of marginalized communities deal with. The oppression we go through and how we are not supported by elements of the system. It just fit right for the content we were writing about.
鈥淭error Packets鈥 also features a wicked verse from Texas artist Censored Dialogue, who I hadn鈥檛 heard of before. How did the collaboration come about?
Always loved their work, they are amazing. I found them on Twitter, listened to their projects and fell in love. One of the best lyricists out no doubt.
This album feels super collaborative, actually. How did you select the artists you collaborated with on this project?
Mostly just selected based on chemistry, friendship and how well I think they would contribute to the sound. I am honoured for all of the contributions. All of them are such amazing artists.
A lot of music fans are intimidated or uninterested in 鈥渉eavy music.鈥 And yet, despite the fact that your music is undeniably very heavy, it feels somehow more accessible than a lot of hardcore or metal. My theory is that this has something to do with the fragmentation of hip hop over the past few years into more niche sounds and genres. Do you think music fans are ready for the rise of 鈥渉eavy hip hop?鈥
I think heavy hip hop has been a thing for years now. Hip hop is culture right now and fans in my opinion have been ready for this type of music for the longest time. 鈥淓xmilitary鈥 (a mixtape by experimental hip-hop group Death Grips) blew up when it came out. JPEGMafia, Injury Reserve, I would think they are heavy in their own regard. Trap metal is still something that is huge to the fan base with acts like Suicideboys.
On Twitter, you share a broad range of music with your followers. Who is your dream collaboration?
D盲lek, Death Grips and Noname would all be amazing.
鈥淚 Lie Here Buried With My Rings and My Dresses鈥 is available now on Bandcamp and elsewhere via Ugly Hag Records.
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