We have a fresh new single from 20-year-old R&B/Soul/Pop Singer-Songwriter, NiiKO, formerly known as Lil' Pappie.
NiiKO, the young prodigy formerly known as Lil Pappie, has been busy creating tracks under his new moniker since July of this year. This tune demonstrates NiiKO's ability to produce seamlessly tight numbers without the support of a management team or label backing. One might think to themselves, Why aren't we picking this artist up?
Definitely an up and comer to keep an eye on. We're happy to share his latest tune with you.
If you didn't know about Samantha Crain, you should. Here's a video from Samantha, produced by Be Nice To Your Kids for you to get acquainted.
After a solid couple months of touring across Turtle Island, including dates from Phoenix to San Francisco to Denver, Shawnee based singer songwriter Samantha Crain will be heading up over the border for an appearance at Aboriginal Music Week 2012 in Winnipeg, MB to perform alongside cellist Cris Derksen. Not a show to be missed!
So while you wait for the end of October to catch your chance to see Samantha while she's in Canada, here's something to keep your musical tastes diverse and filled with talent. #Boom.
A solid Trap-inspired co-lab between Ottawa favourites A Tribe Called Red and Montreal-based producer Boogat.
This week's #RPMDownload Tuesday features a recently released collaboration between Ottawa-based producers A Tribe Called Red and Montreal-based vocalist/writer/producer Boogat. This track is already a couple weeks old and you may have already seen it floating around the interwebs, but we couldn't pass up a chance to share it with you.
From Boogat's website, "A few weeks back, my friends from A Tribe Called Red sent me an awesome Trap-inspired beat and we teamed up for this great collabo: Morire Otro Dia.The song is about the daily doubts of human beings and the fact that we just need to keep it going, day after day."
Translated, 'Morire Otro Dia' becomes 'Die Another Day.'
Don't forget to catch A Tribe Called Red with Zuzuka Poderosa and Kush Arora on November 2 during Aboriginal Music Week in Winnipeg, MB.
The APCMAs will be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba on November 1st and 2nd, 2012. For the seventh year in a row, the awards will be hosted by actor and director Lorne Cardinal.
Online voting for this year's awards closed earlier in September, but here is the full list of this year's nominees: APCMA Nominees 2012.
"This year's lineup truly brings to life what we're trying to showcase with the festival," said Gloria Spence in a news release. Spence is the general manager of Manito Ahbee, the festival that produces the awards.
Tune in to APTN for the live broadcast of the music on November 2, 2012—and keep it locked to RPM for a full report on this year's award winners.
Shy-Anne Hovorka is back with a brand new single and video for her infectious pop-country tune, "Run Run Run".
From the flowing fringe dress to a forest dreamscape of escape, Shy-Anne sings about heartbreak and hope in this latest hit for the up-and-coming singer.
Shy-Anne is also celebrating other good news. On Friday the singer announced that she had been invited to perform at this year's Aboriginal Peoples' Choice Music Awards, calling it "another huge opportunity and honour". This year's APCMAs will be held in Winnipeg on November 2nd. You can catch the performance live on APTN.
In the meantime, enjoy the video (starring Classic Roots and Cherry Hovorka):
We have a download from Beaatz featuring Speechless, Gearl and Ill Fundz for their new politically charged track One Last Time.
Back in the mix again is Tobique First Nation hip-hop artist Beaatz with his new track One Last Time featuring fifteen-year-old Tobique First Nations MC Speechless, Eskasoni MC Gearl and Ill Fundz also out of Tobique First Nation. One Last Time speaks on the injustices suffered by Indigenous cultures around Turtle Island through the eyes of these young hip-hoppers coming out of the east coast of Canada.
Maori Soul Singer Songwriter Maisey Rika recently released a video for her song Tangaroa Whakamauti, written and performed in her traditional language.
Tangaroa Whakamauti is a beautiful song that roughly translates into a ballad for the Maori god of the sea, Tangaroa. Sung in her traditional language, this song from the Aotearoa native is a powerful tribute to her culture's history, language, and presence in contemporary music.
Rika's award-winning stage presence and songwriting speaks for itself; this manifestation of a cultural revitalization is awe-inspiring and gorgeous on the eyes. Read the lyrics and the translation, done by Rika herself. Directed by Shae Sterling.
Cop this new single entitled My Eyes Are On You from Fort Erie Native KodeRed.
You don't need to listen to this song for too long before you think to yourself, Why is this not in my headphones?
KodeRed has been laying it down, and you can clearly hear the production that went into tracks like My Eyes Are On You, which was produced by none other than DJ Shub of A Tribe Called Red.
feelin super tierd and still gotta do some writin and recordin...but its all worth it!
Hannah Clifford aka HannahC is the brains behind HannahC Productions which has released a handful of music videos for artists like Kinnie Starr, Rellik and JB The First Lady. Originally from Prince George B.C., Hannah is a mixed Cree/Russian/Irish woman living now in Vancouver, Edmonton and Northern B.C.
This was a prolific week for Hannah releasing two videos into the Indigenous music culture-sphere. One is for Kinnie Starr's song Go Go See It and is a colourful expression of this fun song. The other is a promotional video for The Whiteflower Tour of Niska Napoleon. This post-tour wrap up takes us into some of the shows and backstage scenes of Niska's recent tour.
Both videos are laced with Hannahs artistic flavour and comedic styling.
If you want to checkout more of HannahCs video work, be sure to go to her YouTube channel: youtube.com/hannahCproductions
The Johnnys just put out a new single called Motorcycle Mama, a tribute for a dear friend of Veronica and Jay Bears' whose story is now captured in the lyrics of the song.
The Johnnys have been busy lately; offering free workshops during Pride weekend in Somba K'e, Denendeh last week as well as headlining Somba K'e's Pride celebrations at the Folk on the Rocks site. They also just released this new single about a friend of theirs who happened to have survived a motorcycle accident.
Watch: The Johnnys - "Motorcycle Mama"
This is the story of the song's origin, as told by Veronica Johnny
"In August 2010, I was visiting my friend, Nadine St. Louis, in Toronto. While I was waiting at Nadine's house with her son, Fred, he received a call telling him that his mother had been in an accident and she was in hospital. The driver of a car had t-boned her in an intersection while Nadine was riding her motorcycle home.
We rushed to the emergency room and when I was allowed to see her, she told me that she could not feel her legs. She was in a lot of pain and very afraid that she would be paralyzed.
I had my hand drum and traditional medicines with me. I told her that I had already laid down tobacco and prayed for her. The hospital staff would not let me light sage so I could smudge her (because of the oxygen), so we stuffed some in her bra.
I held her hand and I told her that she would get through this, that she would walk again, that I would write a song about how invincible she is, and that I would call it Motorcycle Mama.
It turned out that her body was in shock because of her injuries, and that was the reason she could not feel her legs. She recovered over the course of a year and had to walk with a cane for a while. She is fully recovered now and rides her Harley every chance she gets."
Nadine epitomizes the strength and resiliency of Aboriginal people and this story/song is a tribute to all our stories.
We have a download of You Were Here in Michigan from RPM's own Christa Couture from her newly released album The Living Record.
RPM's own Christa Couture has endured her share of hard work and hardships to complete her latest project The Living Record. A survivor of cancer and the passing of her infant son, Christa has turned these dark moments into her own musical medicine. This week we have a download of her song You Were Here In Michigan which captures the moment this medicine inspired her on the road at an artists' retreat. We're very happy to have Christa on our team and even happier to be sharing this first single off her album with you.
The lineup for Aboriginal Music Week 2012 is out and includes a full serving of Indigenous musicians.
Every year Winnipeg hosts the largest gathering of Indigenous musicians at Aboriginal Music Week, held at numerous venues around the Pegcity, along side the Manito Ahbee Festival. This year is no different. Listing 12 concerts, 34 bands over 5 nights, AMW2012 will prove to be a historical event for the Indigenous music scene.
Aboriginal Music Week 2012 will take place October 30th thru to November 4th.
Stay tuned to RPM for updates of show venues and other information about AMW2012.
See you there!
RPM Records
Revolutions Per Minute is a global new music platform, record label, and boutique agency for Indigenous music culture. RPM’s mission is to build a visionary community of Indigenous artists and to introduce Indigenous music to new audiences across Turtle Island and around the world. Our main site, RPM.fm, has featured the work of more than 500 Indigenous artists and shared their music across our social networks of more than 275,000 followers.
RPM Records is the first of its kind: a label for contemporary, cross-genre Indigenous music, run by Indigenous people. Selected by The FADER as one of “5 New Canadian Record Labels The Entire World Should Know”, RPM Records artists include Ziibiwan, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Exquisite Ghost, and Mob Bounce.
