Kuumba Artist Feature: Backxwash
Harbourfront Centre’s Kuumba festival is spotlighting a different Black artist each day of February. Today we’re sharing the story of Backxwash.
Her mom told her rock music was for the devil. Backxwash, who was born and raised in Zambia, lived in a highly conservative household, surrounded by religious family members and pastors who were troubled by her alternative tastes. When she listened to Black Sabbath, it didn’t go unnoticed. Her father in particular was not fond of her pursuing the arts. Eventually the situation became tense enough that, at age 17, she left Zambia to live with her brother and sister in British Columbia. Her father’s judgement continued to radiate over from halfway across the world. It knocked down her confidence and, for a time, she stopped making music. Then she moved to Montreal where, inspired by the experiences she found in the city, she rebuilt her confidence.
Her journey as a musician was arduous. As a Black trans woman, she faced unfair scrutiny and barriers within the music industry, having to work much harder to reach milestones that were more easily given to her white, cisgender counterparts. Other times, she was tokenized. She grew tired of how, within Quebec’s rap scene, English music was marginalized. Worse than that, the predominant style of French Quebecois rap was white guys Auto-Tune-rapping over a trap beat. It was boring. Her experiences left her with trust issues, leading her to keep her list of collaborators small and intimate, and to surround herself with trans artists who understood her mindset.
Since her 2018 debut EP, F.R.E.A.K.S, her rise to stardom has been meteoric. Her sound is different, edgy and provocative, mixing metal influences with rap and hip hop, creating walls of noise that disorient as much as they exhilarate. Her delivery is relentless, spitting verses about gender, sexuality, substance abuse and depression. As she’s become more confident in her work, Backxwash has incorporated more spiritual iconography into her work, making references to witchcraft, subverting her childhood experiences with religion, finding meaning in what was previously blasphemous. The processes have been almost therapeutic. Lyrically, she focuses on authenticity. When writing her most recent album, God Has Nothing to Do with This, she found that her lyrics initially felt a little plastic. Her signature earnestness wasn’t coming through, and then she realized that it was fine to just write about her feelings, with no expectations beyond that. If she wanted to be political, then her very existence as a Black trans person would satiate that, because, inescapably, that identity in itself is a political statement.
Her success has had its costs, though. The fight for representation means carving out new territory and making space for others. This process inspires backlash, though, from those comfortable with the status quo, from people who would prefer that previously invisible people go back to being invisible. Backxwash explains, “It’s brought some negative attention. It’s a double-edged sword. I wanted attention and got tons of hate speech. I don’t do anything about it. Wherever I’m going to go, people are going to react with hate speech.” She recognizes the glumness of the situation, of facing against relentless prejudice, but she makes her peace with it. It can be hard, but she fights anyways. Slowly but diligently, she wins.
Backxwash is a Montreal-based musician whose metal-inspired hip hop has been making waves in Canada. Her recent album, God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It, won her the 2020 Polaris Music Prize. Through Kuumba and in partnership with Wavelength Music, you can watch a livestreamed performance by Backxwash on February 20, from 9–10pm, at harbourfront.live!
