Backxwash won the 2020 Polaris Music Award for their gothic rap-metal album God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It
The recording by the Montreal artist was selected by an 11-member jury as the Canadian Album of the Year for its artistic merit Recognition comes with a cash prize of $ 50,000
Backxwash is the first transgender female artist to win the Polaris, an award that in recent years has celebrated a range of Indigenous and black musicians who are often overlooked in mainstream Canadian music. Previous winners include Haviah Mighty, Jeremy Dutcher and Kaytranada
« My very existence is political, my livelihood is political and my sisters’ livelihood is political, » she declared, accepting the award
« We just want rights, and we have to overcome so many obstacles to get there, and I feel very connected to this fight »
READ MORE: Polaris Music Prize 2020 long list: The Weeknd, Jessie Reyez, Daniel Caesar among the artists
Backxwash, the stage name of artist Ashanti Mutinta, drew on her own experiences with faith, family and queer identity growing up in Zambia to create dynamic self-reflection
« This (album) is the most of myself that I have been since I started living on this earth, » she said via webcam from Montreal
She beat nine other contenders, including First Nations indie rocker Nehiyawak, three-time Polaris US Girls selection and R&B pop singer Jessie Reyez
Three other nominees this year were the previous winners, electronic composer Caribou, DJ and record producer Kaytranada and singer-songwriter Lido Pimienta
The Polaris premiered this year with a ‘cinematic’ show that replaced the usual showcase for the gala concert at Toronto’s Carlu event space Organizers tasked a group of directors to bring each of the 10 to life. nominated albums in the form of short films
God has nothing to do with this Leave Him Out of It stood out from other competitors by the horror elements woven into the lyrics, frequently conjuring up religious images
The album uses distorted samples of metal legend Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and « In Heaven » a song from the David Lynch film « Eraserhead », as well as sharp words about his life experiences
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« I was like, oh damn it’s pretty dark the lyrics come from a place deep inside me «
Mutinta grew up in Zambia, creating hip-hop beats as a teenager before moving to British Columbia to live with her brother and sister at age 17.She put music aside to focus on a degree in IT, before a move to Montreal re-energized his love for live music
« I fell in love with the city, and it was just a perfect city to express myself, » she said
« So I started expressing myself from a genre point of view and from a music point of view, and both places coincided well with the type of art I was doing »
She assumed she would invest the money in her next album, which she describes as a horror anthology inspired by people in her life
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Backxwash
News from around the world – CA – Montreal rapper Backxwash wins Polaris Music Award for Best Canadian Album
