Like everyone else, the past 18mos. has been a challenge on many levels. Snotty Nose Rez Kids takes listeners through their own experience, dealing with depression, isolation, and their career arc being railroaded. Darker in its production and lyrical content, Life After is an expression of all those feelings and a chance for Yung Trybez and Young D to talk through the process of dealing with them. Life After, the Indigenous Canadian duo’s fourth full-length, drops October 22, capturing all of those lows, and finds SNRK stronger than ever. Pre-order the album here.
After the powerful “Something Else” and the celebratory/communal “Uncle Rico,”today Snotty Nose Rez Kids release “Wild Boy,” a track inspired by the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation term, ‘Bukwus’, translates into ‘Wild Man Of The Woods’. “We’ve always had this idea to write a song inspired by supernatural stories from our culture,” notes Young D. “‘Bukwus’ was just fitting for this record. The word just kept coming to me so I took it as a sign. The song shows that even though we know exactly who we are, others who don’t fully understand us will still look at us differently… like we’re still some wild boys… men of the woods. Bukwus.”
Regarding the track’s creation, Yung Trybez adds, “Our fam Boogey The Beat sent us the beat the day we were dropping ‘Something Else’, back at the beginning of June. We had a bit of a natural high from releasing our first single in a long ass time, so the energy was already there. I listened to it on the phone and the melody came instantly. The rest is history. Whenever the inspiration hits we act on it Immediately.
One of our homies put us onto Polo Brian at our homies memorial. We were sitting down having a couple drinks and talking hip hop. Polo was brought into the conversation and his music was put on the system. It was hard to turn off. He’s gotta different sound. When D showed me what he came up with for ‘Wild Boy’ I thought of Polo immediately.”
SNRK have experienced a lot of highs and lows from 2019 until now. From releasing TRAPLINE and playing 100shows in 2019,
winning and receiving nominations for various awards (WCMA’s, Juno’s, Indie’s, Polaris), and booking their first 23 city headline US tour, the guys were riding high with the expectation of having a breakout year in 2020. COVID derailed their U.S. tour, stunted the release of their EP, Born Deadly, kicked their summer festival touring into the unknown and both Yung Trybez and Young D soon realized that life after such a heavy year of activity and then to watch a lot of opportunity wash away was hitting them hard. Struggling through the last 18 months, the band did manage some wins with sync placements (Resident Alien, Trickster, Monkey Beach) and saw some highlights over the year, but internally, life after such a long time of isolation was affecting them and they were seeing it affect their communities too. A low point hit when their friend, Taran Kootenhayoo, (their tour dj, DJ Kookum’s, brother) took his life at the end of 2020. It brought up a lot of past traumas of suicide in their own lives and it was months before they began working on music again.
As the world began to ease up a bit and the end to restrictions and return to live music was back in sight, SNRK were invigorated. They set aside a whole other concept album project that had been in the works for two-years and the guys decided to just write about what they had gone through, things affecting them, and decided on the theme of Life After. The duo will return to the road immediately following the release of Life After, hitting the West Coast starting October 24 (all dates below).
Snotty Nose Rez Kids Tour Dates:
09/04 – Langford, BC @ All Ways Home Festival
10/24 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
10/27 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
10/28 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
10/29 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
10/30 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
11/03 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation
11/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
11/07 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Atrium
11/08 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
11/10 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
11/11 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
11/12 – Victoria, BC @ Capitol Ballroom
11/19 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom ^
11/20 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom ^
12/16 – Guelph, ON @ Guelph Concert Theatre ^
12/17 – Toronto, ON @ History ^
12/18 – Toronto, ON @ History ^
12/30 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
^ USS
