BRDCST curator Backxwash: 'After my transition, I stopped watching football'

Combining industrial sounds, metal, and hip-hop lyricism, the Zambian-Canadian rapper and producer Backxwash launched a style of her own. At the BRDCST festival, where she will be curating on Saturday, she is at the forefront of a global movement that emphasizes self-expression and “just being unapologetic.”

The header of her socials reads “Doom Rap Queen” (Instagram) or “Rapper/Producer/Vocalist/Anarchist” (X), but as rebellious and thundering her music sounds, as sweet she is in person. On our Zoom screen, connected to her home in Montreal, Ashanti Mutinta aka Backxwash is laughing all the time. Knowing her new album is about death and being judged, transitioning and Gaza, that’s some kind of a relief. With wars and bullying world leaders, the planet isn’t becoming a safer place for vulnerable people. So you could interpret the title of her new album literally: Only Dust Remains. But that’s not what it is meant to be.

“The album takes you through complicated feelings, about death and transitioning, but it finishes with acceptance,” she stresses. “The closing title track paints a picture that is not disappointing, but even peaceful in a sense.”

But let’s begin with the ferocious start of Only Dust Remains. “Wake Up” really sounds like a wake-up call, because of its blatant honesty and its urgency in a world in which LGBTQIA+ rights are overtly under pressure. When and why did you write this epic piece?
Backxwash: I wrote it last year. I was playing around with beats when I found this reggae sample of an artist repeating “wake up, wake up” and I thought it was really cool. So I looped it, and before I knew, out of that small loop it developed into this seven-minute song. (Laughs) When I had the beat, I wondered: what am I going to write about? And then it just made sense to write about my own struggles, to dive really deep into that part of the subject and just make it as vivid as possible.

At one point you’re asking yourself in a blistering, heartbreaking rap: “How did you as a woman think that this would be different?”
Backxwash: Yeah. The first verse is me waking up from the dead, and then come to terms with my existence in the afterlife. I’m realising that none of it matters in the end. Whether I am a woman or not, I’m still going to be judged just like any of the other dead. The track is about the duality of being a woman and being treated differently, and then dying and realising that none of it
actually matters when it comes to this final judgment.

It also discusses the contradiction between what you were told when you were younger and what you felt later on. Transitioning, did you have to say goodbye to your former belief system, or could you hold on to some things too?
Backxwash: It depends on what it is. There are some things that I definitely like to hold on to. It was a very interesting time, because when you’re going into transition, the jump that you’re going to make is not always clear. What defines a man and what defines a woman? What aspects of the old are you asking to be released? And what other aspects can step into the new you? Sometimes you just throw overboard stuff that wasn’t meant to be thrown overboard. In my case I left all of the masculine stuff out. But growing up, you realise that that part was you as well and you have to bring that with you too. There’s just that balance that you have to come to terms with. One of the things that I stopped doing after I transitioned was watching football. These days, I just watch it again, because I shouldn’t have focused on the fact that this is a masculine thing to do. I should have focused on the fact that this is something that I enjoy. So understanding and learning changes as you grow.

What is your favorite team?
Backxwash: Real Madrid! I really like Mbappé. (Laughs)

In “9^th heaven” religious imagery slips into the music once again. Why?
Backxwash: I introduce the angel Gabriel in the song as an opposite on the way death is normally approached: meeting the Angel of Death, at times personified by Lucifer, first. Just the idea of having angel Gabriel talk to me in that situation makes it inverse. If you pass away and you are standing at the gate awaiting judgment, looking back at your life, there can be a bigger understanding for your activism. (Laughs)

What is “History of Violence” about?
Backxwash: It deals with the duality between the violence that I can control and the violence that I can’t control. The first verse is essentially talking about the violence I was doing to myself, the second verse talks about the things that are happening in Gaza which I don’t control. There is a lot of violence we don’t control, but it’s happening. The song brings those two worlds together. Of course the situation in Gaza makes me angry. Writing about it is a way to get rid of some frustrations and express my feelings.

At 17, you moved from Africa to Canada. I guess you’re happy with that decision now.
Backxwash: Oh my God, absolutely. I’m so happy that I ended up moving to Canada instead of the United States. It’s very sad to see how it’s evolving there. Every day I just look at the news wondering: what is going on? There’s something new from that administration all the time. It’s ridiculous, dangerous and damaging. All we can do is support our friends over there as much as possible.

What did you think when president Trump said that he would take Canada as his 51^st state?
Backxwash: He says a lot. (Laughs) But in real time you could see the stock market drop. You know, there are two forces in that government. There are the fascists themselves, but then you have the capitalists, and if fascism disturbs capitalism, some members of his government and some business people are going to be really pissed off.

Back to the music: what makes your new album different from the former trilogy? Both are very autobiographical...
Backxwash: …but indeed very different too. The trilogy was very much about how I felt when I was writing these verses and making these beats. I wanted to make sure the feeling stayed in that moment in time. I would write some of those verses even the night before recording. It was all about the feeling. I just didn’t want to lose that feeling. But when the trilogy was done, there was a lot of time to just reflect and I was able to be more deliberate. I had more leeway in terms of the stuff that I wanted to do. I started exploring different sounds and ways to approach songs, leading to more complex arrangements. This time, I could spend a week covering up with one verse, because I wanted to make sure that I’m inspired when writing it. So, it reflects really a different era for me, being more deliberate and in a way also relaxed about the way I approach my music.

Morgan-Paige, one of the artists you selected for BRDCST, started out as a classical pianist, but there was nobody like her. With no role model to look up to and a lot of discrimination she had to struggle her way through. Does that sound familiar to you?
Backxwash: Yeah, though Morgan comes from a totally other field in which black people historically are underrepresented. With the music I was making, there were inspirations, like Dälek, but not as many compared to other genres. Back in Africa I felt strongly about hip hop right from the start. I like how technical hip hop can be. You can say so many words in a short time period. That’s one of the things that got me connected. So hip hop is my first love, but music in general – I also like pop, rock and R&B – is just awesome for me.

Which artist came to mind first when you were asked to curate an evening at the BRDCST festival?
Backxwash: Morgan! To me she is one of the best musicians out there. Her classical teachings mixed with industrial experimental sounds create great texture and technical prowess. She’s just so multi-faceted, because she can sing as well. When I heard her album and saw her live, I was blown away. For a line-up that emphasizes self-expression and just being unapologetic, I thought Morgan would be perfect. We already collaborated on the track “Vibanda” for my 2022 album His Happiness Shall Come First Even Though We Are Suffering.
I had this beat made up, and had asked Morgan to add some piano chords and the vocals and it just upgraded the song to the next level. Ever since, she’s just super dope to me.

Your line-up also includes LustSick-Puppy, Blackhaine and Violent Magic Orchestra. creating an even more vibrant and energetic atmosphere.
Backxwash: The funny thing is I knew Tomasyn (Hayes aka LustSickPuppy, ed.) from their looks first. Then I heard the music, a mix of digital hardcore, hip hop, and noise, and it just blew my mind. I saw them alive when they came to Montreal and thought: if we continue with this energetic vibe, LustSickPuppy definitely needs to be invited. The same counts for Blackhaine, whose blend of hip hop, noise, and choreography stuck to me. Violent Magic Orchestra was a suggestion of the Ancienne Belgique, but keeping up with the energy, they just fit like a glove. If this line-up is going to keep the momentum throughout the evening, and we want it to stay sweaty, loud, and noisy, they must be there.

Making your European live debut only two years ago at the Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, you’ve been getting invitations to more festivals in Europe. How do you feel about that?
Backxwash: Yeah, that’s pretty cool, though I don’t like the long flights. (Laughs) I’m really grateful that people want to listen and have this experience with me. At BRDCST, I want to see every artist from my own line-up but I’m also interested in what my fellow curators, Anna von Hausswolff and Colin Stetson, have put together. I know Colin because we have the same publisher, but Anna’s awesome music I only know through the internet, so I’m especially looking forward to her set.