Stream the Roots/Folk Rhythm of William Prince's New Single, "7"

Winnipeg-based singer/songwriter William Prince sent the Peguis First Nation graduating class of 2016 off with a nostalgia-inducing track embedded with the seven sacred teachings.

William Prince is storytelling singer/songwriter from Peguis First Nation who sidesteps clichés to provoke thought and facilitate discovery. His baritone vocals pay tribute to his late father and his genuine delivery acknowledges the hundreds of hours he’s spent on stage. Writing songs since the age of thirteen, he produced and played all the instruments on his father Ed Prince’s acclaimed gospel album …it’s Supper Time at the age of fifteen. The two went on to record two more albums, On Christmas Day and Won’t That Be A Morning!, for Arbor Records and Sunshine Records, respectively, in Winnipeg.

A recent alumni of the tri-annual Planet IndigenUS Music Festival, William Prince was named the 2014 Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year at the Indigenous Music Awards. His lead single “The Carny,” from his debut album Earthly Days, had been featured as Manitoba Music’s Download of the Week, and he has been featured in numerous showcases for Manitoba Music, Aboriginal Music Program, and the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Prince is also a veteran to the APTN Aboriginal Day Live stage and his performances still garner rotation on APTN’s Solstice Concert Series.

Prince gained nationwide attention writing music for a CMT reality show and later went on to write songs for Jason Kirkness’ debut album Life On The Road, which scored three top 20 singles on Canadian country radio. To this day, he is still an active member of the First Nations supergroup Indian City. Their albums Supernation and Colors have received international acclaim and numerous Indigenous Music Awards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icHiB66oeiQ

"7" is William Prince's first track release since Earthly Days dropped in December 2015. The song is a lovely reminder to graduating native youth to always carry your teachings with you as you make that great leap forward into the next phase of life.

LISTEN: William Prince - "7"

"Earthly Days"and "7" are available now on iTunes and GooglePlay  For more visit: www.williamprincemusic.com Check out William Prince on Facebook: facebook.com/williamprincemusic

Frank Yamma, the 'Voice of Australia's Central Desert', Tours Canada in August

Frank Yamma, the voice of Australia's Central Desert, comes all the way from Ayers Rock to perform his fourth run of shows in Canada. 

Frank Yamma is one of Australia's most significant Indigenous songwriters.

With an ability to cross cultural and musical boundaries, when he sings, you listen and travel with him. An initiated Pitjantjatjara man, Frank sings in his Indigenous language, as well as in English, and his spirit belongs to the heart of Australia - Uluru. Docker River. Ernabella. Central Australia. As Frank says, "Wherever the Pitjantjatjara mob come from."

Over the past five years, the world has been discovering Frank and has seen him perform across Europe and the UK with shows in Latvia, Lithuania, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Poland, and Switzerland. Frank has undertaken extensive live touring with highlights including the 2012 Cultural Olympiad (UK), Womad (UK), The New Hebridean Festival (Scotland), Festival Bled (Slovenia), Colours of Ostravia (Czech Republic), and most recently setting hearts on fire in Canada at Calgary, Vancouver, and Winnipeg folk festivals. In Canada, he shared the stage with Buffy Saint Marie and The Mekons, as well as performing a coveted spot opening for Joan Baez. In 2014 Frank Yamma represented Australia at WOMEX '14.

Closer to home, Frank also performed at this year's TEDx Sydney in May and won an NIMA award for his latest album Uncle, which features songs of country, protection, heartache, and travel. And songs of love. Not of love lost, but of pure, present-day raw emotion. Uncle shows the continuity of a musician that is hitting his peak with grace and conviction.

Indigenous soulster Frank Yamma will bring his beautiful storytelling back to Canada to play the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival on August 5-7, Manitoba Aboriginal Music Week on August 10, Robson Valley Music Festival August 12-14, and he is performing a special, intimate show at Vancouver's Wise Hall on August 11 with Melbourne songstress (and recent Canadian immigrant) Larissa Tandy making a guest appearance.

Frank Yamma - 2016 Canadian Tour Dates:

• 5-7 August - Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival – Lunenberg, NS
• 10 August - Manitoba Aboriginal Music Week - Winnipeg, MB
• 11 August - The Wise Hall - Vancouver, BC
• 12-14 August - Robson Valley Music Festival - Dunster, BC

Keep up with Frank Yamma at frankyamma.com and facebook.com/frankyamma

Arizona-Based Native Hip-Hop Trio, Shining Soul, Drop New Video for "The H.E.A.L.I.N.G"

Through their vintage beat production and empowering rhyme delivery, Shining Soul has made and name for themselves and has carve out their own unique lane in the AZ Hip Hop community and beyond with their distinctive blend of socially conscious, yet soulful brand of hip-hop.

Emcee Liaizon, Bronze Candidate and DJ Reflekshin have proven time and time again that their music is universally accessible and has the power to start the healing process regarding the social ills we all face through the medium of hip-hop. Whether opening for major acts such as Phife Dawg, Ana Tijoux and Pharoahe Monch or “spreading their medicine” throughout the U.S., Canada and Germany with their rigorous tour schedule, Shining Soul reaffirms hip-hop can be a conduit for positive change, internally and externally.

So after years on the road, Shining Soul is back at it with their new music video titled “The H.E.A.L.I.N.G”. Shot in Washington D.C by El-Shamesh Photography, “The H.E.A.L.I.N.G” is just a glimpse of their long awaited third full-length album Politics Aside.

“The H.E.A.L.I.N.G” promises to be a disclaimer for what's to come and a wake up call for all those sleeping on Arizona's favorite rap trio.

Watch: Shining Soul - "The H.E.A.L.I.N.G."

For more Shining Soul, visit: shiningsoul-music.blogspot.com and shiningsoulmusic.bandcamp.com

STREAM: A Tribe Called Red Drops New Single "R.E.D." feat. Yasiin Bey, Narcy, and Black Bear

A Tribe Called Red released another single this month, building much anticipation for their new album "We Are The Halluci Nation", dropping September 16, 2016.

"R.E.D.", which features Yasiin Bey, Narcy, and Black Bear, made its world premiere on Ebro's #Beats1Ebro radio show on Apple Music this week.

The single includes powerful verses from legendary hip-hop artist Yasiin Bey (aka the mighty Mos Def)  and Iraqi-Canadian MC The Narcicyst (aka Narcy)—dropping fire lyrics over ATCR's "Stadium Pow Wow" beat, and the song is a testament to border-smashing, cross-cultural collaboration and creative connection.

"I think it is the first time in history where you have an African, an Iraqi, and the Indigenous [People] of Canada are on one song", Narcy says. "It feels like the beginning of something new and old, the rebirth after many injustices."

This is just the beginning of a new phase of Tribe "showing the power of our people combined".

Listen to A Tribe Called Red's "R.E.D. (feat. Yasiin Bey, Narcy, and Black Bear)"

https://soundcloud.com/a-tribe-called-red/red-feat-yasiin-bey-narcy-black-bear

Bump it on Apple Music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mWZ7u9vl3E

WHOOP-Szo Creates Space for Indigenous Alternative Art Rock Lovers

As Indigenous artists continue to strive to occupy space in a world where hip-hop and pop have taken over the mainstream music industry, it's even trickier for Indigenous rock musicians and fans alike to find space where their identity is present in the alternative rock scene.

Guelph-based rock band WHOOP-Szo can be described in many ways, but it's the feel of their sound that cannot be contained within one genre. The Grunge/Shoegaze/Folk/Art-Rock group have just come off their summer tour, and Anishinaabe frontman Adam Sturgeon (Dzhkon Zibi - Antler River/Chippewa of the Thames) talks with RPM about what it's like for an Indigenous artist such as himself to find a Nish audience within their niche.

How has your touring been going?  We’ve been super lucky to have played a ton of really great festivals the last couple of years and are looking forward to what is next. We’re not gonna mention too much on this end quite yet!

How did you guys start out as a band? How long have you been making music? The band started with myself and Kirsten Palm, a Finnish non-native who has been a welcome addition to the communities she has worked with. We started over a common desire to explore our healing relationships… we met because both of our parents were in wellness programs recovering from drug and alcohol abuse and we recognized our shared family history and how it had impacted us both in similar and differing ways. Kirsten’s family were punk rockers and mine athletes so there were a lot of funny differences despite the chaos of their addictions. We also recognized our own vulnerability but found strength in each other which has remained a huge driving force for our band. How did your culture influence the music you make? Both my father and my aunt have instilled a huge influence on myself personally and helped maintain our Indigenous teachings since I was very young. Our healing journey is so influenced by our “culture”, or as I like to say and my teachers like to say "our way of life." It simply is who I am so it seeps into absolutely everything I do be it very “traditional” or “modern", like metal music.

What influences your style of music? Both my writing and Kirsten’s is influenced by our surroundings and the emotional attachment we have to it. Sometimes it is easier to express things through sound over words so we’ve added a lot of members and collaborators along the way to help shape the overall vibe of what we are putting down. So often we are referenced as political, however we don’t see it that way, we follow our teachings and the words follow that.

From your experience, what's the scene like for a Nish grunge/shoegaze/folk band such as yourselves? What is your fan following like? Our fans are most definitely white, for the most part but it’s very very common that those marginalized groups present at our shows gravitate towards our band. There aren’t a ton of other grunging Nish out there, but I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some Indigenous folk along the way. We talk about this and some of us are thinking of forming some kind of coalition or whatever, we don’t know yet, but I’m very thankful for those conversations along the way. People like Kayla Stevens from Crossed Wires and Dan from Dri Hiev, Coco from Construction and Destruction. There are others, but our voices are still shy. We all have a similar history and we feel a bit different than the rest of the scene. That said, we are very fortunate to make it known that we play in safe spaces, we drift away from bar culture and our audience is very inspired and intrigued by our beliefs… So that is a start. Your last full album was released two years ago, and a single released last year. Do you have plans to release new music anytime in the near future? We’re working away on new material and have a bunch of collaborations and such in the works. It seems as though you are either touring or putting out music. We have basically been on the road the last two years touring and truly enjoying that momentum but are anxious to show the world what we have up our sleeves.

STREAM: WHOOP-Szo's Nizhwaaswo

For more on WHOOP-Szo visit: thenoisymountain.bandcamp.com and SoundCloud.

Aboriginal Music Week 2016 Announces Full Festival Lineup and Performance Schedule

Aboriginal Music Manitoba have announced the full lineup and performance schedule for Aboriginal Music Week 2016. The eighth edition of the festival runs August 9-13 and includes performances by 27 Indigenous acts from across Turtle Island, South America, and Australia.

Aboriginal Music Manitoba continues to highlight incredible Indigenous music and performance at the 8th annual Aboriginal Music Week. This year, the festival expects more than 9,000 people to attend, which would make it AMW's biggest turnout to date.

Packed with block parties, concerts, networking events, youth workshops, picnics, and lunch hour shows, AMW continues to do what it does best: build community and support great music.

The week officially begins with a sweat lodge ceremony for visiting artists, local performers, and festival producers on August 8th, and AMW's public programming kicks off August 9th with the first of four free, lunch hour concerts at the Winnipeg Art Gallery's Rooftop Sculpture Garden.

The lunch hour concerts, presented by Digital Drum, will feature performances by Maliseet operatic singer Jeremy Dutcher, Pitjantjatjara singer/songwriter Frank Yamma, Metis neo-soul singer David Morin, and Cree hip hop emcee Eekwol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao6_O3iX3o8

JUNO Award-winning artists Boogat and Digging Roots are on board for performances at the Ka Ni Kanichihk Block Party presented by NCI FM on August 9th.

RPM will also be partnering with Aboriginal Music Week again this year. We will be presenting the Spence Neighbourhood Block Party on August 1oth, featuring performances by Digging Roots, Frank Yamma, Jeremy Dutcher, Boogey The Beat, and Rylee Sandberg.

Tracy Bone will headline the Turtle Island Block Party presented by Teekca's Aboriginal Boutique on August 11; Jade Turner, Ila Barker, and Ashley Robertson will anchor the AMW Stage presented by NOW Country at Austin Street Festival on August 12; and, country music legend Ray St. Germain will entertain audiences at the AMW Stage presented by TD at Picnic in the Park on August 13.

The evenings of August 10 and 11 will be dedicate to community building for the performers and MuchFACT and TD are sponsoring networking dinners to give the artists a chance to connect, build business relationships, and discuss the future of Aboriginal music. The Open Mic presented by MB Live on August 12, which is open to the public, will give the group a third opportunity to build rapport and extend their networks to include the local music community.

This year's festival looks to be another expression of #IndigenousExcellence and a highlight of an already packed summer of Indigenous music culture.

See you there!

Aboriginal Music Week 2016 - Festival Schedule

AMW at Lunch presented by Digital Drum Jeremy Dutcher Winnipeg Art Gallery, Rooftop Sculpture Garden, 300 Memorial Boulevard Tuesday, August 9, 2016 12 p.m. -1 p.m. Free | All ages

Ka Ni Kanichihk Block Party presented by NCI FM Leonard Sumner, Boogat, Nikki Komaksiutiksak, Rhonda Head, Four Sacred Winds, and special guests Harriet Street, between McDermot Avenue and Bannatyne Avenue Tuesday, August 9, 2016 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. Free |  All ages Free BBQ, activity stations for kids, bring lawn chairs Community Partner: Ka Ni Kanichihk

AMW at Lunch presented by Digital Drum Frank Yamma Winnipeg Art Gallery, Rooftop Sculpture Garden, 300 Memorial Boulevard Wednesday, August 10, 2016 12 p.m. -1 p.m. Free | All ages

Spence Neighbourhood Block Party presented by RPM.FM Digging Roots, Frank Yamma, Jeremy Dutcher, Boogey The Beat, Rylee Sandberg Magnus Eliason Recreation Centre, 430 Langside Street Wednesday, August 10, 2016 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. Free |  All ages Free BBQ, activity stations for kids, bring lawn chairs Community Partner: Spence Neighbourhood Association

Networking Dinner presented by TD Wednesday, August 10, 2016 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Performers and invited guests only RSVP Req'd

AMW at Lunch presented by Digital Drum David Morin Winnipeg Art Gallery, Rooftop Sculpture Garden, 300 Memorial Boulevard Thursday, August 11, 2016 12 p.m. -1 p.m. Free | All ages

Turtle Island Block Party presented by Teeka’s Aboriginal Boutique Tracy Bone, Eekwol, Double The Trouble, Mary Mahler, Loud Thunder Singers Turtle Island Community Centre, 445 King Street Thursday, August 11, 2016 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. Free |  All ages Free BBQ, activity stations for kids, bring lawn chairs Community Partner: Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre

Networking Dinner presented by MuchFACT Thursday, August 11, 2016 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Performers and invited guests only RSVP Req'd

AMW at Lunch presented by Digital Drum Eekwol Winnipeg Art Gallery, Rooftop Sculpture Garden, 300 Memorial Boulevard Friday, August 12, 2016 12 p.m. -1 p.m. Free | All ages

AMW Stage presented by NOW Country at Austin Street Festival Jade Turner, Ila Barker, Ashley Robertson, David Morin, Tara Williamson, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Billy Simard, Buffalo Gals, special guests Austin Street, between Euclid Avenue and Selkirk Avenue Friday, August 12, 2016 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Free |  All ages Free BBQ, activity stations for kids, bring lawn chairs

Community Partner: North Point Douglas Women's Centre Open Mic presented by MB Live Hosted by MJ Dandeneau and friends Le Garage Café, 166 Provencher Boulevard Friday, August 12, 2016 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. $5 tickets | 18+ I.D. Req'd Email bhuson@belowthebasement.ca to sign up in advance Bring your own instruments Drum kit, keyboard, one guitar amp, and one bass amp on site

AMW Stage presented by TD at Picnic in the Park Ray St. Germain, Renee Lamoureux, Shanley Spence, Ivan Spence & Burntwood Band, Bob Chartrand, special guests St. John's Park, Main Street and Mountain Avenue Saturday, August 13, 2016 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Free | All ages Free BBQ, activity stations for kids, bring lawn chairs Community Partner: North End Community Renewal Corporation

Visit aboriginalmusicweek.ca for more information about the festival and keep updated at RPM.fm for more AMW content in the coming weeks.

MC Wake Self Talks Collab with Gift of Gab, Artistic Growth, and Upcoming Album "Malala"

Big things are happening for Albuquerque-based MC Wake Self. Currently touring through Europe after dropping his latest single, "Change the World" featuring Gift of Gab of the legendary hip-hop duo Blackalicious, Wake took some time out of his busy schedule (and lack of zzz's) to give us the lowdown on his upcoming album Malala.

First off, let's start with "Change the World." What was it like to collaborate with Gift of Gab and how did that come about?

It started when I went on tour with him in 2014. We did a short run of shows in the 4 corners area, and after a show in Durango a fan asked us "when is a Gift of Gab and Wake song dropping?"  He looked at me and said we should do that, so I approached about him last year and sent a beat to him.  He's a really cool dude, definitely deserving of all the success and praise.

Who else did you work with for Malala?

I usually don't have many rap features on my albums, unless it really fits into my vision for the final product. Mainly I have a few vocalists, musicians and producers involved.  I got Def-i on there, that's my best friend we always make music together. The majority of the album is produced by SmokeM2DG. He's extremely gifted with the beats. I really love working with him, I always have these long random descriptive ideas of beats and song concepts I send him, and usually he can bring to life and make sense out them. I may have one more feature that I can't talk about just yet.

When will that album drop?

It drops August 24th, on my moms birthday!  [Wake professes he is a momma’s boy]

What kind of themes are you working with in terms of lyrical content in Malala? 

I don't want to give away everything, but I feel like I reached pretty deep down the rabbit hole on this one. I discuss youth incarceration, homelessness, environmental issues, and spiritual enlightenment. There's a lot about personal growth; my experiences with depression/anxiety and the human condition.  A few more lighthearted songs as well, some songs to try and motivate people to be true to themselves, and be proud of they are no matter what boxes or boundaries they don't fit in.

How has Malala shown your growth as an artist since your last album?

I'm at a better point in my life right where I've found more understanding on how to open myself up to these creative moments. Life is a trip, literally a journey and I'm just expanding in various ways in life that integrate with the advancement of this music. I think sometimes we know things, have ideas and concepts in our head, but it takes a while for the full depth of them to become realized. I'm just thankful every day, every second, and it's really allowed me to climb out of some tough years, be able to see clearly and feel more alive.

STREAM: "Change The World" ft. Gift of Gab here: