Ashanti Mutinta, known professionally as Backxwash, is a

Zambian Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are th ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rapper and producer based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. She is most noted for her 2020 album ''

God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It ''God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It'' is the second studio album by Zambia-born Montreal-based rapper Backxwash. It was self-released on May 28, 2020 through Grimalkin Records. Production was primarily handled by Backxwash herself ...

'', which won the

2020 Polaris Music Prize The 2020 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on October 19, 2020. The longlist was announced on June 15, 2020, with the shortlist following on July 15, 2020 and the winner announced on October 19, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 ...

Biography

Born and raised in

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

, Zambia, Mutinta began rapping and producing music in

FL Studio FL Studio (previously known as FruityLoops before 2003) is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. FL Studio features a graphical user interface with a pattern-based music sequencer. The program is avail ...

before moving to British Columbia, Canada at age 17 to attend university for computer science.Philippe Renaud
"Backxwash, elle et son autre"
. ''

Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...

'', May 30, 2020. After completing her degree she moved to Montreal, where she began performing at jam nights and released her debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) ''F.R.E.A.K.S.'' in 2018. She followed up later the same year with the EP ''Black Sailor Moon''. Around the same time, she came out as

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

. ''

'', her second full-length album, was released in May 2020. Her musical style blends hip hop with heavy metal and

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

, including

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

samples and instrumental interludes influenced by

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation, an independent record label also located i ...

. However, the album featured numerous uncleared samples, which have forced its removal from online music stores and streaming services, meaning that it is now available solely as a free download from Backxwash's

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

page. She would then release her third full-length album, ''

I Lie Here Buried with My Rings and My Dresses ''I Lie Here Buried with My Rings and My Dresses'' (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by Zambian-Canadian rapper and producer Backxwash. The album was self released on June 20, 2021, through Ugly Hag Records. The album features gues ...

'', on June 20, 2021, to generally positive reviews. ''I Lie Here Buried with My Rings and My Dresses'' was longlisted for the 2022 Polaris Music Prize. Backxwash's "Don't Come to the Woods" and "Devil in a Moshpit" appeared in Season 1, Episode 2 of the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series, ''

Work in Progress Work in process (WIP), work in progress (WIP), goods in process, or in-process inventory refers to a company's partially finished goods waiting for completion and eventual sale, or the value of these items. The term is used in supply chain manage ...

''.

Discography

Studio albums * ''Deviancy'' (2019) * ''

'' (2020) * ''

'' (2021) * ''

His Happiness Shall Come First Even Though We Are Suffering ''His Happiness Shall Come First Even Though We Are Suffering'' (stylized in all caps) is the fourth studio album by Zambian-Canadian rapper Backxwash. The album was announced on July 14 and released on October 31, 2022, via the Ugly Hag label. The ...

'' (2022) Extended plays * ''F.R.E.A.K.S'' (2018) * ''Black Sailor Moon'' (2018) * ''Stigmata'' (2020)

References

External links

* {{Polaris Music Prize 21st-century Canadian rappers Canadian women rappers Black Canadian musicians Black Canadian LGBT people Canadian transgender musicians Canadian LGBT singers Zambian emigrants to Canada People from Lusaka Living people LGBT rappers Transgender women musicians Polaris Music Prize winners Zambian rappers Zambian LGBT people Trap metal musicians 1991 births 21st-century Canadian LGBT people Women heavy metal singers 21st-century women rappers Transgender singers