Bryden Gwiss Kiwenzie is a

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 ...

musician whose debut album ''Round Dance & Beats (Powwow)'' was a shortlisted nominee for both the

Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year The Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year is an annual award presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for the best album by an Indigenous Canadian artist or band. It was formerly known as Best Music of Aborigina ...

at the

Juno Awards of 2017 The Juno Awards of 2017, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in Ottawa, Ontario the weekend of 1–2 April 2017. The ceremonies were held at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata and televised on CTV with Bryan Adams and Russell ...

"Northern Ontario musicians welcome Juno nominations"
CBC Sudbury, February 10, 2017. and Best Hand Drum Album of the year at the 2017 Indigenous Music Awards.

Background

Born in 1984, Kiwenzie has

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...

and

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

ancestry in his bloodline."INDIGENOUS MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2017"

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

, April 3, 2017. Originally from Cape Croker,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and Indian Brook, Nova Scotia, Kiwenzie currently lives in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

."Between drum circles and drum machines: Indigenous hip hop artist is 'all about the feeling'"
CBC Sudbury, February 16, 2017. Kiwenzie grew up on the

pow wow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or pu ...

trail, beginning his foray into the Northern Traditional dance style at age two. By age four, Kiwenzie had written his first keyboard song. By age fourteen, he had composed his first pow wow song. ''Round Dance & Beats (Powwow)'' fuses traditional

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

vocal chants with hip hop and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

dance beats. The album was mixed entirely on his iPhone, though he has since received a

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

grant to purchase conventional recording equipment. Unlike the similar

A Tribe Called Red The Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red, is a Canadian electronic music group who blend instrumental hip hop, reggae, moombahton and dubstep-influenced dance music with elements of First Nations music, particularly vocal chant ...

, Kiwenzie performs many of his own vocals rather than sampling or recording other vocalists. ''Round Dance & Beats (Powwow)'' has been shortlisted for the

at the

and was nominated for the Best Hand Drum Album of the year at the 2017 Indigenous Music Awards. He has been performing with traditional First Nations

drum circle A drum circle is any group of people playing (usually) hand-drums and percussion in a circle. They are distinct from a drumming group or troupe in that the drum circle is an end in itself rather than preparation for a performance. They can range ...

s since childhood, and began pursuing a contemporary

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

style after learning how to play keyboards.

Discography

*''Round Dance & Beats (Powwow)'' (2016)

References

1984 births Canadian dance musicians Canadian hip hop singers Canadian rhythm and blues musicians First Nations musicians Musicians from Greater Sudbury People from Bruce County Living people 21st-century Canadian male singers Canadian hip hop record producers Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation {{Canada-singer-stub