Long Hair, Don’t Care

I listen to a lot of NPR—specifically, Minnesota Public Radio. I feel like that surprises people because I’m all music all of the time, but when driving around town, I like getting caught up on current events and, honestly, even I need a break from music. One morning, I caught an interview with Snotty Nose Rez Kids when driving to work. At this point, being that it was so long ago, I don’t remember what the segment was talking about, but I know that the small clips that were played by this rap duo had me hooked, and I was stoked when they announced a January show at The Fine Line in Minneapolis. January came and went, but the show didn’t happen. I was beyond bummed but set my sights on the rescheduled date of November 21st. That date was Thursday (yesterday), and I finally got to see this band that, although I knew very little about, I knew I had to see live.

Local rapper Bigg Kiaa was the first to take the stage. The way this woman got the crowd excited for the rest of the night was truly amazing. Within the first couple of songs, Bigg Kiaa admitted that she had gone so hard that she had broken one of the chains around her neck. She wasn’t lying, and I wasn’t surprised. With a sharp tongue and a wild amount of energy for how late it was (this show didn’t even start until 9 PM), I was instantly in love with Bigg Kiaa, but I knew that was going to happen. I had seen this amazing woman perform as a guest at a different show. Her time on stage that night was brief, but it left an impression on me, and I was excited to see her command an entire stage and venue on her own. She did not disappoint, and although she brought some friends on stage to help her, it was Bigg Kiaa in the spotlight throughout the quick opening set.

Although I was in love with Bigg Kiaa’s set (clearly), there was a moment where I felt a bit lost. In an effort to show a different side of her style and flow, Bigg Kiaa did a somewhat tortured cover of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl.” Although I thought this was the perfect track for Bigg Kiaa, a lesbian person of color, to make a statement with, the cover didn’t hit for me or the rest of the audience. You could feel the energy drop and sense an almost impatient haze cast over the audience. I think Bigg Kiaa caught onto this because, right after that cover, she jumped back into her original material and got the energy back up. I appreciated Bigg Kiaa wanting to show how versatile she is as a vocalist and performer, but, really, she does her original rap game so stinking well. I don’t know that she is the type of artist who needs a cover to help connect with an audience.

There was something oddly familiar about the next act- Travis Thompson. I spent the first couple of tracks with this Seattle-based rapper trying to place it, and that’s when he mentioned that the last time he was in Minnesota was back in November 2017 with Macklemore. I remember that show, and I remember Travis. I remember him for the positivity and energy that radiated from that opening set, and I was thrilled to feel that feeling all over again on Thursday night. Even though this performance was Travis’ first date on this tour, I didn’t feel any “first show jitters.” He and his DJ commanded the stage and, in turn, the audience with ease. Although his sound had a slightly harsh tongue to it, there was something a bit more commercial, a bit more accessible about his raps. Beyond that, I found the things he said between tracks to be absolutely lovely and emphasize the positivity of his aura. One of those things really stuck with me. He mentioned that this Thursday night was never going to happen again. There was something about hearing those simple yet profound words that hit me right in the heart. I was exhausted, my head was pounding from what was surely close to a caffeine overdose, and there was pain in my teeth from grinding them all day due to stress. Yet, hearing Travis say those simple words changed everything and truly got me in the headspace I needed to be in for the rest of the night.

I know it sounds wild, but doing this night after night, you get used to faces, even if you only see them once in a while. There were very few of those faces in the packed audience for Snotty Nose Rez Kids, and I loved that. Snotty Nose Rez Kids has a reach that many other acts don’t. Their name alone calls out to a whole demographic of people that I probably wouldn’t see on other shows. I don’t mean that in a bad way at all, but more that I was amazed that this little rap duo (joined on stage by a fabulous DJ on Thursday night) from Canada could give all these people a reason to leave the comfort of their homes on a chilly Thursday night.

“Young D” Metz and Quinton “Yung Trybez” Nyce connected in high school due to their love of hip-hop. If you ask me, it was a match made in heaven. The way these two men play off of each other and seem to have very different flows yet come together to create magic is amazing. The proof is in the awards. SNRK has won various awards at multiple award shows for their songs, stories, talent, and passion. I loved seeing all of that hard work pay off and catching onto the fact that, although this band is on top, they still have this feeling of having everything to prove and nothing to lose. Throughout their lengthy set that probably spanned dang near thirty tracks, there was never a moment where I felt that this duo was just going through the motions. There also weren’t any moments where I felt like we were getting the rug pulled out from under us as an audience. Everything this band did, every movement they made, every word they rapped, was done with such a fiery passion that it was impossible not to leave their set a little out of breath and with a heart full of fire.

What sets this act apart from other rap duos and acts out there are the lyrics. As you may have suspected, SNRK has lyrics that seem to revolve around Native life. It’s a life I know very little about but one that I know has been marginalized for far too long. Having this spotlight is something that these two men are clearly not going to let pass them by. From “Long Hair, Don’t Care” to “Lost Tribe,” I loved hearing stories and words that, although foreign to me, meant everything to many of the people in the audience. It was probably one of the first times in a long time that this group of people felt seen and acknowledged. To see that and feel that in the air was truly something that left me lost for words.