MUSIC
Backxwash Between Heaven and Hell
Trans Zambian-Canadian rapper releases new music
BY STEVE ERICKSON
In Backxwash’s music, God and Satan are
fi ghting an apocalyptic struggle over her
soul. She began using this imagery fl ippantly,
in songs like “I Got a Pentagram
Tattoo” and “Devil in a Moshpit,” but she’s taken
it increasingly seriously. The trans Zambian-
Canadian rapper says she rejects Christianity
in favor of indigenous African spirituality and
describes herself as a witch. Still, her recourse
to Christian references as a powerful metaphor
for her experience is all over her work. The title
track of her second album, “God Has Nothing
To Do With This Leave Him Out of It,” started
with a sample of Ozzy Osbourne moaning “Oh
no, no, please God help me” from Black Sabbath’s
“Black Sabbath.” The song goes on to describe
her contemplation of suicide. On the album’s
next song, she declares ‘I f**k with black
magic/I love the bad magic.”
Both heavy metal and the hip-hop subgenre
horrorcore are full of exaggerated violent imagery,
but her music uses them to enhance an
intensity grounded in real life. Shouting over
metal samples, as she has often done, she uses
the genre’s theatricality as a quest for catharsis.
But while “God Has Nothing” goes into some extremely
unpleasant places, it closes on a note of
acceptance and forgiveness, with “Redemption”
as the fi nal song. In addition to Patti Smith and
Led Zeppelin, it samples a Christian choir from
Zambia and megapreacher Kenneth Copeland.
Her latest album, “I Lie Here Buried with My
Rings and Dresses,” returns to the worst moments
of her life, when she was struggling with
a drug problem after emigrating to Canada to
attend college.
“God Has Nothing” was Backxwash’s artistic
and critical breakthrough, winning the Polaris
Prize for the best album released by a Canadian
artist in 2020. But due to its use of uncleared
samples, she had to keep it off streaming services
and give it away as a free download on
Bandcamp. She followed it with an ep, “Stigmata,”
BACKXWASH ALBUM COVER
Backxwash’s latest album is “I lie Here Buried with My Ring and
My Dress.”
where she rapped over samples of unblack
(Christian) metal. But “I Lie Here Buried”
is far lighter on samples, the main one being
her fl ip of post-rock band Godspeed! You Black
Emperor on “Burn to Ashes.”
On a fi rst listen, the turmoil of “I Lie Here
Buried” is clearer than its lyrics. The production,
mostly done by Backxwash herself, is
thick and loud, fi lled with noisy guitars and
electronics. It’s a harrowing listen, with no relief
from the pain it expresses. Most songs allude
to suicidal ideation. “Nine Hells” describes
her struggles with drugs. The title song uses a
chorus of death metal growls from Ada Rook,
a singer/producer in the noise-pop duo Black
Dresses. Sad13’s tuneful signing on “SONG OF
SINNERS” almost seems sarcastic. (Rapper
Censored Dialogue gets a feature, the noise-rap
group clipping produced “Blood in the Water,”
and members of the metalcore group Code Orange
contributed to the album.) “666 in Luxana,”
which combines samples of African singing
with extreme noise, takes the album in a
different direction without departing from its
signature sound.
Backxwash identifi es as an anarchist, and
her political perspective comes through on “I Lie
Here Buried.” At various points on the album,
she attacks Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Justin
Trudeau. The title song bemoans “I see no
such thing as justice/The world is run by the
wicked.” “Terror Packets” ends with the words
of Angela Davis, while “IN MY HOLY NAME”
goes in the other direction and samples a homophobic
preacher. “666 in Luxana” addresses
the literal demonization of African culture:
“They say ‘your culture is evil’/Here’s a realer
story/We have the answers that you’re needing.”
Backxwash’s awareness that her struggle
with evil isn’t entirely self-created lurks behind
this album’s cries.
“I Lie Here Buried” starts with a 90-second
spoken word track, which says “the purpose
of pain is to get our attention that something
is wrong, protect us from further damage, and
get us to request care. In this sense, a little
bit of pain is a good thing.” Pain rap has become
its own lane akin to a contemporary
version of the blues, with artists like Polo G,
Lil Durk and Rod Wave delivering downbeat
autobiographical stories. But it tends to be
melodic and accessible, with singsong Autotuned
vocals. “I Lie Here Buried” matches its
sonics to the emotions it expresses. She also
avoids the pitfalls of horrorcore’s many empty
attempts at over-the-top shock value. “666 in
Luxana,” which combines samples of African
singing with extreme noise, takes the album
in a different direction without departing from
its signature sound. When she raps “I’m on the
verge of losing my soul,” it’s a response to living
in a world so hostile to Black trans women that
the extremes of Christian beliefs about hell are
taking place here and now.
BACKXWASH | “I Lie Here Buried with My
Rings and Dresses” | Ugly Hag Records
July 1 - July 14, 2 24 021 | GayCityNews.com
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