Category: 2021 nominee

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2021 nominee

Angel Baribeau

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

RISING STAR

Angel Baribeau

Angel Baribeau

Queer, non-binary, singer songwriter Angel Baribeau flawlessly delivers an effortless performance that is seasoned with maturity and wisdom beyond their years. An absolute powerhouse vocalist, Baribeau flows with emotions and an intimate vulnerability that cascades through distinct warm textures and catchy acoustic pop melodies. Originally

from Cree community of Mistissini, Quebec, and now residing in Montreal, Baribeau had an early start to music heavily influenced by both the musicians in their family and the biggest chart topping artists of all time. Baribeau started on their songwriting journey when they formed their first band, an indie folk duo called Simple Human Tribe. Baribeau quickly gained momentum as a solo artist in 2014 when they were selected to be featured on the first ever compilation album created by N’we Jinan, a travelling music studio program. Eeyou Istchee Volume 1 shot to number one on iTunes the first day it was released and received substantial media attention across the nation. Their debut solo album, For Those I Love(d), has been awaited with anticipaton. Ultimately, Baribeau’s goal is to be a changemaker. They feel a responsibility to pursue their talent to create more representation on the scene, recognizing that there are very few people in the industry that look like and identify as they do.

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2021 nominee

Murray Porter

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

RECORDING ARTIST(S)
OF THE YEAR

Murray Porter

Murray Porter

Blues Man Murray Porter’s music career has taken him all over the world for the last 40 years. He’s a proud Mohawk man from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in southern Ontario, who now lives on Squamish Nation unceded territory in North Vancouver, British Columbia.

Murray may have a blues soul to the core, but he also grew up on rock and roll, R & B and country music. Porter’s first CD since his 2012 JUNO Award for ‘Aboriginal Album of the Year’ is titled, “STAND UP!” and reflects these early musical influences. He strongly feels that this album is some of his best music to date. This album was nominated at the 2019 Native American Music Awards for ‘Best Blues Recording’ and ‘Best Male Artist of the Year’. One song, `Love Will Find A Way’, with words by Elaine Bomberry and music by Murray Porter, charted at #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown the week of July 18, 2020.

Whether he is playing an intimate venue for local blues fans, as a solo, duo, trio or with a four-piece band, or on a festival stage to thousands of music aficionados, Porter’s love of performing comes across clear and strong. He has been compared to Dr. John, Joe Cocker and even Elton John! Robbie Robertson has called Porter “a master bluesman.” He captivates audiences wherever he performs and makes new fans…and they never leave his show disappointed.

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2021 nominee

DJ Shub

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

RECORDING ARTIST(S)
OF THE YEAR

DJ Shub

DJ Shub

Melodic storytellers The NorthStars are an energetic yet laid back hip hop duo from Nemaska, Considered to be the Godfather of PowWowStep, DJ Shub has undoubtedly pioneered a growing genre of electronic music since his initial start with internationally-acclaimed group A Tribe Called Red. Born Dan General, he is a Mohawk, turtle clan of the Six Nations of the Grand River located in Ontario, Canada. Since the creation of PowWowStep, he has grown more aware of the Indigenous way of life through his music, merging his heritage with his craft. As a solo artist, DJ Shub released his first EP “PowWowStep” in 2016 and has since played some of the biggest music festivals in North America. He’s also been featured in a number of national media outlets. His song “Indomitable” was notably handpicked by Sacha Baron Cohen as the theme music to his hit Showtime series, “Who Is America?” DJ Shub released his debut, full length record entitled “War Club” in December 2020 featuring collaborators like Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Phoenix, Hellnback, Randy Bachman, Stevie Salas and more.

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2021 nominee

The Northstars

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

RAP-HIP HOP-ELECTRONICA ALBUM OF THE YEAR

The Northstars 

Nightmares

Quebec. Heavy hitters in the Northern Cree Music scene, members Elton J. Salt and Gary Jolly deliver an authentic experience, fusing gritty dark beats with bright acoustic pop notes. Beasts on the mic, rap singer songwriters Salt and Jolly aim to make change and inspire a generation through an authentic approach and performance.

The NorthStars were first catapulted into the Canadian music scene in 2012 when their song “Our River”, off of their debut mixtape, gained significant traction leading to considerable media coverage including attention from CBC North, James Bay Cree Communications Radio and Champ FM Radio. This led to multiple tours of the Cree Nation touring circuit, and steady exportation into the national music market. In 2014, The NorthStars connected and collaborated with N’we Jinan; a travelling music studio program, to create songs and videos for N’we Jinan’s Volume 1, a music project that featured over 70 Cree Nation youth. The album peaked at #1 on the iTunes charts in the hip-hop category.

The NorthStars’ debut 2015 released album, “Dreams” climbed to the #9 spot in the Canadian Hip-Hop Category and has received over 10,000 thousand streams on their SoundCloud page. “Nightmares”, an 11-song album, introduces a refined and mature evolution of The NorthStars that is raw and emotionally charged. A follow up to the journey of “Dreams”, “Nightmares” is a contrasting view of the struggles and daily challenges they and their community face. This album journeys from ballads of home and sacrifice to energizing dance hits. Seeking to uplift and spark change with this record, The NorthStars eloquently invite their audience to remove the proverbial blindfolds and see things for what they are.

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2021 nominee

Sean Beaver

Sean Beaver in his home studio on Sunday, April 3, 2016. A majority of his music producing is done here. (Photo by Elijah Beaver/SAIT Polytechnic)

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

RAP-HIP HOP-ELECTRONICA ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Sean Beaver

Electric Turtle Dreams

Sean Beaver is an independent techno and electronic Indigenous artist who’s based out of Calgary, Alberta, and is originally from the Driftpile First Nation in northern Alberta and of Cree descent. With a sound like a cross between Teenage Mutants, Chemical Brothers, and Richie Hawtin, Sean has been creating and producing music since 1993, incorporating Indigenous heritage into the music, with elements of pow wow drums and percussion. Sober since 2006, using music as a creative outlet, with four albums released, and another two more albums set to release in 2021, Sean’s first recorded single was released in 1996 with global distribution. Sean was nominated for the Best Instrumental Album at the Indigenous Music Awards in 2015, and 2017, winning in 2015. Sean continues to work in radio in Calgary, perform across North America and work on new, original music every chance he gets.

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2021 nominee

Rich n Beka

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

RAP-HIP HOP-ELECTRONICA ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Rich n Beka

Let the games begin

Grounded in poetry, rap and melody, Rich n Beka are like fire and water, masculine and feminine elements of nature coming together in harmony. Their artistic partnership goes back six years, and bridges life and love – they’re engaged to be married and have a beautiful daughter together. Both share in the culture of the Tsilhqot’in Nation, Beka (Rebecca Solomon) from Xeni Gwet’in and Rich (Richard MacDonald) from Tletinq’ox, west of Williams Lake, BC. Rich n Beka carry the power of story, family, and community in their music.

Rising up from the Tsilhqot’in, their music ignites the passion and presence of healing and resilience, the light of hope that shines when cycles of oppression are overcome. Unapologetic and powerful, there’s a fierce flow of Earth’s medicine through their song stories. Their 2020 studio debut, Let the Games Begin, conjures up truth and bold emotion refined by lyrical skill. Sharp and bright like the facets of a crystal, “Let the Games Begin” levels them up to spark the next generation. This album was produced by Kontrabandz, recorded and mixed at Vancouver’s Bluelight Studios with Pherbie Midgley, and mastered at Suite Sound Labs by Greg Mindorff.

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2021 nominee

Mattmac

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

RAP-HIP HOP-ELECTRONICA ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Mattmac

20/20

Hailing from Garden Hill First Nation, Manitoba, Mattmac is a blind music producer and recording artist who has taken his melodic pop trap beats and inspiring story to quickly establish himself as one to watch on the national music scene in Canada. At 180,000+ streams across all platforms, Mattmac’s catchy melodies, thoughtful lyrics and hard hitting beats presented on his debut release 20/20 are turning heads across North America. Featuring poppy vocals combined with honest lyrics and heavy melodic trap beats, 20/20 gives his listeners a glimpse into the mind of a blind creative hoping to paint vivid sonic pictures of struggle, healing, celebrating love, family and life on the rez. The eight-track album’s debut single “Paradise” has risen to become a popular song on the Canadian music circuit and with Canadian media, garnering more than 50,000+ streams on Spotify, hitting the top 3 on the NCI FM Indigenous Music Countdown hosted by SiriusXM, as well as having heavy exposure on Virgin Radio Winnipeg, YouTube and Facebook.

Mattmac has been blind from birth. He grew up surrounded by music both on the radio and singing in his community’s gospel choir. Struggling with depression at a young age, Mattmac credits music for helping him cope, making beats and writing songs at 13, He is musically self-taught and credits the Blind & Famous group, a USA based collective of blind music artists for supporting him in his musical growth through collaboration and connection on the internet.

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2021 nominee

Joey Stylez

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

RADIO SONG SINGLE OF THE YEAR

Joey Stylez

Super Power

Joey Stylez’s story is as unique as the music he creates. This Juno-nominated Hip Hop artist hit the ground running in the early 2000s with internet and mainstream hits that challenged society’s views of Indigenous people. With online streaming in the tens of millions, and collaborations with big names such as Dragonette, Bun B & Ty Dolla $ign, Stylez has showcased his talents to the delight of his fans. He has charted on Canadian top 40 radio and has served as a role model to Indigenous youth, overcoming a troubled past. With friends and family members on the same path dying, and the statistics for Indigenous youth dismal, the future did not look promising for him as a young man. He had fallen into a life of crime and violence. In turning himself around, Joey’s life experiences instilled in him a desire to make a difference in the lives of others. His early music, which served as healing medicine, told a story of the current reality of being an Indigenous youth in Canada. Since then, Stylez has gained a highly respected following and inspired a generation of Canadian musicians including The Weeknd. He has been recognized by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as one of the top 25 Canadian rappers of all time. He has opened for artists such as Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Billy Ray Cyrus. His catalogue has tracks with the likes of Grammy Award winning producer James Ho (Malay). Stylez continues to tour extensively and create chart-topping hits.

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2021 nominee

Cody Coyote

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

RADIO SONG SINGLE OF THE YEAR

Cody Coyote

Manidoo Dewe’igan

Cody Coyote comes from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and is of Ojibwe/Irish descent with ancestry from Matachewan First Nation. With his fusion of strong, profound lyricism accompanied by corresponding influential sounds, this multi-award nominated and award winning Hip-Hop/Electronic artist grasps his listeners’ attention and delivers a mesmerizing performance. Outside of music, Cody Coyote is also a motivational speaker, workshop facilitator and is the host of “The Beat” on ELMNT FM.

While being actively engaged in the music industry, Cody Coyote’s journey includes being up for nominations in the “Best Rap/Hip-Hop CD” and the “Single Of The Year” categories at the 2015 Indigenous Music Awards as well as the “Best Music Video” category at the 2018 Indigenous Music Awards. Cody Coyote was a recipient of the Ontario 150 Award and received the Ottawa’s Favourite Hip-Hop Artist Award at the 2020 Ottawa Awards. With recognition for creating positive change in the world, this dedicated artist released his second full length album “ Ma’iinganag”, in 2019 with “Manidoo Dewe’igan” reaching #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown.

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2021 nominee

Carsen Gray

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

RADIO SONG SINGLE OF THE YEAR

Carsen Gray

Sah ‘Laana

Hailing from Haida Gwaii, BC, Carsen Gray is Indigenous (Haida), of mixed descent and no stranger to a life of art, music, and entertainment. Relatively new in her professional music career, Carsen became a regional finalist in the CBC 2015 Searchlight Contest which propelled her forward. She released her debut self-titled album, which garnered her the “Best New Artist” award presented by SiriusXM at the Indigenous Music Awards. Carsen Gray also received two nominations for Best Pop Album and Best Radio Single for “Supernatural”. In 2017, on National Aboriginal Day, Carsen performed for the Aboriginal Peoples Television network (APTN) Aboriginal Day Live in Vancouver, B.C giving her a sweet taste of performing live. Following the debut release of singles/videos, “Supernatural” and “Wanna See You” which reached #1 on the NCI FM (Winnipeg MB) Indigenous Music Countdown, Carsen Gray is a fresh artist who is stunning Canadians across the Nation with her soulful lyrics, sexy style, captivating voice and energetic sound. Passionate about songwriting and creative new sounds, Carsen is sure to entertain fans that yearn for relatable lyrics, and upbeat songs that make you want to dance!

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