RED FUTURE sits atop the shoulders of the rap duo’s accumulated success. From that height, they could take on a scope of epic proportions without losing sight of the raw emotion and signature snark that has defined their work. Their bars bounce atop buoyant production, popping off euphoric anthems with a headbanging edge.

The 16 songs on RED FUTURE unfold like a film with three acts. “Welcome to the World” opens with a laundry list of colonial wrongdoings, “Burn” ushers in ideas for resistance (there’s a clue in the song title), while “Devil’s Club” provides regrowth in revelry. And after rising from the ashes, the denouement delights in imagining Indigenous ascendance. 

As a concept, RED FUTURE has been simmering on the back burner since before the pandemic, but the pair have waited for the ideal instance to dish it up for the potluck. “RED FUTURE was always coming and it needed to come when the time was right,” says Nyce. In the meantime, they released albums that felt more appropriate for each passing chapter, until reaching that critical crux when the world seemed ready to receive the message – and they felt emboldened enough to deliver it. “When the rise comes, when the resurgence comes, that’s when RED FUTURE will be here for us. And the time is now for that. We’re at our highest high that we can be at before we drop this album.” 

“We’re at a time where the outside world is very intrigued about Indigenous culture,” Nyce continues. “At the same time, because of artists like A Tribe Called Red, because artists like us, Indigenous kids are realising that it’s dope to be Native — you should be proud of who you are, you should be proud of the braids you wear, of the skin tone you have, of the family you’re surrounded by. Right now is a very important moment in time to kind of break into the mainstream for artists like us because society is letting us tell our story the way it was meant to be told and not telling our story for us anymore.”

“When all is said and done, it’s all about setting up those next artists that are gonna take it further than we have so far,” adds Metz. “It’s not about how far we came, it’s about how far we can go, and the sky’s the limit, really.”

SNRK set out at a time before Indigenous music carved a space for itself in pop culture, and at a time before Indigenous issues mattered to most Canadians. They recount how their first show back in Kitimat failed to resonate with the local crowd, whether Indigenous or white. “People didn’t really give a shit. And then we went back two years later, and all those same little white kids, like, lyric for lyric, bar for bar, word for word, front row, it was chaos,” says Nyce with a flash of his grills. “And then one of the principals took us aside and she was telling us what a change she’s seen in the students and how they interact with each other because of starting Snotty Nose Rez Kids.” 

The awareness brought about by Indigenous activism and artistry alike is building momentum. And RED FUTURE encapsulates the energy, intelligence, power, and possibility held in this cusp, the euphoria and suspense of surfing the edge of this historic wave. Nyce and Metz moved to Vancouver when the Idle No More movement was pushing Indigenous resistance onto the national stage. Since then, dozens of movements across the continent have kept the spotlight on this reality and Indigenous alternatives. Now, we have Hollywood heavyweights like Martin Scorsese bringing Indigenous stories to the big screen, which, in turn, has given Nyce and Metz the chance to have a show on CBC.

“These are small steps forward, but small steps are better than no steps,” says Metz. 

“It’s like a snowball effect — once the ball starts rolling, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger,” adds Nyce. “We have more power than the government wants us to think we have, and that comes in numbers. And all the work that we do is to make an easier life for the generations coming after us. To let them know at a young age what it really means to be First Nations. And there’s a lot of power in that.”

According to Nyce, SNRK lived that process of self-discovery and empowerment through their music. “I was always timid growing up and so was he, until we found our calling. We were always the quiet ones and now our energy when we walk in a room can’t be ignored. And it’s because of the work that we put in ourselves,” he says. “A lot of people always tell us to check our ego at the door. But we don’t have an ego, we have confidence. It’s a late-found confidence, and I can never check that at any door.” 

“We really came into ourselves on this album,” adds Metz. “RED FUTURE is the big one. It’s going to be the beginning of pandemonium. We’ve been working our whole career for this, to be at this level. And we feel like we’re still just getting started. The best is yet to come.” 

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