Live in Review: Snotty Nose Rez Kids with Lex Leosis
Live in Review: Snotty Nose Rez Kids,
with Lex Leosis, DJ Kookum, and Samurai Champs
Louis’, Saskatoon SK, April 2nd, 2022
Words by: Gregory Torwalt
Photos by: Kristen Boyé
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Snotty Nose Rez Kids continued to stomp through a string of sold-out shows as they stopped in Saskatoon for The Life After Tour featuring support from Lex Leosis and DJ Kookum. With the crowd ready to rage on Treaty 6 territory, Snotty Nose Rez Kids and companions kept the audiences’ eyes and ears glued to the stage Saturday night with charismatic performances full of effortlessly intricate bars, incredible confidence, and fresh style.
DJ Kookum
The night opened with SK-based hip-hop duo Samurai Champs, who were added to the bill for this Saskatoon stop as well as Monday’s show in Regina. Samurai Champs won over the crowd with sharp, playful hip-hop, and smooth r&b styled vocals juxtaposed with intense screamo. Prior to the performance of their song “GVNG”, Jeah (rapper & beatmaker of the duo) mentioned how this song and their music in general is about promoting positivity and love for the gang and crew you grew up with. Jeah, with his big diamond-studded earrings, cheeky charming smile, and smooth steps from side-to-side exudes a confidence reminiscent of 50 Cent, while Merv xx Gotti (the other half of Samurai Champs) bounces all over the stage, surprising the audience with spinning kick jumps as he seamlessly switches from screaming to smooth high-ranged vocals. The dynamics between the two was most notable on “GVNG” where Merv xx Gotti grounded into a wide-legged stance as he delivered thrashy metal vocals screaming “gang shit!” in between fiery bars from Jeah. The addition of live-drumming from L. Elliot, and DJing from Tefrondon pushed the set’s potency to the max. Ending with their song “Party Like It’s 1999”, the group encouraged the crowd to sway their arms to match the song’s catchy beat and to chant along with its repetitive “party like it’s 1999” hook. A wisely crafted opening set from Samurai Champs set the stage for DJ Kookum and Lex Leosis to build on the high-spirited energy in the room.
DJ Kookum soon hit the stage after Samurai Champs. Flowing through throwback crowd favourites like Ying Yang Twins’ “Salt Shaker”, Nelly’s “Ride wit Me”, Sean Paul’s “Get Busy”, and Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” with the ODB verse, DJ Kookum mixed hype songs with fresh beats, sounds, transitions, and samples to keep the audience in a trance-like state of good vibes. DJ Kookum radiated an air of regal confidence with her blinged out jewelled jacket and badass self-assuredness. Her sly grin and quick glances to the crowd when a shift in the set garners a holler! demonstrates that she knows exactly how to vibe with an audience and keep the energy right. DJ Kookum, who often performs with Snotty Nose Rez Kids, held down the stage for hours as she cemented herself as the MVP of the night. She first DJ’d before Lex Leosis, then handled the mixes for Leosis’ performance. After the Lex Leosis set, DJ Kookum continued with another high-energy mix as fans danced on the floor while others gathered around the merch table to meet Leosis prior to Snotty Nose Rez Kids’ set. DJ Kookum closed the show by holding it down with SNRK, and she was the last to leave the stage at the end of the night.
Lex Leosis
Lex Leosis–formerly of the critically acclaimed rap group The Sorority–is now immersed in a solo career. Leosis released the brilliant Terracotta EP in 2021, a 6 track EP that was #8 on our year-end list of best EPs. Leosis’ up-tempo set focused primarily on tracks from this EP, plus a few throwbacks, a wild “free-verse” section, and a sneak peek of a new song. She opened the show with Terracotta single “That Feel”, storming through the back-stage curtain as soon as the track’s heavy swirling bassline dropped. Leosis quickly hyped up Saskatoon and then dove into the first verse – the beginning of a mesmerising performance. As a seasoned performer, her ability to keep all eyes on her while she’s on stage is evidence of years of dedication to her craft, plus her own natural charisma and stage presence. Lex is a beast on stage and commands attention, putting on a masterclass of how to make the most use of any stage space– grooving from stage-left to stage-right, reaching up to the roof as she stretches her arms high, floating to the back of the stage to interact with DJ Kookum, rushing forward and crouching down to be face-to-face with the crowd, and later briefly jumping down onto the floor. Her high-energy raps, positive messaging, and clear diction made it easy for the audience to connect with what Leosis was serving. And did she ever serve hit after hit– bouncing between blink-and-you’ll-miss-it rhymes and catchy melodic hooks, Leosis’ flow is reminiscent of Queen Latifah and Ms. Lauryn Hill, whom she references on track “Reality”: “I soul seek to find what’s hidden / since I’ve been healing, been less sad and more giving / Everything is Everything like Lauryn said / all reflection”. Leosis’ style and confidence shone through her entire set, and she was happy to show off for fans snapping photos and videos for the ‘gram– maintaining eye contact with audience members, teeth biting her stuck-out tongue, sharing knowing grins, and opening her jacket to show off her heart and point to her chest. Leosis didn’t miss a chance to impact the audience as she threw down caption-worthy bar after bar.
Midway through the set, Leosis stood centre stage behind a mic-stand to deliver a number of impressive free-verses over beats from DJ Kookum. After a few verses, Leosis chimed in with a rightfully braggadocious comment: “Saskatoon, I can go all night…” Soon after this, Leosis changed gears and performed a brand new track called “Selfish” - an intense song that once again brought to mind the energy of Ms. Lauryn Hill, specifically the hard-hitting Wyclef diss-track “Lost Ones”. She introduced the brand new track by saying that it was inspired by the breakdown of a friendship, and my oh my, I would not want to be the friend that this diss-track is about. The performance included DJ Kookum hitting fire-alarm type sounds, matching Leosis’ fiery passion. Leosis spent a good amount of the song kneeling down to be eye level with the crowd as she shared these new vulnerable rhymes, shooting off bars like: “I need big, big boundaries where self-love is surrounding me… here you go with that gas-lighting, projections, toxicity / every time I come around you want to talk that shit to me / bullshit and I know that / still hurts regardless / cuz I’ma leave you by yourself now I’m the one that’s heartless / like hold up, that don’t sound right / we can’t even have a conversation cuz you can’t grow up / I’m pissed off, upset, you’re down and out, obsessed” and ending the track with the blazing hook: “Selfish! You only care about yourself, huh? Selfish! You only care about yourself, huh?”. It sounds like “Selfish” will be Leosis’ next single and that she is working on a video, so keep your eyes out for this bold song to drop soon. Leosis was beaming as she closed her set with a performance of another Terracotta EP highlight, the 90’s dance/hip-hop influenced “Hold Yah Down”. Lex Leosis is building incredible buzz, and with performances like these on top of her stellar recordings, she will soon be headlining her own sold-out tours and festival slots.
Snotty Nose Rez Kids
Juno nominated and two-time Polaris Prize shortlisted hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids mentioned during their set that they haven’t been back to Saskatoon in three years. Since that show in spring 2019, the duo was shortlisted for their second Polaris Prize for Trapline, released the EP Born Deadly, as well as their most recent LP Life After in October 2021 (read our Pick of the Week album review here). The set showcased how strong their discography is and how expertly they can command a crowd– a crowd that has been growing with the band and waiting a few years to celebrate these new releases with them at a live show. Every song was a crowd-favourite and featured inspiring, thought-provoking lyrics with fast, character-filled flow. The personality that both rappers demonstrate while performing is exceptional. It is evident that they are deeply feeling the words, and the lyrics are second-nature to them. The technical prowess and performance capabilities demonstrated with their ad-libs, facial expressions, and movements on stage took the performance to the next level, and the command of their lyrics allows Snotty Nose Rez Kids to be completely present with the audience as well as with one another on stage. At times, their bond seems to pull them together like a magnet, and at other times they are holding down opposite sides of the stage while still maintaining this electric connection. The way that Yung Trybez and Young D play off each other shows how close and comfortable they are– as noted later in the show during a vulnerable moment while they introduced the down-tempo “Change”: “Yeah we are cousins, but the bond goes deeper than that, we’re brothers…you know what I’m talking about… yo if you’re Native, you know what we’re talking about.” The crowd cheered in response, and then were soon asked to turn on their phone flashlights. Midway through “Change”, Yung Trybez commented on the lights in the crowd: “Saskatoon, that light you’re holding up, that’s the light we see in ourselves and that’s the light we see in you.”
Highlights of the set included the explosive set opener “Real Deadly”, the playful “Uncle Rico”, plus the intense “Creator Made an Animal” – during which the duo broke things down to just the lyrics at the end of the song to allow them to hit even more clearly with the audience. Young D prefaced this moment with, “Just incase that last part went over some of your headtops, that shit’s so nice we’re gonna say it twice, alright..” before the two of them took turns exchanging lines: “We labelled as savage, the label is Native / We make it, you make, it, the future First Nations / Thank the Creator for all of these favours / Minay on the radar, we finally famous … Man we the new raiders, we want it, we take it / Protect your location from nation to nation / Where everything sacred, from cedar to raven / Creator’s creations, my ancient relations / And we the replacements, God damn it’s amazing”. The energy continued to increase, reaching new heights as the set continued with more and more heat - including “Wild Boy”, “Red Sky At Night”, “Gravedigger”, and “No Jesus Piece”. Snotty Nose Rez Kids is known for bringing fans up on stage during the especially fun “Boujee Natives”– and the crowd that gathered on stage for this song didn’t disappoint. At times the audience members who jumped on stage seemed like they were almost doing rehearsed choreography, letting go of any inhibitions and demonstrating that they’ve been paying close attention to the ways that these artists were dancing and commanding attention on stage.
In the crowd
And speaking of looking fly– the style and look of both members of Snotty Nose Rez Kids was fresh, they both were so well put together but also seemed comfortable in their own looks. This attention to detail demonstrates that SNRK are thoughtful about the way they present themselves to audiences. Young D opened the night with a brown and black jacket with a blinged out collar, red bandana around his head, long hair tied in a pony (which he later took out), a beaded medicine wheel necklace, and smaller framed sunglasses, but the heat of the stage led him to rock a more casual t-shirt look and drop the glasses as the show progressed. Yung Trybez was especially blinged out– with a pearl necklace amongst other chains, glossy combat boots, golden earrings, a bold septum piercing, black painted nails, a flower embroidered black leather jacket, graffit’d black jeans, a red flowery bandana flowing from his waist, plus thin braids which he twirled around in his fingers throughout the set. The band’s contrast in clothing and vocal styles is reminiscent of another top-tier, unpredictable duo: Outkast. The way that Yung Trybez floats and leans around the stage, and how he uses his higher Lil-Wayne type voice brings to mind the dynamic performances of André 3000, whereas Young D’s grounded, deep, thoughtful but brazen boldness is reminiscent of the ways Big Boi carries himself on stage. The band referenced Outkast–who is surely an influence–in one of their final songs of the night, “Aliens vs Indians”: “Cuz for life I’m rezzy / forever, forever? / I snipe my shots like Wesley, like I don’t know no better / Outkast baby, I’m singing “Hey Ya” / Hate the game baby, don’t hate the playa.” The level of crowd interaction and engagement throughout the set kept the audience in the palm of the band’s hand - one example being the multiple times they led “wolf-howls” at the moon. “Sink or Swim” (named one of our best tracks of 2021) from their most recent album led to a wide-circle mosh-pit, and the mosh pit reopened again near the end of the show when Yung Trybez jumped down into the floor for “I Can’t Remember My Name”. They closed the night with an encore featuring the crowd chant-along songs “Long Hair, Don’t Care”, and “Skoden”.
The Life After Tour is just beginning, so if you have a chance to catch Snotty Nose Rez Kids sharing a bill with Lex Leosis as DJ Kookum keeps the vibe tight, you are in for a special treat– be prepared to dance, sing, and think, but don’t forget to also bring your freshest, snottiest look to the club.
- Gregory Torwalt
Farewell