Biography
Snotty Nose Rez Kids function as a Canadian hip-hop duo whose tight, pulsing verses and stripped-down, moody productions project both celebration of First Nations roots and outrage at systemic forces that have sidelined their community. Rooted in Indigenous advocacy and awareness, the pair deliver pointed resistance through a hardened, street-level lens that confronts racial and cultural slights head-on. Their 2017 release The Average Savage earned independent acclaim and established them among critics, while 2020’s Trapline earned a nomination for Canada’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize; the 2021 album Life After addressed endurance following the death of a close associate, and their fifth full-length, I'M GOOD, HBU?, arrived in 2022 blending pointed commentary with the duo’s signature satirical edge.
Darren Metz, performing as Young D, and Quinton Nyce, performing as Yung Trybez, established Snotty Nose Rez Kids in 2016 after growing up together in Kitamaat Village, a Haisla settlement in British Columbia. The two connected during high school through mutual interests in poetry, narrative traditions, and hip-hop. While Metz pursued audio engineering studies at Harbourside Institute of Technology in North Vancouver, he conceived the Minay Music project—drawing the name from the Haisla term for “brother”—and asked Nyce to participate. They adopted the Snotty Nose Rez Kids moniker from a childhood slur once directed at them and occasionally aimed at other Haisla youth. The pair issued a self-titled independent album in January 2017 and followed it nine months later with The Average Savage. The track “Skoden,” taken from that second project, received repeated rotation on the CBC Radio program Reclaimed, which spotlights Indigenous artists, and ranked among the network’s 100 best songs of 2017.
In 2018 the duo signed with RPM Records, an imprint focused on Indigenous releases, and debuted on the label with “The Warriors,” written in opposition to the Trans Mountain Pipeline project in Northwestern Canada. They chose to operate independently again for their third album, Trapline, released in 2019. Powered by the single “Boujee Natives,” a sharp salute to First Nations confidence and style, the project garnered further praise; Exclaim placed it among the year’s top ten hip-hop albums, and it was short-listed for the Polaris Music Prize, which Haviah Mighty ultimately won.
During the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown of Canadian live music, Metz and Nyce devoted time to composing and recording new material that examined hardships affecting Indigenous populations, among them addiction, poverty, mental health struggles, and police violence. The reflective mood deepened when Taran Kootenhayoo, known onstage as DJ Kookum and serving as their live DJ, lost his brother to suicide. Life After, the duo’s fourth album, appeared in October 2021, confronting these realities while conveying resilience amid difficulty. After resuming live performances, they released their fifth album, the incisive yet humorous I'M GOOD, HBU?, in December 2022, which included contributions from DillanPonders and Polo Brian.
Darren Metz, performing as Young D, and Quinton Nyce, performing as Yung Trybez, established Snotty Nose Rez Kids in 2016 after growing up together in Kitamaat Village, a Haisla settlement in British Columbia. The two connected during high school through mutual interests in poetry, narrative traditions, and hip-hop. While Metz pursued audio engineering studies at Harbourside Institute of Technology in North Vancouver, he conceived the Minay Music project—drawing the name from the Haisla term for “brother”—and asked Nyce to participate. They adopted the Snotty Nose Rez Kids moniker from a childhood slur once directed at them and occasionally aimed at other Haisla youth. The pair issued a self-titled independent album in January 2017 and followed it nine months later with The Average Savage. The track “Skoden,” taken from that second project, received repeated rotation on the CBC Radio program Reclaimed, which spotlights Indigenous artists, and ranked among the network’s 100 best songs of 2017.
In 2018 the duo signed with RPM Records, an imprint focused on Indigenous releases, and debuted on the label with “The Warriors,” written in opposition to the Trans Mountain Pipeline project in Northwestern Canada. They chose to operate independently again for their third album, Trapline, released in 2019. Powered by the single “Boujee Natives,” a sharp salute to First Nations confidence and style, the project garnered further praise; Exclaim placed it among the year’s top ten hip-hop albums, and it was short-listed for the Polaris Music Prize, which Haviah Mighty ultimately won.
During the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown of Canadian live music, Metz and Nyce devoted time to composing and recording new material that examined hardships affecting Indigenous populations, among them addiction, poverty, mental health struggles, and police violence. The reflective mood deepened when Taran Kootenhayoo, known onstage as DJ Kookum and serving as their live DJ, lost his brother to suicide. Life After, the duo’s fourth album, appeared in October 2021, confronting these realities while conveying resilience amid difficulty. After resuming live performances, they released their fifth album, the incisive yet humorous I'M GOOD, HBU?, in December 2022, which included contributions from DillanPonders and Polo Brian.
Albums
Singles
