“Red Man”, the latest Album by Sto:lo/Tahltan Rapper “Hope”

Red Man is an album by Sto:lo/Tahltan Rapper “Hope” (Status Krew, Rudegang Entertainment) that seeks to explore and depict the experiences of an indigenous man living in a colonized world.

Hope’s album Red Man seizes the opportunity to speak freely about his feelings towards reconciliation, cultural appropriation, and those who are willingly ignorant towards what Indigenous People know is undeniable fact; that supremacy exists and effects our people deeply. Hope’s unique and sometimes off kilter style of lyricism brings this album to a level of artistry that is not so regularly seen in the world of Hip Hop; he is a modern day Indigenous story teller.

Witness the emotional boundary that is bridged in this video for RED MAN by Hope, it identifies the loss to the global culture, the loss of a nations self, due to the imperialistic and domination of the “Emanate Domain” Philosophy it is a story of the feeding hand being bitten.

Artist Notes: About Red Man the Album Cover – The artwork for Hope’s upcoming album Red Man, while seemingly innocuous, speaks to a very specific moment in the history of the Colonization of Indigenous People; the 60’s Scoop. At a time when indigenous communities and families were still reeling from the impact of residential schools, and before most residential schools had even begun to close down for good, the Canadian government created adoption programs such as the Adopt Indian Métis (AIM) project which promoted the adoption of First Nations children by middle-class, white families in 1967.

The AIM Program would post advertisements of Indigenous Babies and Children with a Photograph, Name and Description of the child in Canadian Newspapers to find them homes; these Ad’s were used as a basis for the design of Hope’s Album Cover. This image was chosen due to the fact that the 60’s scoop had a direct impact on Hope and his family, as his own mother was a part of the 60’s scoop and as an elder, continues to struggle with finding connections to her original home territory, culture and family. The act of scooping Indigenous Children from their homes on mass is a practice that still exists in Canada today, an act that many Indigenous People recognize as being parallel to that of placing Indigenous Children in Residential Schools.

Press Quotes – “With hard-hitting lyrics, stunning rapping, intriguing collaborations and a message to remember, Hope’s Red Man has it all.” – Arjun Doraiswami for Discorder Mag CiTR

Accolades
2015 – The Concept Tour with Alpha Omega (Tour Support – 20 shows Across Canada)
2017 – Fraser Valley Music Award Win – Best Hip Hop (Male)

Artist Biography:

Hope (born Patrick Kelly, 1984) is a professional Hip-Hop artist and performer from Leq’a:mel First Nation British Columbia, and based in Vancouver BC. Inspired by Tradition, Hope uses the art of storytelling and rhyme to depict life on the reservation and illustrate to others what it is to be indigenous. Releasing his first album with Indigenous Hip Hop Duo “Status Krew” in 2011, Hope has been steadily contributing to the BC Underground Hip Hop scene as well as the Indigenous Hip Hop scene through EP, Album and Music Video releases ever since. In 2014 Hope along with his rhyme partner “Doobie” joined local artist Mamarudegyal MTHC in co-founding Indigenous Hip Hop and Multimedia group “Rudegang Entertainment”  Winning a Fraser Valley Music award in 2017 (Best in Hip Hop – Male) sparked new motivation for Hope, who then embarked on a new project and the most important album of his career thus far, “Red Man”, released July 2019.

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