DD Podcast

There may only be 24 hours in a day, but don't tell Tanaya Winder.

In addition to her flourishing poetry career, she's a professor, a motivational speaker, a vocalist, an entrepreneur and the founder of Dream Warriors, an Indigenous artist collective. And through it all, she's on a mission to spread love and make the world a better place.

On the latest episode of Beyond The Mic, Tanaya talks about wearing her MANY hats, shares the one thing she won't travel without and much, much more.

Last year, the DD Podcast brought you brand new music from 12 of today's hottest Indigenous artists in our First Listen Fridays series.

Now we're back with 12 new artists and a brand new series called Beyond The Mic. Instead of introducing new tracks, we dive a bit deeper and chat with our artists about their hobbies, side hustles and everything in between.

On the premiere episode of our Beyond The Mic series, multidisciplinary (and multi-talented) artist Joey Stylez talks about his nomadic spirit, his passion for fashion and much, much more.

Over the past three months, we've introduced you to brand new music from some of the top Indigenous artists across Canada. From up-and-comers like Skyler and Snotty Nose Rez Kids to more established musicians like JB The First Lady and Christa Couture, the scene is bursting with talent and the future looks brighter than ever.

This week, we catch up with Haida/Cree rocker Kristi Lane Sinclair. In addition to winning Best Rock Album at this year's Indigenous Music Awards, she's a co-founder of the Red Ride Tour and recently chronicled her journey in APTN's Face The Music.

On this week's finale of First Listen Fridays, Kristi talks about everything from touring the country to her fear of sharp objects. She also introduces a new song she's working on called Grit.

A big reason we launched the DD Podcast was to share new music from Canada's next wave of Indigenous artists. An even bigger reason was to share their stories.

This week, we introduce you to Skyler, an Ojibwe-German rapper from Sandy Bay, Manitoba. After his parents passed away, he bounced around in foster homes before settling in Canada at the age of 16. As he dealt with the culture shock and learned about the history of residential schools, hip hop became more than just music - it became a source of healing. At only 19, he already has four mixtapes under his belt and just dropped a new album featuring fellow Winnipegger Arrow-C.

On Episode 11 of First Listen Fridays, Skyler and Arrow-C talk about working with Grammy-nominated producer Fresh IE, how they got into hip hop and more. You'll also hear the exclusive debut of their bangin' new track, House of Pain. Enjoy!

You know that feeling when you're sitting on a secret that you just can't wait to share with the world? Anxiety. Excitement. Anticipation. For the past few weeks, that's been us.

Finally, on this week's brand new edition of First Listen Fridays, we have the privilege of introducing you to Sierra Noble's latest side project. As one half of Beyond Hope, she's teamed up with New Yorker Matt Krahula for a sound that's completely different, completely authentic and completely awesome. Drawing on their similar backgrounds and building on past collaborations, the duo has managed to develop some serious sonic chemistry and create something truly special. But don't take our word for it.

On Episode 10 of First Listen Fridays, you'll hear the exclusive premiere of Beyond Hope's first single, Where We Belong. We also catch up with Sierra and Matt at their cabin studio in upstate New York to talk about their evolution as individual artists, their decision to team up and more.

Time truly does fly when you're having fun. The days are getting shorter, stores are stocking up for Halloween (it seems to get earlier every year!), and we're already up to Episode 9 of First Listen Fridays.

This week we're thrilled to share our interview with Toronto-based singer-songwriter Christa Couture. In addition to being a whiskey drinker, a seasonal knitter, a non-fiction writer, a project manager, and a self-described cyborg, she's a crazy talented musician.

On this week's edition of First Listen Fridays, hear what she had to say about touring, recording in Nashville and more. She also gives us the exclusive premiere of Happy or Unhappy, a track that almost made the cut on her most recent album, Long Time Leaving.

You may have heard beat boxing, but you've never heard beat boxing like this.

On this episode of First Listen Fridays, you'll meet Nunavut's Nelson Tagoona, the pioneer of a distinct and dynamic art form called throat boxing. Fusing elements of traditional Inuit throat singing and live looping with standard beat boxing, Nelson has created a sound that honours his culture, embraces technology and resonates with audiences across the world.

This week, Nelson talks about inspiring youth through music, sharing the stage with Nelly Furtado at Aboriginal Day Live and more. You'll also hear the exclusive premiere of his powerful new beat, The Rain Can't Stop.

The DD Podcast is back with another First Listen Friday, and this week you're in for a treat.

We were first introduced to Cody Purcell (aka Cody Coyote) a few years ago, and connected with him for a 20 Questions interview in 2016. As we quickly learned, there's a lot more to Cody than his music.

Growing up in Ottawa's East End, he discovered drugs at a young age and fell in with a rough crowd. Fueled by anger and a steady dose of alcohol, his adolescence revolved around violence, crime and depression. Then, at the age of 20, he tried to kill himself.

This week on First Listen Fridays, Cody talks about getting sober, discovering his culture, reflecting reality through art and using his music to inspire others. He also premieres Someday, the first single from his forthcoming album, Mamawi.

Welcome to another First Listen Friday, music fans! If you've been following our podcast for the past five weeks, you've heard in-depth interviews and hot new tracks from Shawnee, Sister Says, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Ghostkeeper and Kelly Fraser.

Today we hit the midpoint of our First Listen Fridays series with one of our all-time faves, JB the First Lady.

Since breaking onto the scene as one of Canada's first Indigenous female hip-hop artists, JB has remained true to her roots and paved the way for an exciting new wave of female MCs. She also practices what she preaches in her music, empowering young Indigenous women across the country, advocating for Indigenous rights and giving back to her community in countless ways.

This week, JB premieres a banger from her forthcoming album and talks about everything from the origin of her stage name and performing at Aboriginal Day Live to reflecting history through art and the healing power of hip hop.

Another Friday, another First Listen! This week, we turn our microphone to the North and interview Nunavut pop artist Kelly Fraser.

Hailing from a small community of 1,000 people, Kelly first gained recognition back in 2013 when her Inuktitut version of Rihanna's Diamonds went viral (239,000 views and counting!). She has since gained a loyal following and put her platform to good use, advocating for Indigenous rights and educating people about life in the North.

Hear what Kelly had to say about the Inuit legend that inspired her new album and sharing her culture through music. You'll also get a first listen to her unreleased track, Complaining.