Tobique First Nation’s Kam Speech has just released a new album and he’s giving it away for free.
Fans of New Brunswick Hip Hop are well acquainted with the duo Old Self & Kam Speech. Last fall the pair delivered an incredible high energy set alongside Fortunato, The Cauldron Project, Elephant Skeletons and City Natives as part of Festival (506)’s Electro ‘n Hop showcase performances. And as individual musicians, they are equally skilled and prolific in what they do.
This month welcomed the release of Project IV, the latest full-length from Tobique First Nation’s ECMA nominated artist Kam Speech. The album, a 17-track collection, features numerous collaborations with MCs, producers and other musicians including Grammy nominated Anno Domini & Don-P. Wize, Old Self and AliasNone. There is even a guest appearance by Tobique First Nation’s very own Negootgook Drummers. In short, Project IV may very well be his finest and most collaborative work to date.
“The producers on the album are personal friends and family, such as Old Self being my brother and music partner. We’ve been producing with each other for many years,” said Kam Speech. “Beaatz is who showed me the how-tos and go-tos for programs for recording and producing, and he’s also been just like a brother to me.”
Tyrone Turner, Anno Domino & Don-P are Grammy nominated and multi-platinum producers who Kam was able to connect with through an online community they’re all a part of.
“I joined Anno Domino’s website as a free member, and went from there to the Inner Circle,” he said. “They send those [beats] in the Inner Circle as exclusive content.”
The album is heavy structured on collaboration, something that has always been an important part of the genre.
“I feel collaborations are necessary for the supporters and fans listening who may support an artist as well as wanting to hear a particular collaboration. Collaborations also help for marketing in certain areas of that strategy,” he said.
Project IV is Kam Speech’s fourth album and is available as a free download from his Bandcamp page.
The album joins a growing list of releases from New Brunswick’s strong Aboriginal Hip Hop community as well as that of Tobique First Nation.
“The Aboriginal Hip Hop community is very strong in New Brunswick, and I see Hip Hop being the reason some of us young voices are actually heard through our music,” said Kam. “Whether it’s making a song about the community, how we see it or what we see, or just a regular Hip Hop track, they will always have a feeling related to where we come from as people.”
