Sled Island presents: Princess Nokia

Princess Nokia

If you want proof of Princess Nokia’s firepower behind the mic across diverse styles, look no further than the 2020 dual albums Everything Sucks and Everything is Beautiful. 

Everything is Beautiful, held together by a bedrock of lush, soulful instrumentation, shows Nokia’s more vulnerable side across 12 feel-good tracks. 

Sucks, on the other hand, is a tough-as-nails combination of minimal trap beats, growls and boasts. Standout single “I Like Him,” surpassed even her 2017 breakout hit “Tomboy,” receiving Gold certification from the RIAA and becoming inescapable on TikTok. (We still have “my little titties and my phat belly” stuck in our heads pretty much 24/7, though.) Elsewhere, “Harley Quinn” and “Welcome to the Circus” are twisted odes to chaos with just a pinch of winking juggalo spice tossed in for good measure.

Although both records have distinct, well-defined aesthetics, Nokia talks about how she brings together disparate influences for something distinctly her own on both. A chameleon since day one, the Afro-Indigenous artist traces her heritage to Puerto Rico and has lived in nearly every corner of New York, where she has founded the crews House of Mongo and Brujas. She has tackled goth, skater, ballroom, emo and other influences across her records. 

Remarkably, none of her projects feel like a detour off course. Rather, each reveals and explores a layer of her artistry, as her stage show proves. Her energetic, commanding performances unify the material in a way that needs to be experienced to be believed.

Tea Fannie

Local rapper Tea Fannie grew up moving often and ingesting an omnivorous musical diet. The result is her own distinctive hip-hop style that draws on trap, 2000s hits and various Caribbean styles. Flow-wise, she can run from hard-edged (“Kings”) to sing-song and playful (“Spell It”) with ease.

86LOVE

Prolific rapper and songwriter 86LOVE is gaining global recognition for tracks recorded and released during the pandemic — especially “Daddy Bought It” made with Calgary-based producer tei.sun. Think big, bassy 808 rhythms that make you wanna get down, get low and bounce, ranging from southern trap to UK grime. 

 

About Sled Island

The Sled Island Music & Arts Festival is a five-day, multi-venue festival taking place June 22 - 26, 2022. The full lineup and schedule is available at SledIsland.com. 

Everyone has the right to feel safe and included at Sled Island. All festival attendees agree to abide by Sled Island's safer spaces and inclusion policy, which can be found here.

Sled Island acknowledges Calgary as the traditional territory of the Blackfoot and the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Ĩyãħé Nakoda First Nations, including the Chiniki, Bearspaw and Wesley First Nations. Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III.

Please note: This is an 18+ event.