As an angry trans woman, I don’t know any other way I can rap. This is the logical conclusion for me… I never knew my voice could sound like that. It comes from a place of inside rage.

–via Bitchfork (June 2019)

Ashanti Mutinta, better known as Backxwash, is a Montreal-based rapper and producer. She began making music as a teenager living in Lusaka, Zambia, before moving to Canada for school.

In 2018, she released her debut EP, F​.​R​.​E​.​A​.​K​.​S, quickly followed by a second EP, Black Sailor Moon. In 2019, she released another EP, Deviancy, with queer artist collective Grimalkin Records. Her first full-length album, God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It, was released in early 2020 and won that year’s Polaris Music Prize.

Backxwash’s lyrics intertwine themes of gender, sexuality, race, religion, mysticism, trauma, and abuse. Her production utilizes creative samples, like Zambian tribal chants, a clip of a dog trying to play the piano, megachurch sermons, and howling Ozzy Osbourne vocals; often layered over dark, atmospheric instrumentals.