SONG HONOURS NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION ALONGSIDE FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN LEARN MORE AND SUPPORT ON BANDCAMP

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WATCH NOMAD’S TALE PT. 5 (QUARTER LIFE CRISIS)

“They take your resources, they breaking seesaws and
They left you the sandpit cos that pit is boring
But then they uncover the rocks that were hidden
All of sudden they have a new interest
They come back to your land
They got a new plan”
- KTheChosen

Toronto, ON – September 24, 2021 – Leading up to National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Zimbabwe-born, Calgary-based Hip-Hop and spoken word artist, gender equity advocate and public speaker, KTheChosen, examines the impacts of colonialism on new song, LONO. Using the metaphor of children on a playground, the track’s title draws from a phrase that stands for “locals only, no outsiders” and features a verse from Blackfoot artist, TRIBETheArtist, with singing and hand drumming from Cree artist, Chantal Stormsong Chagnon. LONO will be featured on KTheChosen’s forthcoming album, +Vice, out October 22 – listen here and pre-order the album here.

Furthering a passion and continued involvement in numerous community initiatives, KTheChosen has launched a fundraising campaign aligned with LONO. Proceeds from song purchases via Bandcamp will support Colouring It Forward, an Indigenous social enterprise that collaborates with Indigenous Artists and elders to produce authentic books, cards and journals, and Pokaiks – the Children: Orange Shirt Day, a memorial walk event in Calgary happening tomorrow (Saturday, September 25) - visit GoFundMe for more info.
 
LONO follows KTheChosen’s August release of the video, Nomad’s Tale, Pt. 5 (Quarter Life Crisis). While the pandemic had led people to question their current stage in life – and state of being – KTheChosen waxes poetic on his own experiences, sharing personal concerns and revelations around his goals thus far. Released in March, the song marks the fifth instalment of his Nomad’s Tale song series. Watch the video here, and listen to Nomad’s Tale, Pt. 5 (Quarter Life Crisis).

While Nomad’s Tale Pt. 5 (Quarter Life Crisis) closes out KTheChosen’s most recent body of work, +Vice is a concept album that looks at the importance of checking in with those we care about. 

KTheChosen reflects on the creative process: “The lockdown has given me time to reflect as well as a shared experience with others in terms of dealing with grief and the uncertainties of life. Things have happened globally and locally, to people I know and care about, and also to strangers that I may never meet. The necessity of this project seems to have grown daily within the year that we've been working on it. This makes me proud to have captured the feelings and thoughts of my family and friends and excited to share these expressions and observations with the world. This is my favourite body of work thus far.”

+Vice was created at Konscious Productions studio and recorded, mixed and mastered by Jerome “Rome” de Gourville. Driven by an underlying story around an unnamed female character the audience doesn’t formally meet, but learns much about, KTheChosen dives into feminism, grief, loss, colonialism, relationships, allyship and more with immense depth, layered instrumentation, and spoken word interludes.

Often, people only pay attention to symptoms of poor mental well-being instead of addressing the root cause. As gender equity and grief are some of the biggest themes in this project, KTheChosen drew from various inspirations, including written works like Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall and Death, The Final Stage of Growth by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. KTheChosen immerses himself in various topics, summarizing different stories that he has discussed in conversation with friends to give each song a relatable and timely narrative, acknowledging the impact of the global pandemic and longstanding systemic social and political issues worldwide. 

KTheChosen has been active in an array of initiatives while preparing for the album. Last month, he presented at Calgary’s TEDx Youth@Victoria Park, speaking on the theme of  “Ctrl Alt Del”, highlighting individuals who have dared to “take control of their lives by deleting old, fixed-mindset based ideas and pushed their innovative, alternate ideas forward.” 

From February through May, he was an ambassador for Science Genius (a program co-founded by GZA of the WuTang Clan), teaching youth in grades 7 and 9 how to rap and create songs using content they were learning in their science classes. In June, he taught a three-part workshop for Antyx Arts, mentoring teenagers on freestyle rap and the importance of storytelling in music and marketing.  

Learn more about KTheChosen’s career to date below and stay tuned for more as he prepares to release +Vice next month. 
 
+Vice Tracklisting
1. Prologue
2. Food For Thought
3. The Call (Interlude)
4. Petrichor
5. In Loving Memory Pt.1 (Interlude)
6. LONO
7. Which one r u?
8. In Loving Memory Pt.2 (Interlude)
9. Dear African Fathers
10. So...what are we saying here? (Interlude)
11. Courtship
12. Allyship (Interlude)
13. Her Anthem
14. In Loving Memory Pt.3 (Interlude)
15. Kinstugi

Album art by Olivia Johnson

DOWNLOAD - +Vice Album Art | DOWNLOAD – LONO Art

DOWNLOAD – Press Photos

TikTok: @kthechosen

About KTheChosen
As a TEDx speaker, hip-hop and spoken word artist, KTheChosen believes in the power of storytelling and uses his voice to share the experiences of those around him. Inspired by artists such as King Los and Kendrick Lamar, KTheChosen challenges himself to write lyrics that are both entertaining and enlightening. The music video for his single, Amazon, was covered by Canadian music publication, RLGT. 

The video features Zimbabwe's infamous bearer cheques and united the Calgary community by involving several local artists from varying disciplines. The article highlights the importance of this collaboration and what it meant for the Calgary art scene. 2021 has been a big year for KTheChosen, with a nomination for the Zim Achievers Canada Awards in the Young Achievers category in February and the opportunity to perform and speak at a TEDx event in July. His talk focused on the importance of authentic leadership in a time when social media campaigns have been the driving force