BackxWash – God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It Wins 2020 Polaris Prize

Zambian-Canadian rapper Backxwash has just won the 2020 Polaris Prize for her album God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It. With a cash prize of $50,000 Backxwash had some strong Canadian competition, beating out Jessie Reyez, Caribou, Lido Pimienta, U.S Girls and more. This is Backxwash’s first Polaris Prize nomination and when asked at the press conference about how she felt about the big win, she had a simple answer, “Trippy!”

The Montreal artist who is originally from Zimbabwe, said that she felt the win was symbolic, as this record is the truest she’s ever been to herself and feels that the world is telling to keep being unapologetically herself. Backxwash’s win is a true sign to keep doing what you’re doing, even when the voices in your head sometimes try to scare you off. She stated “I have so many self esteem isssues, sometimes it’s hard to know if people appreciate the work”, which is a thought that runs through many artists heads. It’s beautiful to see such an earnestly honest album win the prize this year.

Dropout Entertainment’s Benjamin Gibson asked Backxwash during the presss conference if she had any words of motivation for young artists and her response was “Unapolegtically make the music you want to make. If 20 people like it, that’s fine keep making it. Don’t sell yourself short, stay authentic.”

From this win, Backxwash’s music will be exposed to legions of new music listeners who may or may not have already been aware of her music. When asked about any words she has for new listeners her response was “Buckle Up!”. Ben asked her what songs she recommend a new listener to introduce them to her sound and she replied with Black Magic or Spells, which you can listen to below.

When asked about what she’s got coming next, Backxwash said that she’d be using her winnings to put towards her upcoming album. She told us the album would be a horror anthology with each song based around a new character, with each chacter being based of people in her real life. Think gothic, tribal chants and rock tracks. The album should be coming by the end of spring or mid summer! To keep with Backxwash’s upcoming releases and to listen to all her old ones visit https://backxwash.bandcamp.com/ , this is definitely an artist you want to get to know if you don’t already!