Decolonizing Music: A Conversation with Rubix

Meet Rubix

I am a second-generation Filipino born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. I speak Tagalog fluently and I’m a small hip hop artist. I'm a rapper, dancer and facilitator. I love teaching everyone but especially youth. I love teaching youth how to write poetry, write raps and to do fundamental breaking moves. I love sharing hip hop culture.

The Calgary community is a very diverse community, full of talented artists, social workers, teachers and activists. It’s a powerful community. I had a significant experience two years ago when I attended a retreat. There were six non-Indigenous artists and six Indigenous artists. All 12 of us went on a retreat together to this place called Blackfoot Crossing, which is south of Calgary. This is the area where Treaty 7 was signed. We learned about Indigenous culture in this land we learned about Treaty 7 and I got to read the document. I couldn't even understand all the technicalities of it. How is it that an Indigenous person who doesn't speak English, how are they going to understand this?

I came back from that experience and for the first time that I understood how Indigenous people were treated by the Europeans. It shocked me. Indigenous people got the short end of that deal and since that experience, it’s something that I want to fight for. Elders told me to learn about the land that I'm on and fight for it.

That experience started my decolonization journey. I started to explore the colonization of the Philippines. Filipinos have this like spirit of a revolution wherever they go. They will fight for family, for their clan and their friends. We have the spirit of rebellion. When I went to Blackfoot Crossing it sparked my interest in decolonization I began learning about colonization in Canada and the Philippines. This work is very important to me because there's so much at stake. This work impacts the dynamic that my family has experienced. It impacts how my parents raised me. Everything in my family is influenced by colonialism. This work hits me on an artistic level on a soul level. It has forever shifted the way that I look at my art and the message in my art. This work is so deep because it is directly connected to my identity and culture. That identity piece is significant because it’s the fuel that inspires my music.

All this work is so important to me because everything is on the line. My family trajectory. My music, my art, my personality, my core values and my mission. Decolonization is work that will impact me for the rest of my life.

You can keep up with Rubix on social media @rubixhiphop and listen to his music here.

Note, the interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.