Hip-hop’s roots are inextricably linked to political, socioeconomic, and racial inequality. Not that you might think of those things while turning up at a party or waxing poetic on a hoverboard. Enter the conscious rapper to remind us what’s real. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan’s Eekwol raps about her Canadian prairie surroundings and Cree culture. Born Lindsay Knight, she began performing in the late 90s with her brother Mils and five cousins under the banner of Innersoulflow. Eventually, the members went solo, but Eekwol continued to promote social change and the quest for knowledge and self discovery through her music.

Following the Soundsick EP, her first full-length solo album Apprentice to the Mystery, produced by Mils, went on to win at the 2005 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards in the hip-hop category. During a recent phone interview from Saskatoon with Noisey, the emcee said winning was “shocking” and awards are nice, but she explained, “I rap for the desire to make something powerful and creative.” Eekwol didn’t attended the ceremony in Toronto, assuming she wasn’t good enough to win the prize.