David Strickland is a successful Grammy-winning producer and engineer, who over a two-decade career worked with several hip-hop luminaries including Redman, EPMD, Drake, and a wide range of notable Canadian rappers.
In 2020 he stepped out of the background and released the excellent album Sprit of Hip-Hop. On the album, he taps into his Mi’kmaq heritage, a lineage that can be traced back five generations. He also heavily explores indigenous themes but also addresses universal concerns such as police brutality. He also followed up that album with a companion piece, Spirit of Hip (Remixes).
Strickland recently released his latest single “Messenger” a collaboration with Erick Sermon, Outlaw By Nature (featuring Treach from Naughty By Nature and the late Hussein Fatal of The Outlawz), and veteran Canadian rapper Saukrates. The tune is about Strickland’s life dedication to delivering messages through his art. Like much of his music it is also an embrace of Indigenous heritage.
“Messenger is a deep song on many levels. It’s about me using music as a way of sending messages throughout my career without speaking but speaking through the music. It’s also a message to all those negative ones against me, you, something everyone can relate to. Mostly it’s a homage to Hussein Fatal who passed too soon in a car accident and gives his message to live on through positivity because life is too short and the world’s a beautiful place and it’s all how you look at it and your perspective. Ultimately you control your outlook. We are all messengers.” Strickland says.
In these difficult times, music can play an integral role in delivering a message of positivity and healing. Strickland is one of those messengers at the frontline of this necessary movement.