Keeping Score: The Music and Musicians Featured in “Warrior Up!”
For “Warrior Up!”, our new APTN TV series about inspiring young Indigenous changemakers, the music that wove through every episode needed to be just as kick-ass as the warriors on-screen. But we weren’t sure how to locate the Indigenous young musicians whose musical creations could frame the visuals and story.
Enter Montreal hiphop artist, educator and community worker David Hodges. A decade ago, Hodges co-founded N’we Jinan, a music mentorship project for Indigenous youth that to date has worked with 900 First Nations youth across 70 communities. And recently he launched Starseeker, a talent and career management agency for rising Indigenous musical artists.
We contacted Hodges hoping he could suggest a few talented young Indigenous musicians. He went far beyond that to become music supervisor for the entire series! His job was to find, select and license pre-existing songs and recordings for Warrior Up! It was his first time in the role but he quickly grew into the job. “Honestly, it was challenging,” recalls Hodges, “but also very rewarding to be part of the project from the ground up.”
He went through his library of songs – some springing from collaborations when the performers were teens and he visited their communities. Other music came from more established artists he produced or worked with on other projects. When he couldn’t find the exact music an episode needed, he reached out to talented artists like Davis Whitstone aka GHST.NOIZ to gage his interest about creating new tunes. Whitstone jumped at the chance and created a stream of exciting tracks in short order. “I think when opportunities like these present themselves, it automatically brings motivation, said Hodges. “It can spark exponential growth and excitement in creators to have an opportunity like this.”
Hodges was especially proud that many of the young artists were seeing their music placed in a TV series for the first time – and making money from their art in the process. “It’s hard for many of them to get from the creation aspect to the audience aspect. These kinds of opportunities are very hard to come by.”
But Hodges says that being associated with the uplifting content of the show was just as rewarding. “They’re connecting their music to other Indigenous changemakers that are out there making change happen. Seeing their instrumental, their song that they created being used as a backdrop for these incredible stories is a really great honor.”
In all, over a dozen Indigenous musical artists contributed music to the series, including:
Hazely (Hazel Waskewitch)
Powerhouse vocalist and member of the Onion Lake Cree Nation, Saskatchewan and Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, Hazely’s infectious 2020 track “Feel Free” became the uplifting opening song at the start of every episode!
Mattmac
Blind Oji-Cree music producer and recording artist Mattmac has racked up a slew of awards and streams in the past few years with his melodic pop-trap beats. His song “Think Too Much” is behind the closing credits of every episode and his memorable tracks feature in several other episodes.
The Northstars
This energetic hip hop trio from Nemaska, Quebec have several songs in our series including “Keep Me Close” and “White Mirrors”.
Siibii
Originally from the Cree community of Mistissini Quebec, this Montreal-based queer, trans non-binary pop singer/songwriter’s stunning vocals and catchy acoustic pop melodies pop up throughout the series. Listen for ”Last Goodbye”, “Wish We Were Older” and “Savage” among others.
Mariame
A singer/ songwriter or Cree and Algerian descent, Mariame’s songs like “All For You” and “Electric” blend elements of R&B, pop, and EDM to weave their way through several episodes.
Ghostnoiz (David Whitstone)
SAE (School of Audio Engineering) Institute Vancouver graduate and musical mastermind Davis Whitstone is a Treaty 6 Nehiyawak member from Edmonton, Alberta who has music tracks in most episodes of the series.
Cindy Paul
A Metis/Cree singer and songwriter from Fort Vermilion, Alberta, Cindy Paul’s rich vocals and rhythms shine in many episodes, particularly in our two season finales. Listen for “Looking Back”, “A Little Time” and “He Can Fancy Dance” among others.
Haley Wallace
Part of the Kitasoo/Xaixais Nation, Haley delivers a powerful performance in a handful of songs featured in the series.
For more info on these artists visit: