Hip-hop artist uses music to inspire young listeners

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As one of the newest Aboriginal artists to arrive on the urban music scene, Lindsay Knight, a.k.a. Eekwol, is an up and coming artist getting ready to make waves with her own hip-hop sound. With her debut album Apprentice to the Mystery slated for release at the end of June along with a busy touring schedule, the singer/songwriter from Muskoday First Nation is doing what she loves best and has no intention of stopping any time soon.

"It's my passion. It's what I love to do. I feel like I've been given a gift and I want to share it. I'm not looking to become rich and famous but I would definitely like to be able to survive and totally focus on my music as my occupation," said Knight.

Apprentice to the Mystery is the follow-up to her 2002 EP Soundsick. Her new album is the product of a collaboration with award-winning singer Marc Longjohn and the Vancouver-based rapper Manik.

"It's more of a moody album. I try to keep the lyrics as conscious as possible because that's how I try to live my life. It's spiritual. It's not totally serious, but it has a lot of determination involved. It's not a light album ... it's hip hop. I'm trying to keep it on a raw hip hop level with some originality to my own experience here in Saskatchewan," said Knight.

Knight's love for music began at an early age. As a child, she was taken by the underground sound created by independent artists. For the past eight years, Knight has been making music with her producer Mils, who also happens to be her brother.

"We have a really good musical relationship ... a lot of the times we create an idea together and he ends up making a beat that sort of fits the mood of the idea. Then I write the lyrics and then we sort of come together in the studio one day and we just start recording it and (it) usually turns out exactly how we wanted it to," Knight said.

What results from the music is an underlying message of hope and perseverance that Lindsay Knight hopes she can to relay to her listeners.

"The reality and the social issues of today in the Aboriginal communities is, you know it's not a very positive scene, and we all need to stick together and come to some sort of solution. The best way I found to do that is through my music, by talking about these issues and not being afraid to confront them and say that things aren't right and things need to change. So that always comes out in my music," she said.

This summer, Knight will be hitting the road, making stops in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. She has also traveled to Aboriginal communities throughout the country to share her music as a way to inspire the youth she visits.

"I love kids. I can totally relate to the frustrations that a lot of kids go through and I try to be a role model. I try to let them know that there's positivity in life and it's not all that hard.It's not all that bad if you just have self respect for yourself and for your culture," she said.

Knight said youth who want to make it in the music industry should not let anything hinder their dreams.

"A lot of times, especially with young girls from a young age, we have this low self esteem and it gets worse and worse. I guess that's what I'm trying to do is stop that from happening. So I let these young girls know it's OK to go out on a limb and try things and go ahead and do things and don't be afraid of what everybody thinks."