Kitz Willman

About

The sound and performance style of Winnipeg’s Kitz Willman has been described as “doomsday art-house activist babushka rap" and “if Frank Zappa made noise rap.” This sonic output mixes potent poetics with detailed storytelling and a variety of song structures. Sample-based prairie rap in the tradition of the Kobzar. Willman’s performances feature coordinated projections that draw forth the central themes in their music, such as war, hockey, settler colonialism, road trips, academia and Ukrainian-Canadianness.

The Kitz Willman discography features more than 9 unique projects and a handful of loose tracks. Their most recent album, Grim Errands, was released on CD in July 2023. On December 12, 2023, they released a collaborative album with rob crooks called Gazogene, also available on compact disc. They also debuted an online-exclusive release of Saskadumy: Songs from the Ukrainian-Canadian Folksong Cycle in 2023. Willman independently released 2021's Royal Visit to Uranium City on CD. Prior to that, they had built the beats for Kay the Aquanaut's 2020 album Ancient Fish From the Northwest, released on cassette by France-based label Hello L.A. In May 2021, Berlin's Pen Thief Records released the 4-track project Stoppler on limited edition cassette. In July 2022, Willman made their vinyl debut as part of the Saskatoon Folk Rap Records posse album. Since 2017, Kitz Willman has been booked in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Belleville, Kenora, Mulmur, Brandon, Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton, and Winnipeg.

For fans of: billy woods, Aesop Rock, and Rico Nasty