Photo series: Backxwash at LGW23 by Melanie Marsman

Photo

Rapper and producer Ashanti Mutinta, aka Backxwash gave a life-affirming performance at TivoliVredenburg's Ronda during Le Guess Who? 2023. Our residential photographer Melanie Marsman was present to capture some of the special moments, on stage as well as backstage.

View the full photo series

"Stark warnings of viewer discretion mark the opening of Backxwash’s set at TivoliVredenburg’s Ronda at just before midnight on Friday night, followed by warnings of the artist herself promising “to do a lot of screaming today”, but nothing could’ve prepared audiences for the true onslaught they were about to receive. A gargantuan, true wall of sound that encompasses everything from rap, to metal, to industrial music; Backxwash stalks the stage to a sea of strobes, lyrically exploring identity, queerness and her faith to devastating effect.

Utilising quotes from activist figures such as Angela Davis, Malcolm X and Nina Simone, Backxwash applies her own mindset beyond the messages of her music with a genuinely staggering audiovisual experience which inspires moshpits from the moment she steps into the crowd. It’s the most kinetic I have seen audiences at LGW? Backxwash’s set, which also features a visual performance with Pupil Slicer’s Kate Davies for their collaboration ‘Nyama’, and it sets an early high benchmark for the rest of the festival" - The Line of Best Fit

About
Backxwash is a rapper and producer born in Lusaka, Zambia. The music she makes is cathartic, expressive and based on her lived experiences. Her latest album ‘HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SUFFERING’ concludes a trilogy of albums which began in 2020. The series is primarily auto-biographical, with fragments of stories from her periphery. Her work is based in the horrorcore, hip-hop and industrial metal genres, and includes a culmination of themes around the intersection between faith, identity, and queerness.

"I think it is most important to remind myself that I am making music specifically just for me and whoever listens can receive it how they want. I really have no control over that but all I can do is grab onto what feels authentic to me when I am sharing my art and work, that is something precious that can never change or be taken away" - Backxwash, via The Quietus