Canadian Hip-Hop Artist Tribulationz Tells His Story With “Rehab”
- BUZZ LA
- Sep 27, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 28, 2019
Tribulationz is a hip-hop artist hailing from Vancouver, Canada. After battling his own addiction and going through the journey of rehab just over 3 years ago, Tribulationz strives to spread his message to the masses. Through sobriety, he was able to find clarity and truly put his thoughts on what he has overcome into songs. He uses music as a way to learn from his passed and hopes to shed light on what he’s been through in hopes that someone else will find comfort.
“Rehab” is a spectacular song from Tribulationz. It's introspective, intelligent, inspiring, and most of all a brilliant piece of work that Tribulationz should be proud of. The lyrics are vulnerable and raw and Tribulationz truly lays out his journey to hell and back. “Rehab” not only showcases Tribulationz's skill as a rapper and lyricist, but he expertly sings to catchy hooks. The multi-talented artist shows his versatility through this release. Many people struggle with addiction and sobriety and “Rehab” provides a relatable anthem for anyone looking to improve themselves.
Listen to “Rehab” here and read more with Tribulationz in our interview below!
Welcome to BuzzMusic Tribulationz! It’s a pleasure to feature your song “Rehab” that you wrote about your journey through drug and alcohol rehabilitation. How has this new quest influenced your current mindset?
Well I came from a mindset that was dominated by self-loathing and pity, so after attending rehab I've noticed how much damage a person can inflict on themselves through the simple act of repetitive self-criticism. It often goes unnoticed because it becomes our reality and it's hard to question the mind when it's running subconsciously. I'm really trying to influence people to challenge their own beliefs in most of my current music.
“Rehab” will be helpful for many listeners struggling through what you’ve been through. What prompted you to want to inspire music fans to stay clean and spread your experience with them?
Before treatment I was in a very dark place, I spent all my life's savings in a short period of time, which put me in the hospital, I was getting in fights, losing loving relationships, and just overall becoming something i wasn't proud of. I thought I was the only one. I felt so alone. Until I went to treatment, then I started meeting people with similar or worse stories, and we all seem to have this common thread; many of us were reclusive people, didn't quite fit into society, socially awkward, or just ashamed of who we were. I started playing open mics around Vancouver and got an influx of positive responses from my music, and realized that I just want to help people learn from my mistakes that I've made through life's trials and "tribulationz" (which is where I decided upon my alias)
“Rehab” is an incredibly creative and original new track-- how do you get started with a piece like this, and how do you know when it’s done and ready to be shared?
Well the instrumental is usually where I start I often play guitar and produce my own tracks, but lately I'm finding I need to write lyrics faster than I can create the beats so I've been outsourcing the productions from other companies. I was browsing the internet and came across this company and the beat was titled "bad habits" which immediately caught my attention. I wrote this song quite quickly and after I was finished I just felt that I knew what I had to do. Rehab was the starting point for my new direction as a hip hop artist
Have you always lived in Vancouver? What’s the hip-hop music scene like there?
Originally I grew up in Kitimat BC. I moved to Vancouver just to go to rehab and fell in love with the city and decided to make it my permanent home 3 years ago. The hip hop scene is quite small for the size of the city surprisingly, but I'm quite reclusive and I tend to only play out at recovery events so I wouldn't say I'm a part of the usual hip hop scene just yet
It was great having you here on BuzzMusic! Tell us more about what's next for you!? Any shows in the near future?
I am currently working on my next album, which is a lot more upbeat than my first self titled project. It is about halfway done, and focuses mainly on issues that I've struggled with in the past and found solutions to overcome them. I will be working with the legendary producer/engineer NATO Down from Up in arms studios in Edmonton, he's been working with Merkules since the beginning and I feel having him behind this album will really give it the quality it deserves. I just played at Canada's largest recovery festival "recovery day BC" with Sonreal and Trooper a few weeks ago, that really gave me the fuel I needed to go full speed ahead with this next project. That's the last show I'm doing until this albums finished, I am now going on lockdown and will be writing for the next few months. Then I will likely do my first tour to promote the album upon completion! Thanks for the interview, it's been a pleasure!
