The Halluci Nation

Three-time Juno award winning group The Halluci Nation (formerly known as A Tribe Called Red) is an Ottawa based DJ collective currently made up of Tim Hill and Thomas Eren Ramon.¹ Previous members include Dan General, Ian Campeau and Jon Limoges.² Known better by their DJ names, 2oolman and Bear Witness, Hill and Ramon incorporate elements of reggae, hip hop, dubstep, and pow wow drumming to create the genre entitled “Powwow Step,” a title coined by the collective. The group’s past and present members come from different tribal origins including the Anishnabe from Nipissing First Nation, the Mohawk of the Six Nations of the Grand River, and Cayuga Six Nations.³ The group articulates a message of Pan-Indigenous solidarity in their music and new name: The Halluci Nation. An homage to the Indigenous poet John Trudell, the phrase “We are the Halluci Nation” titled the group’s album in 2016. After Trudell’s death, the group renamed themselves The Halluci Nation in 2021, recalling Trudell’s message of solidarity through common humanity.⁴  

Their 2021 release, One More Saturday Night, evokes themes of land reclamation, anti colonialism, and joy within defiance. Tracks like “Land Back” signify resistance to ongoing threats from private companies and the Canadian government.⁵ The track was written in support of the Indigenous protests against the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which threatens the Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s land.⁶ On “Collaboration ≠ Appropriation,” the group features the voice of Tanya Tagaq, who chants,

“Our water, our land, our blood, our women
We’re taking it back, our men, our children, our hair, our language, our food, our blood
We’re taking it back”7

Footnotes

1.  “Electronic Duo A Tribe Called Red Rename Themselves the Halluci Nation,” The Canadian Press, Apr. 6 2021, https://www.chroniclejournal.com/entertainment/entertainment_news/electronic-duo-a-tribe-called-red-rename-themselves-the-halluci-nation/article_51d260d2-05de-52ff-8f22-b394d9586044.html.
2.  Alexa Woloshyn, “A Tribe Called Red’s Halluci Nation: Sonifying Embodied Global Allegiances, Decolonization, and Indigenous Activism,” Intersections 36, no. 2 (2016): 101–09, https://doi.org/10.7202/1051602ar.
3. Ibid.
4.  Neumos, “The Halluci Nation (Formerly Known as a Tribe Called Red,” Neumos, https://www.neumos.com/events/detail/the-halluci-nation-formerly-known-as-a-tribe-called-red-tickets-409749. 
5.  Tom Beedham, “The HALLUCI Nation Turn Anti-Colonialism into a Celebratory Dance Party for ‘One More Saturday Night’,” Exclaim!, Ontario Creates, July 26, 2021, https://exclaim.ca/music/article/the_halluci_nation_one_more_saturday_night_album_review. 
6.  “A Tribe Called Red Release Song ‘Land Back’ in Support of Wet’suwet’en Nation,” The Star, The Canadian Press, Feb. 28, 2020, https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/2020/02/28/a-tribe-called-red-release-song-land-back-in-support-of-wetsuweten-nation.html
7.  A Tribe Called Red ft. Tanya Tagaq. Lyrics to “Collaboration ≠ Appropriation,” Genius, 2021, https://genius.com/The-halluci-nation-collaboration-appropriation-ft-tanya-tagaq-lyrics