Aquakultre f/ Gary Beals & Haliey Smith - "Scotia Born" (Video)

Multi-award-winning Halifax singer, rapper, composer and storyteller Aquakultre aka Lance Sampson releases the new single "Scotia Born" , his first music release since 2023’s Polaris Music Prize longlisted album Don’t Trip. The anthemic new single is destined to become a new soulful source of Canadian east coast pride, while simultaneously nudging the rest of Canada and global audiences to pay strict attention to this historically significant region. Produced by fellow acclaimed songwriter and two-time Music Nova Scotia Producer of the Year Erin Costelo, "Scotia Born" also boasts contributions from a few of the finest pure vocal talents who represent two of the oldest Black communities in Nova Scotia; Juno-nominated Canadian Idol finalist Gary Beals from Cherry Brook, and North Preston’s Haliey Smith, one of the most recorded background session singers in Atlantic Canada, whose credits include Canadian music icons David Myles and Joel Plaskett. 

“This is a song recognizing the cultural richness that we have here as Black Nova Scotia, the resilience, the togetherness, and how all communities of Black Nova Scotia are connected,” says the former CBC Music Searchlight competition winner and Prism Prize recipient. “It’s about being proud of that cultural richness and being aware of it. I didn’t have that when I was a teenager, I really wish I did. In the generation before me there were people who understood what that was, but somehow down the line that awareness of identity as Black Nova Scotian didn’t come through. Scotia Born is just being proud of our ancestors for paving the way for us and being proud for coming home, and being proud of our birthplace when we’re abroad. It’s just about being proud of being Black Nova Scotians.” 

Equal parts catchy and celebratory, “Scotia Born” offers a rich glimpse into the storied musical and cultural histories that emanate from a distinct ethno-cultural Canadian community, incorporating vocals and lyrics that invoke what it truly means to be from this region. The music video co-directed by John Butler and Juno-winning artist Shad provides a bird’s eye view of a multi-generational community-centred cookout and dance-friendly retrospective that acts as a tribute to some important Black Nova Scotian music luminaries. With heart-on-sleeve intensity, “Scotia Born” is a life-affirming anthem that provides just the right backdrop for Lance’s big, warm vocals and potent rhymes to shine through, while paying tribute to a unique region of the Black diaspora.