Tirrell Thomas understands the issues facing today’s youth because he’s lived them.
The local hip hop artist hails from Roseau River First Nation, and began writing music at 15 to process the feelings and stories from his life.
Thomas ultimately found his voice in his music. Over time, he noticed that his performances were making a positive impact. Through working with Kingdom Music Family (KMF), led by two-time Grammy nominee Fresh I.E., he went on to perform over 400 shows throughout Canada and the U.S. Together, they earned the coveted Album of the Year award at the Gospel Music Awards in Canada.
Thomas’ personal journey also includes a battle against addiction, specifically alcohol. Having overcome that addiction, he hopes to inspire others facing similar struggles, and wants his story to be a living example of the power of God’s love.
Recent years have tested his faith.
“I’ve had some struggles,” he shares. “I’ve lost a lot of friends to addictions and suicide—10 of them since last May.”
The grief has been overwhelming at times. After graduating from the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre in December 2022, the young performer felt recharged and ready to reach out.
Now, Thomas has written a book about his life, based on a journal of his travels and the people he’s met along the way, and has also produced a documentary and new album. They are set to be released in the coming months.
“The book is a hard read. I’ve been working on it since I started touring reserves. There’s a lot of personal things,” Thomas says. “One kid told me, ‘Your music helps me man’. But the next day he killed himself. There’s a lot of suicide in these communities. They go home and I don’t see them again. It’s real. That’s why I make music. I don’t want people to give up. I hope the book makes them want to live.”
Thomas is no stranger to loneliness and abandonment, as he was left at a young age until other family members took him into their care.
His father also wanted nothing to do with him.
“My dad was never in my life. He finally showed up at my grandma’s house when I was eight years old. I was so excited to see him. I thought now we’ll be a family again and we’ll be happy.”
But that excitement was short-lived when he realized his father wasn’t there to see him.
“He told me he was never coming back again, and he left. I was hurting so much I didn’t know what to do. I watched him walk away until I couldn’t see him anymore.”
Knowing he wasn’t going to find love at home, he started looking for love in other ways.
“I started trying to be a gang member. I even got into a life of crime where I robbed this guy years later. He lived in a big house in Altona with a beautiful family. I broke into their house and stole some money.”
After confessing his crime, the man forgave him, and offered him work to pay back what he stole.
“Suddenly, the man I just robbed is right beside me and he’s asking me things I never heard before. What do you want to do when you graduate? What do you want to be when you grow up? He looked past the boy who robbed him to see what I could be one day. He showed me love and forgiveness. It changed my life.”
It was that grace, he said, that planted a deep desire to help others.
“I want people all over this country to know that there’s purpose in struggle. That you’re not alone. And you’re loved. I wrote a song about my mom and dad. Rather than being bitter and hateful towards them, I chose to love and forgive them.”
Thomas says there were others along the way who led him down a better path, including his grandmother, and mentors in the community.
Thomas was led to join KMF a decade ago.
“It was the best decision I ever made. We started touring together and went to places all over Canada.”
Fresh IE started the independent Canadian hip-hop label, KMF in 2006, with a mission to cultivate talented Canadian hip-hop artists and mentor young men in need of godly role models.
Fresh has helped these young artists develop their craft and their characters, as they travelled with him across Canada and performing in small towns, inner-city crime zones, First Nations Communities, and prisons across Canada targeting relevant issues like suicide, addiction, bullying, absentee fathers, and the healing that only comes through the cross of Christ.
Now, after years of mentoring and touring with him, Fresh is helping Thomas produce the documentary and album.
“He came to me to get some help with his music. I told him to take a year to work on his personal life first,” said Fresh.
“I wanted to make sure his music wasn’t going to be his crutch. Many performers have come and gone. We have a small circle of young men who hold each other accountable and speak into each other’s lives. A number of them have gone on to their own music careers. I’m incredibly proud of Tirrell. Just getting that hunger to help others is the best way to find healing. I’ve had so much hardship in my own life, and it was helping others that helped me. We’re all under construction, and God is still working on us.”
Some of Thomas’ most recent performances have been at local schools.
He shares his music and personal journey and tells them that no matter how dark life may seem, there’s always hope.
“People feel like hurting or killing themselves is the only way out. I lost my best friend just last December. They don’t want to feel what they feel anymore. They don’t want to deal with life anymore. I tell them their journey isn’t over, and just take things moment by moment. I’ve learned that I’m not alone. I also attempted suicide, but God kept me alive for a reason. Life is hard, no matter who you are. Everyone deals with stuff. Just keep going.”
