Hip-Hop group BVD TRVDITIXNS marks debut album release at The Grindstone

by Troy Dumont, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

On a warm May night at The Grindstone Theatre, Edmonton hip-hop group Bad Traditions celebrated the release of their self-titled debut album (BVD TRVDITIXNS).

The event, hosted on May 16, 2026, drew around 50 people. The venue was full with an audience that came to hear the group’s new work.

Bad Traditions brings together rapper Shawn McCarthy-Daniels, Selassie Drah, Rhia Morin, and Ned Staples, who also hosted the night. The four have been moving through Edmonton’s music scene for years, collaborating even before the group was named.

“We’ve known each other for quite a while,” McCarthy-Daniels said.

Some of those early connections were formed at iHuman Youth Society, an organization that works with marginalized young people through creative expression. McCarthy-Daniels got involved in high school, where he first met Staples and Drah.

Another thread runs through Cypher Wild, an open event produced by the Edmonton Arts Council and held at Churchill Square. This year, the event runs on Thursday evenings from May 7 to June 11, 2026, bringing rappers, dancers, and DJs together to collaborate.

With the help of these environments, it was only natural for like-minded individuals to work as a collective. Community programming serves as a cornerstone, allowing groups like Bad Traditions to form, thrive, and produce art.

The debut album they built together does not follow a single theme, but draws on experiences growing up in the city, working-class life, family struggles, poverty, and addiction. For McCarthy-Daniels, the themes also run through his identity, and what it means to be Indigenous in Edmonton.

“It’s not just my story,” he said. “It’s a lot of people’s story.”

He sees a natural connection between rap and Indigenous experience. Both are rooted in people finding ways to speak about struggle on their own terms.

That connection was clear during the first set of the night. McCarthy-Daniels recalled being approached by a woman who told him the lyrics about his father had hit close to home.

“She was in tears,” he said. “She was like, when you’re talking about your dad, and you’re talking about your unks, I felt that.”

One song that stands out to him is the album’s final track, “You Say More.” With Ryan Hall on guitar, the song focuses on relationships and carries a different sound from the rest of the album. McCarthy-Daniels said several members were dealing with relationship struggles when the track came together.

“We were all going through it,” he said, “everyone involved put something of themselves into it.”

When asked what he wanted to say to readers and future listeners of Bad Traditions, McCarthy-Daniels pointed to what is coming next. A music video for “You Say More,” starring Shannon Sweeney from Bear Grease, is on the way.

With the debut (BVD TRVDITIXNS) now out on Spotify, Bad Traditions left The Grindstone with something to build on, bringing Indigenous culture and storytelling to the Edmonton hip-hop scene and leaving an impression on a warm May night.

More information about iHuman Youth Society is available at ihuman.org. Event details for Cypher Wild can be found through the Edmonton Arts Council.