At age 7, Nelson Tagoona took up playing the guitar. At 15, he was composing his own songs.
Today, at 21, the Inuit throat boxerâs life is firmly rooted in music. He has a powerful message for todayâs youth about finding their voice, and he delivers it through his high-energy performances.
Growing up in an isolated community, Tagoona struggled with bullying and mental health issues. He found his own voice by combining beatboxing â a vocal style that simulates percussion sounds -- with throat singing. A form of musical performance that is unique to Inuit culture, throat singing requires the performer to control air through inhalation and exhalation to create a rhythm, chant or melody.
Though he wasnât the first to coin the term, Tagoona has helped pioneer the hybrid musical genre.
With 300 performances under his belt to date, Tagoonaâs compositions have been heard in front of live audiences at concerts and in classrooms across Canadaâs North. In YouTube videos of his shows, Tagoonaâs energy is boundless, as he encourages his rapt audience to sing along.
âIn a lot of my songs Iâve always talked a lot about believing in yourself, being courageous and not being afraid and having a lot of heart,â he tells CTVNews.ca in an telephone interview from Nunavut. âNo matter how dark your days have been, youâll see that shining light once again.â
As a child growing up in Nunavutâs Baker Lake, music was an âoutlet,â Tagoona says, a place to run away from life. âAnd then it turned into my life.â
Tagoona lost his father and many of his friends to suicide. He also struggled with bullying, depression and a constant feeling of alienation. The theme of loss permeates his music, but in front of a classroom of students, Tagoonaâs overall message is clear and personal: Believe in yourself and fight for your happiness, he tells them.
âThere are things that really break you down in life and thatâs the fuel to my music,â Tagoona says. âWhen Iâm composing my music, Iâm in tears, and Iâm really shaking and Iâm nervous ... scared even.
âBut by the time Iâm done the piece, I can really see how it went from negative, dark ⌠to being full of life, full of courage, full of positivity.â
Tagoona said music helps him move on from the past.
âInstead of looking back at all that has happened, Iâm looking ahead at what we can change,â he says. Fans relate to Tagoona, and take his music to heart. Often times after a show, audience members come up to walk around with him and chat about difficult topics.
âSome of the fans Iâve met lost both parents to suicide,â he says.
Tagoona says he engages with youth in aboriginal communities because he understands where theyâre coming from. Heâs been there himself.
âIn Nunavut, a lot of these towns donât have much,â he says. âYouth who live in a remote community have a different perspective on life than those in the cities because itâs a completely different lifestyle.â
But Tagoona also says that city-dwellers can learn a lot from that lifestyle, which among other things, involves hunting and fishing.
âComing back from the land, you are super grateful for what you have, even if itâs an empty house,â he says. âI feel like everyone on the planet should experience this at least one time so they could understand that society today is actually pretty spoiled.
âA lot of people have it made, but theyâre ungrateful.â
Tagoona is proud of his role model status with youth, and takes it seriously.
As a member of the National Centre for the Artsâ Music Alive program, Tagoona is frequently invited to perform at public events and for youth. The Music Alive program sends teaching musicians to work with children and youth in northern communities, including Iqaluit, Igloolik, Rankin Inlet, Pangnirtung and Kugluktuk.
Tagoona also works with Blueprint for Life, a non-profit organization that conducts hip-hop workshops with vulnerable youth to help boost self-esteem and tackle issues like violence, domestic abuse, sexual assault and suicide.
Next up for Tagoona are shows in Ottawa, Toronto and his hometown of Baker Lake.
Tagoona has yet to cut an album or obtain a manager, but all in due time, he says. Heâs a perfectionist when it comes to his music, and isnât afraid to wait until the time is right.
âI throw myself out there as far as I can, and Iâm not afraid of where Iâm going to land.â