‘Whatever you want to be, whoever you want to be, is possible!’

POOKY G, also known as Roni Gauthier, is a member of the Tallcree First Nation in Alberta, a multifaceted Indigenous hip hop artist, model, actress, and radio host. Raised in Edmonton’s inner city, she turned to music as a powerful outlet, transforming her experiences into strength. Here she is in conversation with Stacie Arden Smith:

Pooky G: “My name is Pooky G,  As an artist, most people know me by that, and my real name is Roni Gauthie. I’m an indigenous hip hop artist, also an actress, a radio DJ personnel, and primarily I’m an indigenous family and youth support worker. I do hold a lot of different hats in the entertainment area.”

CKLB: “Yeah, you kind of have to do a few different things in the entertainment area.

Pooky G: “Yes, to not be a struggling artist, you gotta stay busy in all those different areas. So, whenever I have time to work on a project with Music, I’m doing that. When I’m on the road going miles, facilitating workshops, I can record my radio in the hotel after work. I’m working. I’m always busy, and you know what? It’s living the dream. That’s for sure.”

CKLB: “Right on. My number one question to people is, how did you get here? How has the journey been so far?”

Pooky G: “The journey, honestly, choose your own destination book for real. And I think just having the courage and the confidence to step out of my comfort zone was a big key to most of my successes. When um when I would have an opportunity, I would I would have to take it, and I realized that the hard way a few times when I missed opportunities, I was feeling like, oh, I shoulda, I coulda, woulda, but and you know what? There’s no excuses when the creator provides you opportunities. You have to take them, and I feel like I was blessed by having people around me surrounded by people that were in the industries, acting for one, music, modeling. So it was the people that I knew that offered the opportunities, and so grateful.”

CKLB: “So when you first got into music, I remember you telling me this story. But how, like, how did you first get into music? What was your big break?”

Pooky G (Photo Facebook)

Pooky G: “My big break for music, I think, was in my 20s. I was pregnant with my second child, I was around a bunch of artists, and my baby dad at the time was a music promoter, so we knew a lot of people. And somebody asked me if I wanted to get on a track, and you know what? It was on my bucket list since I was 13 years old, making my own little rhymes in my bedroom, and I was like, “Yeah, sure. And so I made a track, and the feedback that I got from that was so motivating and inspiring. I felt, wow, I could be a voice for people who don’t have the confidence or courage.

“You know, so many people related to what I had to say. I felt like using music as an outlet was so therapeutic that I thought, you know what? Let me make a few more tracks, and I made a few songs, and then eventually an album, a small EP, and I got recognized by an organizer for the International Indigenous Hip Hop Awards, and they wanted to submit one of my songs, and then they said, hey, if you want to submit more music, you know here’s the website. So I went on and I thought, you know what? I’m frugal. I didn’t want to do each individual song. Let me just pay for the whole album. And lo and behold, I was nominated in several different categories, and they invited me to come and perform.

“And I almost didn’t take that opportunity because I was nervous, scared, and I knew like you could win or you can’t win. But I had a role model that said, “Listen, when you get an opportunity, don’t miss it. And I had to, I had to be reiterated to me, so I knew. Yes, you know what? Let’s go. And he said, “If you’re going to just perform, at least you went there. At least you performed at the award. Not everybody’s gonna win, and I was like, yes. So we went. I performed, and they kept calling my name for all these categories, and I wasn’t winning. So I was cool with that. And I, I see my friends sitting over there, and they all had awards. So I went to go congratulate them and check out their awards, and they were like, ‘Hey, get up there! They just called your name,’ and I was like, ‘What?’ And they’re like, ‘You won!’ And oh my god, I won best album of the year. I was so blown away. I forgot my whole speech that I had wrote.

“And you know what? It was it was such a magical moment. Like I had to pinch myself so many times. That’s when I was. Like wow, I am really good because you know we’re our own worst critics always. Yeah, and sometimes the people that you are surrounded by, sometimes some of those people don’t see your success or they don’t encourage you. It’s always strangers or fans or people you’ve just met, you know. So I felt that was a blessing, and I have that award on my mantle, and I look at it every day when I’m working out, and I think, you know, one day again, hopefully I could submit my album. I have a new album coming out. I’m working on a third one, and then I want to transition because I’m not getting any younger, but I want to make music for people that are more in their 40s that that aren’t big fans of hip hop. Like I want to do a TLC vibe, like more R&B, and get a verse in there of hip hop. But yeah, it was it was the award that I knew. Yeah, I made it.”

CKLB: “What would you define as success”

Pooky G: “Completing projects for sure. As an artist, I know we have a billion projects going all at once, and I feel like when I succeed, and for me, it’s with the music. When I’m in the studio and I’m recording, I get these chills over my whole body, and it’s almost like a confirmation for me. My spirit and my soul, and I’m like, that’s it. That’s a banger.”

CKLB: “Now you had mentioned that you have a role model. Who is that?”

Pooky G: “Yes, Dakota House.”

CKLB: “And who is Dakota House to you?”

Pooky G at the premier of Abducted released in 2021 (Photo Facebook)

Pooky G: “He is my brother cousin. So our parents are sisters, but his mom helped to raise me a lot when my mom was going to school and working. My mom called her mom too; it’s her older sister. But yeah, we grew up like brother and sister. We’ve lived with each other majority of our lives, and we’ve helped each other along the way. And he’s always encouraged me. Actually, when I was younger in my 20s, I was stuck in addictions with alcohol, and I smoked a lot of pot. And you know, he said, “You know what? You have so much potential if you could just close the door to this toxicity.

“There’s opportunities. He said, ‘I’ll even give you an opportunity.’ I was like, ‘Okay. So you know what?’ Closed one door, and a billion more opened. And it wasn’t only addictions; it was people in my life too. And I truly, duly believe like what you surround yourself with, who you surround yourself with, has a lot to do with your energy and your successes. So there could be things blocking your path, and you really have to make those sacrifices.

“Once I let those go, it was like a whole new world. And yeah, so with music, he gave me the opportunity to perform at a few of his events. Even Scott Ward invited me to go on the road was going wild, so I’ve been with them for a decade this year. Actually, so it’s my 10 year, and I feel like everything ties together. And every day, I just wake up ungrateful for these opportunities because it’s not like you know Groundhog Day where you’re working in nine to five. You know, it’s a new, exciting endeavor. You get to go on a trip. You get to meet people. And blessed, I’ve got to meet you traveling to the North. So many places, met so many people, and you know what? It’s so good to make those connections. And it’s like, wow.

CKLB: “When you were a kid, what did you want to be?

Pooky G: “I wanted to be a hip hop artist, a radio DJ. I would be recording in my room. Back then, it was cassette tapes. I was recording music off the radio and doing my little. You’re listening to P and Double O Kilo G. I had a radio voice, and I also wanted to be an actress. I wanted to be a model, and all these things that I wanted to be-it was like the universe provided. It was like manifesting and giving the resources and the support, I was able to do those things, and you know, it was all baby steps for sure.

“Yeah, it was people I knew, ways to get in, but I also knew that being an artist wasn’t gonna pay the bills and stuff. So I, during my healing chapter of my life, I went to a few programs like a family life improvement program, a parenting program. I just wanted to be better as a person, and going to these programs, there wasn’t enough indigenous. Workers, so I thought. You know what? I want to get into the social work field. I want to be able to support white people and understand where they’re coming from, and it really it really helped me to get that certification because that helps to open doors too. And you know what? It’s not just the certification; it’s the experience, the true life experience. Like I’ve been there too, so you know I could empathize with people and know what they need or where to direct them because I’ve been there. So having that also is like my security, you know.”

CKLB: “Yeah, yeah. So now I am super curious. Where does the name Pooky G come from? What was the inspo for that? I need to know.”

Pooky G: “Okay, so when I was born in the ’80s, the cartoon Garfield and he had a little teddy bear named Pooky. So when I was born, my dad seen me and he was like, “Oh, my little Pooky,” and everybody called me Pooky since I was born. So you rarely hear the name Roni.”

CKLB: “Yeah, because honestly, I was like, “I don’t know what her real name is.”

Pooky G: “Yeah not a lot of people do. And you know what? I literally the last few years, I’ve been thinking like, do I just change my name legally to Pooky? Nobody really calls me Ronnie, but that’s how the name came about. And my last name is Gauthier, so I just put G. Pooky G separates me from the rest of the Pooky. Right,

CKLB: “right. It makes it that much more legally

Pooky G: popular in the last few years, I was like, “Oh my God, everybody’s Pooky now.” But I’m the real OG. Exactly.

CKLB: “It’s kind of a final question for you. What are some words of wisdom that you want to give out to people?

Pooky G: “I  just want to tell people: don’t be your own worst critic. Have the courage to step out of your comfort zone and be confident, because-and I’m sure you’ve heard it before-but life is truly what you make it, not what other people make it. And whatever you manifest, whatever you want to be, whoever you want to be, is possible. I definitely living proof. Dreams do come true.”

CKLB: “From your lips to the Creator’s ears.”

Pooky G: Thank you so much for this opportunity. It’s a blessing and an honor.”

CKLB: “You are most welcome, Mahsi Cho.”

Stacie Arden Smith, Native Communications Society of the NWT, CKLB Radio, Local Journalism Initiative