STREAM: Princess Nokia - "YAYA"

Rising experimental hip-hop artist Princess Nokia drops an electro-rap dedication to her Taíno roots and ancestry.

Falling somewhere between the melodic song-rap of Santigold and the electronic world mashups of M.I.A., this is the first Brooklyn hip-hop artist that I've come across to represent for the Taíno — the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and Greater Antilles — and she does it with fire and passion.

Produced by beatsmith Paul Devro, Princess Nokia describes "YAYA" as a direct line of connection and inspiration from her Indigenous heritage:

"Yaya" is the Taino word for Great Spirit. This Song is dedicated to my Taino ancestry and indigenous upbringing. The Taino People were the original inhibitors of the Caribbean and Greater Antilles (present day Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti & Jamaica)

"YAYA" interrogates colonialism while marking a personal journey to recuperate her warrior bloodline. As she astutely observes, "history can tell you something / but they're always lying". The journey to recover and rediscover the lineage of forgotten indigeneity runs deep. And it produces dope music in the process.

Princess Nokia has been on a run lately. Her audacious debut full-length album, Metallic Butterfly, is a firestorm of sonic and lyrical experimentation that depicts a unique world "where hood rats, cyborgs, political revolutionaries, and spiritual mystics are one in the same". The record is amazing (listen to it here) and it's being hailed as "one of the most exciting and ambitious independently released albums to come out of the New York underground in a long time". With massive love being showered on her work, and an upcoming performance scheduled at the powerhouse Afropunk Festival in New York City later in August, Nokia is fast becoming one to watch.

STREAM: Princess Nokia - "YAYA"

New Indigenous Music Releases - Summer 2012

It's been a hot, hot summer for new Indigenous music! Here is RPM's summer round-up of the latest new releases you'll want to check out.

Without further ado, here are the hottest new releases this summer in Indian Country:

RedCloud and Crystal Lightning have joined forces as Lightningcloud, an explosive mix of hip-hop and electro-house. Get their eponymous album on Bandcamp and check out the opening track Zoom to get the party started:

Following the success of their debut album last year, WorldHood is back with a new EP, Mundo Libre. From downtempo soundscapes to club-ready electrobeats, you can download Mundo Libre for free here and listen to the track Mi Pueblo now:

Demons is the latest from Canadian hip-hop veteran Plex. Self-produced, the album highlights Plex's chops as a story-teller and features guest appearances from D-Sisive, Rellik and B-Brown. Get Demons on Bandcamp and listen to the title track now:

Shy-Anne Hovorka is back with her third album Interwoven Roots. The album brings a country flavour to the pop singer-songwriters work. Get it on CDBaby.

Urban pop artist Lil' Pappie put out his new EP Indian Summer to the delight of his dedicated fans. The release marked a name change for the artist too, who henceforth will be known as Niiko. Get Indian Summer on iTunes and watch the official video for the opening track:

Speaking of Niiko, he makes a guest appearance in the title track on J Dizzay's sophomore album Reckless. Rap, club, pop, electro - you'll get it all from this Cree artist's latest. Get the album on iTunes and check out the title track here:

To celebrate their appearance at the Mad Decent Block Party, A Tribe Called Red created the mix Ever Sick for Scion Sessions. ATCR - need we say more? Download here or from the player below:

And last but not least, rising star and APCMA Best New Artist 2011 Ali Fontaine has released her second album Diamond in the Rough with 10 brand new original songs. Visit alifontaine.com to get yours!

Now that's enough music to get you through what remains of summer - and it's not over yet! See you in the fall for more new music releases.

STREAM: Magic Touch & DJ Markflip - "Native American Idol"

Wikwemikong Ojibway artists Magic Touch and DJ Markflip's new single from their forthcoming album Native American Idol reveals a new electro/rock/hiphop sound. With a dancefloor groove and dirty synth, the result is not your typical hard rap influenced hiphop. The track dips into electro and dubstep while maintaining the mark of hipop in the rap style used. Magic Touch is known for his contributions to the multi-award winning  Singsoulgirl project by Inez and as a member Starmakerz - this latest project surely matches that calibre. STREAM: Magic Touch & DJ Markflip - "Native American Idol"