In this week's breakdown we have the nominees for Best Music Video in the 2011 Aboriginal People's Choice Awards.
This year's running for the prize of Best Music Video in the 2011 APCMA's, gives us a wide variety of nominees from different genres. Here we present to you a YouTube playlist of the 2011 APCMA nominees and the videos they have in the race.
Postcommodity is an interdisciplinary artist collective comprised of Kade L. Twist (Cherokee), Cristóbal Martínez (Mexica), Raven Chacon (Navajo), and Nathan Young (Pawnee, Kiowa). They have been working together as a collective since 2007.
All of the members of the group are musicians and have created work outside the collective:
Nathan Young has his solo project called Alms. Kade L. Twist is in a noise/drone band Usga based out of Phoenix, AZ. Raven Chacon has worked as a composer and performer in the West Coast and Southwest music scenes for the last dozen years.
Raven's work is primarily as a solo noise artist and chamber composer. He also co-founded the organization First Nations Composers Initiative and has also performed in dozens of bands. Raven currently has collaborations with musicians William Fowler Collins, Deerhoof's John Dieterich, and pianist Thollem McDonas.
RPM speaks with Postcommodity about coming together as a collective to create sound art and perform experimental noise for audiences and what drives their work. Interview and performance recorded at Museum of Contemporary Arts.
As always, accompanying our RPM Podcast #007 is a YouTube playlist from our channel. This week we bring to you some Indigenous hip-hop music videos. Boom.
Red Cloud featuring Pigeon John - Tapatio
Lakota Jonez - Movin' On (LIVE)
Hellnback - Keep It Movin'
Mils & Eekwol featuring Luckyiam - The Gauntlet
Samian featuring Florent Vollant - Tshinanu
War Party - All For One
Conway K - The Flow
Joey Stylez - Living Proof
Got some music videos you're digging these days?Comment below and let us know...or hit us up at: info@rpm.fm
Latest video from Unconquered Media for "The Storm", the debut single by Doc feat. Spencer Battiest, showcases great filmmaking that helps tell the story of the colonial history of the Seminole people.
Kiowa/Choctaw director Steven Judd of Unconquered Media brings us a stunning visual look into the history of the Seminole people of Florida with "The Storm", a debut video by Doc feat. Spencer Battiest of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Mixing history with digital media, Rap and R&B, this video proves to be a great medium for the translation of their message of strength and solidarity for Indigenous people.
The director Steven Judd is a successful writer and director who brings much experience to this project, having worked with the likes of Disney & ABC in addition to film festivals such as Univeral/NBC's Comedy Shortcuts Diversity Film Festival & imagineNATIVE.
This song is also up for some NAMMY awards such as Best Rap Hip Hop Recording, Debut Artist of the Year, Song/Single of the Year.
For more information on Doc and Spencer Battiest check out thestormsong.com
Do you have a favorite Indigenous music video? Or maybe you're releasing a video soon?Let us know by commenting below or drop us a line to: info@rpm.fm
Here's a list of six Indigenous music Video Blogs available on the web for your viewing pleasure.
Video blogs or 'v-logs' have been around for a few years and as the popularity of video platforms like YouTube and Vimeo grow, artists and regular people alike have this medium of v-logging to express themselves.
More and more indigenous music artists are making v-log entries for their networks and video channels. Artists such as Wab Kinew, Inez, Kinnie Starr, Don Amero, Kasp and now JB The First Lady are all using this new form of media to keep content fresh and express themselves in a digital format.
Wab Kinew chooses to use his v-log for an experience of cultural education with his "Anishinaabemowin Word of the Day" series on his YouTube channel entitled anishinabemowin.
Inez's v-log brings you updates from on the road and also some family moments at home on her YouTube v-log series InezTV on her channel InezMusic.
Kinnie Starr's series of v-logs is more based on comedy with her "The Hardest Part About Being On Tour" series of videos, which are about the stresses of being a touring musician on her YouTube channel MusicKinnieStarr.
Don Amero's v-logs are more informational to his fan base with personal updates and promotion as well as his newest addition, a version of the MTV show Cribs, where he showcases his own digs in a fun video on his YouTube channel Donamero.
Kasp has one of the more populated v-log series covering promotions and news from on the road featured on his YouTube channel named kiqwilly.
And the latest Indigenous musician to hit us up with a v-log is JB The First Lady with her series debut entitled "Bathroom Diaries". In her first instalments she introduces her v-log series and features her friend Crystal J for a beatbox backed cover of an India Arie track on her YouTube channeljbthefirstlady.
Don Amero's Crib:
Got a V-log you want to share with us? Or do you know of an Indigenous music v-log you love?Comment below and share!
The Breakthrough program is accepting applications from emerging Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians. Artists are invited to apply for up to $25,000 to fund the production of a new album.
Funded by the Indigenous Culture Support Program, Breakthrough recognizes that having high quality recordings is a key factor for artists in gaining the attention of listeners and industry alike.
Arts Minister Simon Crean today opened the next round of funding through the Breakthrough: Emerging Indigenous Contemporary Musicians Recording initiative for two Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians or bands...
"We have a wealth of home-grown talent here in Australia, but it can be difficult for emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians to gain the exposure they need to take their music to a wider audience and achieve commercial success.
"Breakthrough provides real opportunities and practical support for Indigenous musicians to kick-start their career with the important next step of a professional high-quality recording of their original music."
Find the application and more information at arts.gov.au. Applications close at 5pm on Friday 28 October 2011.
Busby Marou, an alternative/country duo from Rockhampton, were previous recipients of Breakthrough funding. Enjoy this video for their track Biding My Time:
Sac Storytellers serve up roots, reggae and ska, Indigenous style.
Rachel Fowler AKA Rachelonia (Yaqui/Apache) grew up in South Sacramento, CA, and has been gigging and playing in bands for eight years. She was a member of the bluegrass band Nevada Backwards and the electronic group Jeffrey Valentine Extravaganza before becoming the lead singer of this Sacramento based reggae ska band - Sac Storytellers. Clearly a versatile artist, her rich alto voice shines in this genre. Enjoy this performance of their Top Secret, captured at a recent gig at DigitalisStudios, and keep an eye out for more on this band from RPM soon.
This week we take a look at the 2011 Aboriginal People's Choice Awards nominees for Aboriginal Female Entertainer of the Year with an RPM YouTube playlist.
Elisapie Isaac- Raised in Nunavik, this Inuk songstress is a multi-lingual songwriter with a rich, versatile voice that is finding her an international audience. She is also an award winning filmmaker.
JB The First Lady - Making her home in Vancouver, BC, JB The First Lady of the First Ladies Crew makes her debut into the APCMAs this year after releasing her album Get Ready Get Steady accompanied by a video of the same name. JB is Nuxalk and Cayuga.
Kristi Lane Sinclair- This Haida/Cree singer and songwriter has had a great year with the release of her APTN First Tracks video for The Last Song, and a tour with North Tall Cree cellist Cris Derksen. Smoky vocals and solid guitar playing make Kristi a strong runner for this awards.
Leela Gilday- Hailing from Hay River in Dene country of the Northwest Territories, Leela has been serenading a dedicated audience for the last decade, winning multiple awards including a Juno, and touring extensively throughout Turtle Island and beyond.
Yvonne St.Germaine - A former winner of an APCMA for Best Gospel CD, Yvonne's music is inspired by healing, hope and faith.
Who do you think will win the award for Best Female Entertainer this year?Leave your comments below.
Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes is holding a remix contest where your track could be remixed with a feature verse by Cherokee rap artist Yelawolf.
Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes has a series of remix contests with popular rap artists such as Twista where you can submit a song and win a feature verse from a variety of amazing artists. Cherokee rap artist Yelawolf has joined the REMIXtape contest series, offering prizes and a verse on the chosen song.
The winner of this contest will receive $1000, promotion on Myxer.com, a flight to Miami to perform at the Coast 2 Coast Industry Mixer event, hotel accomodation, an HD video of the performance and other great promotion like a full page feature in Coast 2 Coast magazine with Yelawolf on the cover.
This is a great opportunity for indie artists to get noticed and promoted as well as have a collaboration with the world famous Yelawolf.
Indigenous hip-hop artists in Winnipeg recently gathered to create a coalition against the negative stereotyping of Indigenous rappers. The process will be a part of a new documentary series, 8th Fire, that will air on CBC Television.
Hiphop has faced some negative stereoptyping over the years. From being a fun, dance oriented art form to the corporate labeling of "Gangster Rap", it's hard to hear the term "hip-hop" and not think of the image that is portrayed in mainstream media. The same goes for the Indigenous contingent of hip-hop in North America.
Banding together in the centre of Turtle Island, a group of Indigenous hip-hop artists are aiming to battle the negative stereotyping of the beloved artform. Led by Winnipeg's Most – quite possibly the most popular Indigenous hip-hop act at the moment – members of Winnipeg's Indigenous hiphop scene met on September 8th, 2011 to talk about the future of Indigenous rap and hip-hop. Specifically, they gathered to discuss the steps they can take to keep themselves unbounded by negative stereotypes and classifications.
This process of coalition building will also be documented by CBC's 8th Fire— a four part TV series set to air on CBC Doc Zone beginning in January 2012 — bringing us into this unique creation of a partnership between artists aspiring to keep the art form pure.
Creating music in a climate of heavy commercialization and over promotion of negative lifestyles, this initiative proves to be a great opportunity for Indigenous hip-hop to resurge and reframe itself for the future, ensuring that it can be sustainable and healthy for all who create and enjoy this particular genre of music.
Santa Fe duo, Ginger and Cannupa, have been on the scene for a number of years. This artistic couple lead a few other lives at least, with Hawaiian artist Ginger Dunnill also performing as DJ and producer under her own name and Shark Siren. Her partner in crime, Cannupa Hanska Luger, (Mandan Hidatsa Arikara) is a solo artist who paints, draws, sculpts, writes poetry - basically whatever he can get his hands on.
They were also part of a Native art collective, The Humble, that worked mostly with live art and installations.
These two have mashed their art and their minds to form the masked musical duo known as Glad As Knives.RPM has the exclusive on why they hide behind the masks.
Revolutions Per Minute is a global new music platform, record label, and boutique agency for Indigenous music culture. RPM’s mission is to build a visionary community of Indigenous artists and to introduce Indigenous music to new audiences across Turtle Island and around the world. Our main site, RPM.fm, has featured the work of more than 500 Indigenous artists and shared their music across our social networks of more than 275,000 followers.
RPM Records is the first of its kind: a label for contemporary, cross-genre Indigenous music, run by Indigenous people. Selected by The FADER as one of “5 New Canadian Record Labels The Entire World Should Know”, RPM Records artists include Ziibiwan, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Exquisite Ghost, and Mob Bounce.
