Ant Loc of Savage Family hits us up with a hard hitting, revolutionary banger and video for Hands Of Vengeance that speaks of social injustices and powering through it. While a solo project by Ant Loc, this still has the overtones of the Savage Family collective in it and hits us with truth and knowledge. Boom.
Supaman is quite an interesting artist. His early work fell into describing and subscribing to the struggle and more negative aspects of hip-hop culture. But while signed to a Seattle label and on tour, he had a breakdown and subsequent epiphany that lead him to leave the label and return to the reserve. There he began to write a new message into his work with a focus and dedication to providing his community, and youth in particular, with a positive message.
From NPR, Supaman: Rapping On The Reservation:
"Native Americans grasp that culture of hip-hop because of the struggle," he says. "Hip-hop was talking about the ghetto life, poverty, crime, drugs, alcohol, teen pregnancy; all that crazy stuff that happens in the ghetto is similar to the reservation life. We can relate to that"...
He says he and his friends took the stories they heard in rap songs and made them real life. "We would play the part, you know. We were wannabees, trying to be, like, these rappers on the rez. So we started doing the crime, robbing, went into houses and trade the merchandise and then get weed from the merchandise, and then started selling."
And then came the record deal and the pressures of life on the road:
"I was just down and out — rock bottom you could say — and I grabbed the Bible," says Supaman. Reading the Bible rekindled memories of going to church as a boy. And despite his own disbelief at first, Supaman found himself in a dialogue with God over the next few days. He says he saw a sign of his presence and fell into prayer... He walked away from a deal with the record label and returned to the reservation to weave a new message into his music...
"When they heard it they were like, 'Man, this is pretty good,' " says Supaman. "And then they would hear the lyrics and be like, 'Oh, you're rappin about Jesus.' Some would hate it: 'Oh man, I don't wanna hear that.' And some would say, 'I'm not into Jesus Christ, but, man, this is good music.' And others would be influenced by it."
Supaman says his conversion has allowed him to look at his life and the reservation with different eyes; to see beyond the bad things and focus on the beauty and humor that are there too.
And now he's back! With a new album, new single, and this slick performance video shot and edited by Ablazah Stump from B.L.A.Z.E. and Stan-X, and filmed in Rocky Boy, Montana.
Watch - Supaman, "Gorilla":
Right out of the gate, Samantha Crain released her new 7" single A Simple Jungle on January 10. Produced by John Vanderslice the two new tracks on the single are exactly what you love about Samantha already - her from-another-time vocals and indie-spun american vibe. Get A Simple Jungle here: samanthacrain.com/store.
On January 20, Gabriel Ayala of the Yaqui tribe released his ninth album, Shades of Blue. Ayala's virtuosic guitar playing is at its flamenco-flavoured best on this album and you can find it on CDBaby here: cdbaby.com/cd/gabrielayala3.
On the same day, newcomer Nick Sherman, from Sioux Lookout, Ontario, released his debut album Drag Your Words Through. Rooted in folk/rock, the songs are earnest yet thoughtful and Sherman's rich, textured vocals will rip your heart out. In a good way. Listen to his track Winterdark here and get the whole album on iTunes at itunes.apple.com.
Comprised of composer and multi-instrumentalist Colin Farish and Native American flutist John-Carlos Perea, Coyote Jump "sculpts a musical tribute to Native America with the sound of the cedar flute at its core." We've known for awhile that this debut album, Waking From the Rocks, was on the horizon and are glad to announce it's now available from Canyon Records. Find it at store.canyonrecords.com.
Last but not least, this month Vince Fontaine's supergroup Indian City released their first album, Supernation - contemporary pop and rock with a hint of traditional layers. Envisioned by Fontaine, the collaborative Indian City includes Don Amero, Pamela Davis, William Prince, Ray "Coco" Stevenson and others. Killer! Get Supernation on CDBaby here: cdbaby.com/cd/vincefontainesindiancity.
Listen to the first single from Indian City, Stand:
J Dizzay has been getting it done in a prolific fashion in the short time he has been in the music scene. Releasing a couple tracks every few weeks, this guy keeps us busy with stuff to listen to.
Now he has stepped into the video world with this piece produced by Young Native Productions for this song called Outta My Mind. Like his music, this video is colourful and energetic, and gives us a look at this North Battleford, Saskatchewan, rapper in action.
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Kinnie is widely known for blazing trails for women in hip-hop through the strength, authenticity and openness in both the music she creates, and the messages she conveys in conversation.
She has challenged the industry's commodification of beauty, but has also used the tools to her advantage. How does she strike a balance? Director Louvens Remy sat down with Kinnie to find out.
Watch: RPM Artist Minute: Kinnie Starr - "Women + Sex + Music"
Director/Cinematography/Editing: Louvens Remy / Blacksunrise Pictures.
Blueprint For Life is an organization that runs "Social Work Through Hip-hop" programs through Canada's northern region and inner cities. Founded by Stephen Leafloor aka "Buddha" from the legendary Canadian Floor Masters breakdance crew, Blue Print For Life has been taking hip-hop to places that may not have ever experienced it outside of television or the internet.
A member of the Blue Print For Life crew is DJ Creeasian, whom we have featured in our RPM Podcast #007: “Native Hip-Hop”. While traveling with the organization, DJ Creeasian teaches hiphop culture to both youth and elders in his journeys. On his last trip to the Aupaluk community, in Nunavik (Inuit), DJ Creeasian was able to share some of his award-winning turntablist skills with some elders there, even getting them to participate in the art of 'scratching' on the 'ones and twos'.
Here we have some video of the occasion that we felt should be shared.
Props go out to DJ Creeasian and Stephen "Buddha" Leafloor for making hip-hop into a medicine that is crossing generations!
Also check out RedWire mag's recent post for more on DJ Creeasion on redwiremag.com.
Darwin Frost aka the Impossible Nothing has released six albums in the last couple years and his hunger for music isn't even close to being satisfied. He recently joined Skookum Sound System, a collaboartive multi-media crew and is ready to show the world exactly what he is all about.
Marika Swan @RPM: What have you been up to recently, musically?
Darwin Frost: I believe that all of us are able to sit in a circle and share with different viewpoints. And musically we all have different ways of hearing and understanding music. Part of my work on the planet and part of the reason I am here is to shed light on that so that we can come together in a circle or a hoop or in a wheel. Because that is really the way that we work together instead of against each other. A lot of things get made while there are certain people left from the circle. My perspective is that you can’t have a healthy humanity without having a syncretic viewpoint and music is a big part of that.
MS: How do you express those values in your process of making music?
DF: I just try to use lots of different sources. The interesting thing about humanity is that we all tell our stories, wherever we are from and who ever we end up being. It comes out and you tell your story. The whole thing is to not have fear to tell that story.
MS: How did you come to be where you’re at?
DF: I grew up in Soho, New York City. It used to be called South Village. It became remediated. The place I grew up in no longer exists. It has been carved up and sold off to the highest bidder. I lived in Brooklyn for a few years after that. I came to the point where I could no longer sit by and abide by what I was watching happening. I couldn’t really understand why my perspective was so different than other people’s. I wasn’t militant but I was seeing things in a new way. I could see a giant system that was just consuming people. I felt a great sense of family with my kin, other humans. I saw that this system was dividing people by class, by race. It’s colonialism. There is no post-colonialism, it never stopped its continuing.
When I was in university I realized that a lot of the things that were affecting me were not affecting other students. There were parts of US history that really didn’t matter to people. The part that really spoke to me was the Indigenous history, knowing lots of things were built on top of other people’s suffering. It made me go deep inside and question who I was myself. So I went back to Australia and spent some time with my family and really started talking. While I was there, I really got in touch with who I was as a person. What my story was and what had happened in Australia which is very much the same thing. It was a wonderful trip and I’m still on it. But it’s been very painful and the work never ceases. It’s the type of work that every Indigenous artist takes on in the world. It’s difficult - you really want love and prosperity to carry people through but it isn’t always the case. You can get lost in anger but what happened to me is that I got lost in love. I got lost in music. I got lost in the things that I knew could actually affect change in people.
I’ve been working on it the entire time and I finally feel like I am ready to show people what my perspective looks like and how I have come to see the world. And how I hear music as just a spiritual version of what we are actually living right now… wanting to come together. All the sounds want to come together. All the music wants to be made. It just needs a switch to turn it on. It needs a guitar strumming or a hand hitting a drum.
MS: Do you find music healing?
DF: Very. It’s probably the most spiritual thing I have ever been involved with. Actually I was part of a ceremony that took all night. It was extremely special to me and there were rattles and people dancing and people moving in a circle. There was so much noise from all the rattles and the shakers and I realized this sound and this space for this ceremony to happen was an absolute gift. It centered me right into where I had to be, right inside. And it was the music that did that. I traveled along the sounds into my inner core and when I got there I realized, huh it's not so bad. Everyone is in a similar position. There are options out there to heal. Art is one of those things that a lot people don’t explore to get that message. If I can help and have people explore that more, then that would be really wonderful.
MS: What’s up with Skookum Sound System?
DF: Skookum is Amphibian 14 aka Bracken Hanuse Corlett (live visual mixing), Dean Hunt aka DJ Deano, Csetkwe Fortier (vocalist) and me. Together we make up a multi-media hoop. We take spaces and we transform them into places where people can heal, where people can feel good. Where there is sound and there is visuals and activity and loudness and bigness. Where they can go inside and take part in this and they can take it inside themselves and they can leave with something. The hoop of all four of us doing slightly different things and working together is us taking our ceremony to different places.
MS: How fun is that?
DF: It’s pretty fun. I don’t think there is any way to get more joy than to do what you want to do in life and do something that makes people smile and makes people happy. And for us to even have this opportunity, to have the gifts and be able to give them is the blessing. Here’s the thing with Skookum: it just came together with no bumps in the road at all, just sheer magic. We just all converged at the same time and it just happened.
Skookum Sound System - Familiar Pickoff (ft Impossible Nothing & Amphibian14)
Skookum Sound System - Hollerin' (ft. Impossible Nothing & Amphibian14), Snoop - Pharrell Mashup
Skookum Sound System - Ay I Oh Stomp into Operator - Produced by Deano, Video Mashup AMphibian14
Here are some croonings from Don Amero and Lil' Pappie just in time for the special day. For those feeling a little more cynical today, this should give you a giggle. It's a project I did a couple years during the Olympics : No Valentines on Stolen Native Land.
Here is What Do You Wanna Do by Don Amero:
And here is Lil Pappie's first release of 2012 - Champagne Kisses.
Download Champagne Kisses for free here
LYRICS:
Your eyes Turn Me Out The Taste Of Your Mouth The touch Of your skin Is pulling me So let's begin
We don't have to tell nobody Neighbours knock if we're getting rowdy yea We don't care we're young and stupid We'll just put the blame on cupid yea And all I can say
Let's slow things down We've been running for miles Sip on my love Drink for a while Put down your weapons Show me a smile I'll grant all your wishes Just give me all your champagne kisses
No vodka, no gin Just love from within I nibble your chin Let's go for a spin Now let's begin
We don't have to tell nobody Neighbours knock if we're getting rowdy yea We don't care we're young and stupid We'll just put the blame on cupid yea And all I can say
Let's slow things down We've been running for miles Sip on my love Drink for a while Put down your weapons Show me a smile I'll grant all your wishes Just give me all your champagne kisses
Your lips taste like champagne and I like it that way I like it that way
Let's slow things down We've been running for miles Sip on my love Drink for a while Put down your weapons Show me a smile I'll grant all your wishes Just give me all your champagne kisses
Identifying as Larrakia and Yanuwa, Jimblah grew up in the Northern Territory and now lives and makes music in Adelaide. From allaussiehiphop.com, Jimblah - Capitol City:
Being a winner of the prestigious Hilltop Hoods Initiative Jimblah has since then become a name that can be associated with such artists as A-Love, BVA from Mnemonic Ascent, Karnage & Darkness and the Last Kinection, to name a few. He has performed at countless festivals including The Spirit Festival, The Dreaming, Stylin up, Big Day Out, Groove Is In The Park and Good Vibrations. Jimblah also helps out wherever he can in the local Indigenous Hip Hop scene in Adelaide, often supporting local Indigenous talent.
Jimblah is someone who represents his Indigenous roots to the fullest, never forgetting nor compromising who he is – a strength of self that shines through in his music. Jimblahmoved from the Northern parts of Australia to Adelaide at a young age and quickly fell in to the Hip Hop scene there, originally influenced by more commercial Hip Hop, but learning more about Hip Hop as a way of life and a culture the more he became involved in the local scene. He started out by freestyling regularly, rapping with others and writing tracks by the age of 15. Alongside fast-becoming a veteran rapper,Jimblah is also a well-respected DJ and Producer. He aims to provide production to much of his own music as well as others.
We're stoked to discover Jimblah's work! Watch the video, Capitol City, directed by Pedro Torres, and connect with Jimblah on Facebook at facebook.com/jimblah2500.
Shot in the snowy streets of Winnipeg, Another Love, from Drezus of Team Rezofficial, takes us on a cold journey through a love story. Directed by Jesse Green and Reign Wapioke of CN5 Films, this video is another notch on to the belt of the already video experienced Drezus.
The track Another Love is produced by Jay Mak, the legendary producer of Team Rezofficial and many others.
Without the aid of autotune, tracking or editing, The Trio Gang give fantastic performances straight to their computer cameras - so far all beautifully original interpretations of familiar pop songs. In the one month since they posted it, their cover of Rolling in the Deep has racked up over 7,000 views. I came across it after two other artists shared videos by The Trio Gang on FaceBook. It's incredible how quickly a new musical discovery will travel on social media!
I'm certain the word will continue to spread like wild fire and we'll be seeing more to come from this corner of Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Follow The Trio Gang on FaceBook and YouTube to keep up with their latest work.
Watch: The Trio Gang - Rolling in the Deep:
Lyrics: 24 hours a day, a week when you times that by 7 Many ways to tally the time of 2011 When we clamoured, rambled and cried We laughed, we lingered and sighed We lived and died. 365 days in a year, in two sleeps that timer will clear What a year, what a year That we we clamoured, rambled and cried We laughed, we lingered and sighed We lived and we died Here now we find ourselves on the verge of 2012 We might as well turn the page The story goes on anyway Let's clamour, ramble and cry Laugh, linger and sigh Live and die Here now we find ourselves on the verge of 2012 We might as well turn the page the story goes on anyway.
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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.
