Deep West Radio Documentary10/11/11 NPR's All Things Considered
Our latest story for National Public Radio is about a Native American Hip Hop artist whose music has followed the dramatic trajectory of his life on the Crow Reservation in southeastern Montana.
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He goes by the name Supaman, and his early music celebrated the "gangsta" life he and his friends were leading, an existence marked by poverty, crime and substance abuse. Our story reveals how a life-changing personal experience put Supaman on a different course, and infused his music with a new, positive message.
Although his songs still have the rugged beats and heavy-hitting metaphors that were signatures of his early music, they also contain messages of compassion, Christian love, and humor. Supaman is part of a growing community of rappers on reservations in the West who are making music based on Native realities. Although Hip Hop was born in the inner city and originally reflected the experience of African American youth in the ghetto, it has resonated with Native Americans who face similar challenges out on remote reservations. Supaman has graciously allowed us to include a bonus song in its entirety: Listen to S on my Chest, by Supaman.
Watch Supaman's videos, "Deadly Penz"
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and "The Prayer"
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Follow Supaman on Twitter. Visit Supaman on ReverbNation's website.
This story was adapted from the Western Folklife Center's radio special Expressing Montana, which aired this summer throughout that state, and was made possible by a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
