AIROS Native Network's blog

Musician Ras K'dee (Pomo Tribe of California) is from the San Francisco Bay area. He is also co-founder of S.N.A.G. Magazine--Seventh Native American Generation--a non-profit organization that aims to work with Native youth and their struggles. K'dee creates opportunities for Native youth to demonstrate their creative skills through various forms of art, music and New Media. S.N.A.G. Magazine also hosts cultural events to promote Native American awareness and culture. K'dee and S.N.A.G. Magazine publish an annual issue featuring all of the past year's events and all proceeds are saved to fund the next project.

One of S.N.A.G. Magazine's accomplishments is their bio-bus--an environmentally friendly bus that runs on bio-diesel.

K'dee is the lead vocalist for Audiopharmacy--an unsigned Hip Hop collective. They have performed in venues across the globe including Germany, Japan and along the West Coast of the United States. Their music is available on MySpace and is a blend of various musical styles. Recently, Production Assistant Tobias Grant (Omaha, Dakota, Cherokee & Dineh) talked with Ras K’dee about his Pomo heritage, S.N.A.G. Magazine and Audiopharmacy.

Interview with Ras K'dee | S.N.A.G. Website | Audiopharmacy Website | Audiopharmacy MySpace | Subscribe to the Native Sounds Podcast

Gabriel Ayala is a member of the Yaqui Tribe of Southern Arizona. He recently won a Nammy Award from the Native American Music Association for Artist of the Year. Gabriel also holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Arizona. His road to success was an outcome of Gabriel’s perseverance. One of Gabriel’s first instructors told him that playing classical guitar music would be too difficult for him, but that didn’t stop him from pursuing his dream. Gabriel would go on to break Native American stereotypes and the glass ceiling for himself, as well as classical Native American guitarists. Gabriel feels that Native American musicians should be categorized outside of the Native American genre. He hopes to one day enter his music into the World Music category and be nominated for an American Music Award or a Grammy. Currently, he is independently recording and promoting his upcoming album.

At the 65th Annual Navajo Nation Fair, Gabriel Ayala was the Arena Director. Recently, Production Assistant Tobias Grant (Omaha/ Sisseton/Dineh/Cherokee) talked with Gabriel Ayala about his music, his passion for teaching and his future endeavors. For more information, visit Gabriel’s website and connect with him on Facebook and MySpace.

Interview with Gabriel | Gabriel's Website | FaceBook Page | MySpace Page | Twitter | Subscribe to the Native Sounds Podcast

Nake Nula Waun (Nah-Kay, New-Lah, Wah- OO) or NNW is a Rap/Hip-Hop group from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Central South Dakota. The name Nake Nula Waun is a traditional Lakota phrase which means “I am always ready, at all times, for anything.” This phrase was used to describe warriors before they went into battle. NNW members consist of Frank Waln, Thomas Schmidt (currently serving a bid in the Marines), Andre Easter and Kodi DeNoyer.

NNW started a buzz on the Reservation when they began performing at youth events; from there they started recording their music. In 2010, Frank Waln was awarded Best Producer by the Native American Music Awards for producing NNW’s first album titled “Scars and Bars.” He was the youngest person to win the Nammy Award. In 2011, NNW won another Nammy Award for Best Hip-Hop Recording on behalf of the same album.

NNW was motivated to compose their first album based on the group’s life experiences. In 2011, Baby Bash and Paul Wall visited the Rosebud Reservation to perform, NNW got the chance to share the stage with both Hip-Hop artists. NNW is gaining attention and continues to promote a substance free lifestyle. For more information about NNW, visit reverbnation.com/nakenulawaun. Production Assistant Tobias Grant (Omaha/Dakota/Dineh/Cherokee) talked with Frank about his group, his experience performing with Baby Bash and Paul Wall and NNW’s performance at the Native American Music Awards.

Interview with Frank | Subscribe to the Native Sounds Podcasts | NNW's Facebook Page | NNW's Reverbnation Page

Twice as Good is an award-winning blues band comprised of a father and son duo, Rich and Paul Steward. They are both from the California Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians. Twice as Good’s high-energy performances demonstrate their great showmanship. Rich’s musical skills were learned from his mother, as well as her cousin, Hank Gonzalez. Then, Rich taught Paul how to play guitar leading to Paul’s desire to continue studying music.

The duo first started performing for friends’ parties and they created a following that led them to the club scene and later winning music awards. They obtained their name when they were told, “if you’re going to make it, you have to be twice as good.” Since then, the duo has performed at some of the major blues festivals and they were awarded “Best New Blues Band of 2011” by the Bay Area Blues Society. They are the first Native Americans to win this prestigious award.

Production Assistant Tobias Grant (Omaha/Sisseton/Dineh/Cherokee) recently spoke with Twice as Good after their performance on Stage 49 during Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque, N.M. Together, they talk about their music, their experience at the Nammy Awards ceremony and their performance on Stage 49.

Listen to the interview | 2XG web site | 2XG Facebook | 2XG MySpace | Twitter Page | YouTube | Subscribe to Native Sounds Podcast

John Williams is Sisseton-Dakota and Chippewa. He started playing instruments in middle school and has since grown his musical talents to span over a wide-range of instruments. John is a founding member of the Native Reggae band Native Roots. Today, John is active in the band as their keyboard player. Native Roots promotes unity among all people. The band has won numerous awards and their dedication to their causes, as well as the Native content and themes, have helped them stand out amongst other Reggae bands.

NAPT Production Assistant Tobias Grant (Omaha/Dakota/Cherokee/Dineh) is the nephew of John Williams and in this interview, they talk about John’s knowledge of music, the members of Native Roots and their performance at the 2011 Miss Indian World banquet in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Interview with John | Native Roots Website | Native Roots Facebook Page | MySpace Page | Twitter Page | Subscribe to the Native Sounds Podcast Page

Lakota Jonez is Cherokee, Mohawk and Lakota. She was born in Florida and grew up all over the East Coast and Canada. She began performing at an early age--first in ballet, then writing, poetry, lyrics and finally music. Lakota wrote lyrics and poetry in high school and later found herself immersed in  Hip-Hop music. "Writing Hip-Hop lyrics was like telling a story," she said.

Lakota then started turning lyrics into songs and thus began her career in music. Lakota Jonez won the 2009 Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for Best Rap or Hip Hop Album and has co-written songs with various artists including Rock & Roll artist Derek Miller (Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation) and Rock & Roll band Jesus Murphy. Lakota Jonez recently worked on a project for Gathering of Nations called The Golden Opportunity. The experiment provides students with a small amount of money and a camera so that they may select and research small-scale actions to learn about how those actions ripple out across their community and the world.

Production Assistant Tobias Grant (Omaha, Dakota, Cherokee & Dineh) spoke with Lakota Jonez during the 2011 Gathering of Nations. Tobias and Lakota talk about her music, performing at Stage 49 and her plans for this year.

Interview with Lakota | Lakota Jonez Website | Lakota Jonez Facebook | Lakota Jonez MySpace | The Golden Opportunity

Quese Imc is an award-winning Hip Hop emcee, independent music producer and cultural activist. Quese is a member of the Pawnee and Seminole Nations. Quese and his brother are founding members of Native Hip Hop group “Culture Shock Camp.” In the beginning of his musical career, Quese struggled with his audience connecting to his music. Since then, his audience has changed with the times and Quese just released his album titled “Hand Drums for Whiskey Bottles.”  Quese mixes his love for Hip Hop with his love for his people-creating a sound called “Native Hip Hop.” His artistic style mixes the modern substance of freestyling, Hip Hop and Funk with strictly traditional values.

Production Assistant Tobias Grant (Omaha, Dakota, Cherokee & Dineh) spoke with Quese Imc after his performance at Stage 49. Tobias and Quese talk about his music, his experience as a performer and his album “Hand Drums for Whiskey Bottles.”

For more information about Quese Imc visit his web site at www.QueseImcMusic.com.

AIROS Top 5 Picks from Quese Imc:

"Hey Young World" (The Betty Lena Project)
"Good Ol' America" (Bluelight)
"Medzeez" (Bluelight) Explicit
"Make It Big" (Hand Drums For Whiskey Bottles)
"Bird Song" (Hand Drums For Whiskey Bottles)

Interview with Quese | Quese Web Site | Quese Facebook

Derek Miller is a blues singer/songwriter from the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation. He recorded his 2010 album with Stevie Ray Vaughn's band, Double Trouble. The album Derek Miller with Double Trouble also features a song he wrote and played in collaboration with American icon, Willie Nelson (Cherokee).  

Derek has been interested in music his entire life. He started performing when he was in high school. Derek's first performances helped him get over his fear of playing in front of large audiences. He said this opened up the floodgates for all the great performances that were to come, such as his performance at the 2010 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony in Vancouver, to millions watching on television.  

Link Wray has been  source of inspiration for Derek. "Here's a man, who in 1958 developed and invented the power chord, and distorted rock guitar," Derek said. Link Wray's power chords and distortion showed Derek how Native Americans have contributed to rock music.  

Derek said the recognition of Native America's contributions could help give young people more self-esteem so they feel proud to be who they are.

Listen to the Interview  |  Subscribe to the Native Sounds Podcast
Derek's Website  |  Follow Derek on Twitter  |  Like Derek on Facebook

Devin Whirlwindsoldier is Lakota and Diné. He was raised on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. He grew up singing with various drum groups on the pow wow trail. Devin was able to stay positive and out of trouble through singing. He united with Stephen Yellowhawk and the duo formed “Buddaz and Stephen” and recorded their first album titled “Northern Lights.” Devin and Stephen also have recorded another project with RSBK (Ricky, Stephen, Buddaz & Kilo) titled RSBK. Devin is in the process of recording his next project.

For the last five years, Devin has worked as a mentor in his community. He maintains a drug and alcohol free lifestyle. He encourages youth to be active in starting a drum group or pow wow-style dancing because it helped him to stay out of trouble. For more information about Buddaz and Stephen, check out their MySpace page link below.

Top 5 Songs

1. Angel Eyez remix
2. Did You See That Girl
3. Need You
4. Doing It Right
5. Messed Up

Interview with Buddaz | Buddaz n Stephen MySpace | RSBK MySpace

Steve Wood (Saddle Lake Cree Nation) and two of his brothers founded Northern Cree in 1982. Northern Cree has released 37 albums under Canyon Records. 
 
Wood says he has been around music throughout his life and started performing music with his family in his childhood. In his childhood, his father was a singer, and the rest of his family brought out drums to entertain guests. Wood says Bill Baker's group, the Mandaree Singers, was one of the most inspiring drum groups to him. Bill Baker has passed on, but his group's music is still alive. 
 
Wood says the performing of traditional, aboriginal music has been around since the beginning of recorded history, but the way his group performs -- in front of an audience on stage -- is a new direction for the music.  Northern Cree has performed in front of 18,000 fans in a way similar to that of a rock or country concert. This is one way Northern Cree has helped change traditional, aboriginal music performance.  

Wood's passion for music, which started in his childhood, has led him to a successful career. Northern Cree's pow wow music has received six Grammy nominations. Wood hopes he will be able to leave a legacy like Bill Baker.

Recently, NAPT's Interactive Media Specialist Eric Martin spoke with Steve Wood about his music. 

Listen to the Interview  |  Subscribe to the Native Sounds Podcast  |  Northern Cree's Website

Top 5 Northern Cree Songs

1.  "Red and White" (Sweethearts' Shuffle)
2.  "Red Skin Gal" (Calling All Dancers)
3.  "Smilin'" (Calling All Dancers)
4.  "Stars in the Sky" (Temptations)
5.  "A Million Miles for You" (Temptations)