Spirit Lake rapper amplifies voices of Native youth

 

 

 

“Sometimes when I was going through things, I didn’t really know how to deal with them,” he said. “I found out it was just bottling up. I had some anger issues and didn’t really know what to do or how to cope with it.”

After hearing his cousin’s song on the radio, he became inspired to try out rap. Instantly, songwriting began improving James’ mental health. 

“I just started writing and it felt really cool to be able to say a lot of the things that I wanted to say musically or just like in life in general, and I turned it into writing poems and stuff. And then I started getting into trying it over a beat and I was like, ‘Hey, I think I could do this.’”

The introduction of songwriting became an infatuation for the young lyricist. James said he became obsessed with writing, to the point where he’d forget to do his homework. 

Ethan Lohnes remembers his brother listening to random beats and trying to rap over them during high school. “Getting to witness his start from the beginning to where he is now –– it’s been one hell of a trip,” said Lohanes. “I remember studying in a room with him when we were growing up and he’d have a beat going for an hour or two, he’d just be writing.”

Since he first began rapping when he was 16, James has produced his own albums and singles. Lohnes favorite work from his brother  is “3 a.m.”, an 11-song album released in 2019.

While there are a lot of Native rappers, James said he had trouble connecting with their music on a personal level because it copied the mainstream too much. “A lot of Native rap was very gangster driven and I didn’t relate with that because I was just a lonely kid,” said James. “I became basically what I, in my mind, what I was missing in my life when I was growing up looking for Native artists.”

Now he  tries to spread good messages and be relatable in his music so he can connect with rez kids. He also creates music about the issues, reality and joy of being Indigenous. In the past, James said others have described his sound as “mood music” or the soundtrack of a movement. “He’s got one hell of a gift to be writing constantly,” said Lohanes. “The sound is always evolving, it’s a beautiful thing to witness.”

One of his favorite songs that he’s written is “M.M.I.W.” In collaboration with Soufy and Sober Junkie, James worked on this piece to address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis which occurs across the United States and Canada. When he heard the piano sample for M.M.I.W, it made him feel hopeless –– but with a little glimmer of hope.

“I just remember this line I wrote years ago where I said, ‘imagine waking up and you notice your daughter missing. It’s hard for you to breathe. Tears blurring up your vision.’ And I wrapped that over that instrumental then I was like, ‘Oh, wow – that fits perfectly.’”

James uses songwriting as a way to tackle serious issues –– through an Indigenous perspective. His colleague, James Culbertson, a rapper from the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana, said he sees how James wants to create change in the Native community. 

“I think eventually he’s going to become the go-to guy in Native country as far as providing practicable steps that children can use to expand their career horizons and just build their confidence,” Culbertson said. 

After he moved to Fargo, James still wanted to help kids as he pursued his music career. Eventually he came up with the concept of a multimedia workshop. The purpose of these workshops are to instill confidence in Native youth, demonstrate leadership abilities, help students break out of their shell and try something new. 

“I realized that this is a way of helping them communicate their feelings and emotions into some form, because I didn’t realize how effective that was for me growing up,” said James. “A lot of these kids have never even rapped or stepped in front of a microphone. It helps them realize they’re capable of a lot.”

This is James’ first year hosting his multimedia workshops. The four-day workshop aims to teach Native youth different forms of writing. Students will write a rap or hip-hop song, create a beat, then learn how to mix and master the recording. During the week, students also will be collecting footage for a music video they’ll produce. 

Throughout the course of the workshop, James will check in with students to see how they’re feeling about the work they’ve been doing.

“I think giving them the ability to be heard is a big thing because a lot of the older kids probably feel like nobody is hearing them when they talk,” James said. 

In the future, James hopes to see more American Indian students become lead actors, artists and musicians. 

James’ music can be found on most streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and Soundcloud. 

“The purpose of Stuart James’ multimedia workshop to instill confidence in Native youth, demonstrate leadership abilities, help students break out of their shell and try something new.” Courtesy of Stuart James.

“Many people describe Stuart James’ songs as ‘mood music,’ or the soundtrack of a movement.” Courtesy of Stuart James.

by Adrianna Adame  adrianna@imfreedomalliance.org

 

The post Spirit Lake rapper amplifies voices of Native youth first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

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