{"id":17846,"date":"2019-01-03T17:05:55","date_gmt":"2019-01-04T01:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=17846"},"modified":"2023-09-06T16:29:38","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T23:29:38","slug":"rumble-on-more-native-american-musicians-you-should-know","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/rumble-on-more-native-american-musicians-you-should-know\/","title":{"rendered":"RUMBLE On: More Native American Musicians You Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Gregg McVicar<\/strong>,
\nHost and producer of UnderCurrents on Native Voice One<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Rock and roll was born in the United States, and it makes sense that some of its forerunners would be the original Americans. The people are the land and the music comes from the land. Iconic artists like Charley Patton, Mildred Bailey, Jimi Hendrix, Robbie Robertson<\/strong>, and Redbone<\/strong> were among the first to express this Native perspective through popular music. \u00a0We can connect the dots from Patton, the \u201cFather of the Delta Blues,\u201d on through a musical narrative that runs like a powerful river through today\u2019s blues, rock and jazz music. The film <\/span>RUMBLE<\/span><\/i><\/a> helps us understand why, and to actually now <\/span>hear<\/span><\/i> these indigenous influences present themselves in rhythm, tonality, phrasing, and attitude. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This process has not stopped, just as Native cultures continue to thrive and evolve, adding new bits of influence into American culture. But what about the other direction? One often hears the question \u201cwhy does today\u2019s Native music sound so much like other styles?\u201d The answer would have to be that today\u2019s Native peoples are full participants in modern culture and engage in the same cultural give and take as everyone else. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent decades, these artists have melded their own traditions with<\/span> au currant<\/span><\/i> forms of expression to give us the Navajo (Din\u00e9) drum & bass sounds of Sihasin<\/strong>, the Inuit a cappella of Pamua<\/strong>, the country-rock storytelling of Arigon Starr<\/strong>, the Standing Rock-inspired folk of Raye Zaragoza<\/strong> and the topical lightning of Prolific the Rapper<\/strong> and A Tribe Called Red<\/strong>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n