Post by Okwes on Aug 31, 2005 15:19:36 GMT -5
Indian rapper speaks of 'power'
By JESSICA DURKIN
Norwich Bulletin
www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20050826/NEWS01/508260319/1002
American Indian rapper Litefoot performs Thursday at Schemitzun 2005
in North Stonington.
NORTH STONINGTON -- Rap artist Litefoot, a Cherokee, hopes to do for
Indians what music has done for other disadvantaged segments of
society: raise their profile.
Dressed in urban street gear -- Litefoot rapped on-stage in a
baseball cap pulled below his brow, a tracksuit jacket zipped to the
neck, baggy jeans and white sneakers at Schemitzun 2005.
The Seattle-based rapper has said he wants to break down stereotypes
while instilling a sense of pride in his young, predominantly Indian
following.
"Don't forget who you are," Litefoot shouted to the audience. "Don't
ever let them tell you that you have no power. You do have power."
Litefoot performed Thursday, the first evening of the Mashantucket
Pequot's annual Festival of Green Corn and Dance.
The stop in North Stonington is part of the rapper's year-long, 211-
reservation "Reach the Rez" tour, sponsored by the Seminole Tribe of
Florida. In July, the Mashantucket Pequots contributed $250,000 to
the tour, which ends in Alaska in 2006.
Litefoot's music
Litefoot's music, accompanied by record spinner DJ Funk, reflects
modern-day struggles, such as poverty, drugs and poor self-image on
American Indian reservations.
He rhymes BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) with L.A. (Los Angeles), and
adds indigenous references while he speaks of the Creator.
"He has a lot to say, his words are strong," said Jack Downing, a
Passamaquoddy Indian from Maine, one of 40 people in Thursday's
audience.
Downing has been following Litefoot's career for 10 years and owns
all of his CDs. He has seen Litefoot several times in concert, mostly
at tribal gatherings around the country. "People put us down, tell us
what we can't do, but he defies the odds."
Downing mirrors Litefoot's image. The goateed 21-year-old with small
silver hoop earrings in his earlobes dressed for the concert in a
white baseball cap worn backwards, long, baggy denim shorts, a T-
shirt and white sneakers.
"He looks like all of us," Downing said.
Mashantucket Pequot tribal member Jeremy Whipple, 23, urged the tribe
provide financial support to the rapper. Whipple has known Litefoot
for six years and will join him on the tour after Schemitzun.
"People are paying attention, seeing what he has to say," Whipple
said. "Some people get real emotional."
By JESSICA DURKIN
Norwich Bulletin
www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20050826/NEWS01/508260319/1002
American Indian rapper Litefoot performs Thursday at Schemitzun 2005
in North Stonington.
NORTH STONINGTON -- Rap artist Litefoot, a Cherokee, hopes to do for
Indians what music has done for other disadvantaged segments of
society: raise their profile.
Dressed in urban street gear -- Litefoot rapped on-stage in a
baseball cap pulled below his brow, a tracksuit jacket zipped to the
neck, baggy jeans and white sneakers at Schemitzun 2005.
The Seattle-based rapper has said he wants to break down stereotypes
while instilling a sense of pride in his young, predominantly Indian
following.
"Don't forget who you are," Litefoot shouted to the audience. "Don't
ever let them tell you that you have no power. You do have power."
Litefoot performed Thursday, the first evening of the Mashantucket
Pequot's annual Festival of Green Corn and Dance.
The stop in North Stonington is part of the rapper's year-long, 211-
reservation "Reach the Rez" tour, sponsored by the Seminole Tribe of
Florida. In July, the Mashantucket Pequots contributed $250,000 to
the tour, which ends in Alaska in 2006.
Litefoot's music
Litefoot's music, accompanied by record spinner DJ Funk, reflects
modern-day struggles, such as poverty, drugs and poor self-image on
American Indian reservations.
He rhymes BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) with L.A. (Los Angeles), and
adds indigenous references while he speaks of the Creator.
"He has a lot to say, his words are strong," said Jack Downing, a
Passamaquoddy Indian from Maine, one of 40 people in Thursday's
audience.
Downing has been following Litefoot's career for 10 years and owns
all of his CDs. He has seen Litefoot several times in concert, mostly
at tribal gatherings around the country. "People put us down, tell us
what we can't do, but he defies the odds."
Downing mirrors Litefoot's image. The goateed 21-year-old with small
silver hoop earrings in his earlobes dressed for the concert in a
white baseball cap worn backwards, long, baggy denim shorts, a T-
shirt and white sneakers.
"He looks like all of us," Downing said.
Mashantucket Pequot tribal member Jeremy Whipple, 23, urged the tribe
provide financial support to the rapper. Whipple has known Litefoot
for six years and will join him on the tour after Schemitzun.
"People are paying attention, seeing what he has to say," Whipple
said. "Some people get real emotional."