By Wilhelm Murg
Jarrett Martineau, who is Dene and Cree, is the Creative Producer of the project. He comes from a background of working in digital media and is a hip hop artist himself. In the documentary Miller talks about the glass ceiling that Native artists seem to hit, and about the responsibility indigenous musicians have to their home communities and the Native communities they perform for while trying to reach a wider audience. This inspired Martineau and his team to start RPM.
“We all agreed that this is an experience that is common to a lot of indigenous artists,” Martineau said. “And we realized was there really wasn’t a contemporary pop forum to promote Indigenous musicians, particularly musicians who are breaking down genre barriers and who are seeking to expand their audience beyond these categorical definitions of what Native Music is, which is being relegated to the kind of categories you see in award shows, where Native music is treated as a solid music rather than looking at the diversity of music from Indian Country. As we started to build the site we did outreach to some of the artists, told them what we were doing, and the response has been amazing. The artists get to be associated with Native music hype that they don’t have to be embarrassed by.”
Below: A Tribe Called Red.
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For more on the subject, see:
http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/UVic+grad+student+launches+First+Nations+music+website/5589833/story.html
UVic grad student launches First Nations music website
New website offers Aboriginal musicians a new avenue for getting their music to the public
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