With Stella Standingbear hip hop meets native culture

This year hip-hop turned 51 and it’s not often you come across something truly new, but that’s exactly the feeling you get watching hip-hop’s freestyle Stella Standingbearartist of the Oglala Lakota Nation, airs on On the Radar Radio.

On The Radar (OTR) is the trending music platform that caters to artists of all genres and experience levels and is known for its inclusive and dynamic approach.

Stella Standingbear’s native heritage is constantly present throughout the video and its parts: from the background vocals, to her black bear headdress, and from the traditional dances of her tribe members.

Since he debuted with the single “Home Runs” in 2022, Stella received an outpouring of support from tribal communities, who spoke out about the stark lack of representation of Native Americans in mainstream media. The song was honored at the 2023 Indigenous Hip-Hop Awards, and Stella is aware of the responsibility that comes from the new platform.

“These opportunities are creating space not only for me, but for others,” he says in an interview with Dazed. “What I am doing is important to my Native American community and I hope it inspires respect and education about our traditions.”

With outgoing US President Joe Biden only apologizing this year for the violent process of “integration” over two centuries, according to the artist there is still a lot to catch up on to give Native American culture its respect it deserves.

Talking to Dazed magazine, Stella Standingbear says: “Home Runs” is the first song I created with my current producer, Adam Banx, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The inspiration came from a TikTok interview I saw with Scooter Braun (a music and entertainment entrepreneur show), which talks about continuing to hit, even when you miss, knowing that in the end you will hit a “home run”. In 2022, I returned to my homelands in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, where I I am reunited with my roots and mine traditions. I attended ceremonies, spent time with family. It felt like a turning point and I knew I wanted to shoot the music video there.”

When questioned about the nature of the video proposed on the platform, the native artist explained: “In my freestyle and performance video “On The Radar” there are two different dance styles: the jingle dress and the fancy shawl, which are traditionally used in ceremonies powwow or Wacipi for prayer and healing. I had the vision to represent our culture on the OTR platform in this way – it’s never been done before. This moment is not only historic for our community, but for the entire world, as it highlights and celebrates our traditions on a global stage and for many it may be the first time they are exposed to them.”

Stella is strongly linked to her culture of origin to which she however gives a modern dress: “In my latest EP, “Bear Spirit”, one of the tracks features a sample of traditional singer Miracle Spotted Bear, combined with elements from PJ Vegas x Tippie’s Native State of Mind sample pack on Splice. I blend traditional singing and instruments like flutes and hand drums with modern hip-hop production. In addition to music, I also incorporate aspects of my culture, such as prayer, powwow, foods, kinship, and medicinal herbs such as sage and sweetgrass, all presented in creative ways.”