Indigenous music artists in B.C. find home in hip hop
Hip hop may have emerged from black male communities in New York, but Indigenous music artist DJ Kookum sees strong similarities between that modern art practice and Indigenous traditions.
"The four elements of hip hop: the music, MC, graffiti and dancing, right? That connects to our culture," she told Gloria Macarenko, host of Our Vancouver.
"Our voice, that's an MC. The drum is the music. Every Indigenous person is an artist, I feel like. And the dancing. Those are the four elements in all Indigenous cultures."
DJ Kookum, whose real name is Cheyanna Kootenhayoo, grew up with a single mother.
She didn't have any mentors and mostly taught herself, which drove her to mentor other youth, she says.
DJ Kookum loves performing, including at Let's Hear It! LIVE, a two-day outdoor music festival, connected with the Juno Awards in Vancouver.
"All the stresses and stuff in life just kinda disappear. You're just on stage, in the moment," she said.
