MUSIC RESPONSE:

MUSIC RESPONSE:

LITEFOOT- The spoken interludes characteristic of rap music sometimes reveal a more frank portrayal of the blunt views or situations of the artist. In “Interlude- The Apple,” we see that Litefoot has adapted himself to a culture of rapper-style thugs/thug wannabes who speak with hood vocabularies. For example, one man questions the man he dubs ‘the apple’ if he his “player hating” on Litefoot for not spreading the wealth. He makes this accusation, and then tells ‘the apple’ he should try to provide for himself, “like our ancestors used to do,”- a serious call out and revealing of how important the cultural history still is to contemporary Cherokee’s. The accuser also gives credit to Litefoot for his service on reservations and therefore helping in the community, demonstrating value.

I will not lie, I can jam to some of Litefoot’s beats. ‘Concrete Soldier’, ‘Vision Quest’, and ‘Dedicated’ are my main jams. I find ‘Concrete Soldier’ particularly gangster as well as telling. The title in itself is metaphorical of the contemporary Cherokee adapting to the changing time and current world of asphalt city-living and new technology. I believe this song contains a Cherokee perception of masculinity seen in the repeated focus upon being a soldier (rolling strapped), having Cherokee goddesses, and certain lyrical mentions of pride and courage such as “quick to earn a stripe, quick to take your life,” In noting battle strategies such as ‘custers last stand’ in the lyrics, as well as mentions of burial places and chieftains, Litefoot shows us the Cherokee’s proud heritage and culture as well as being knowledgeable about historical events.

OTHER-Much of the contemporary music we have been given to listen to, including Tori Amos’ ‘Home on the Range’, the Raiders ‘Indian Reservation’, ‘Reservation Blues’, and some others give off the perception of a depressed state of affairs for the Cherokee suffering through the land-stealing, multiple relocations, and present poverty and attempt to rebuild. On the other hand, The Muskogee ‘Wayland Gray’ and ‘Farron Culley’ are awesome tribal examples of calls and call back and tribal music from the past which are a great look into traditional Native American culture that give a whole new spin on the nation, and help support the notion that the nation is still strong and reviving if this music has been recorded and preserved (therefore balancing out the depressing songs at least somewhat).