GREEN BAY — In their first major collaboration with Oneida Nation organizers with the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, Indigenous hip-hop stars are heading to Green Bay for upcoming shows.
The partnership brings Little People hip-hop duo Lil’ Mike and Funny Bone to the Weidner on the UW-Green Bay campus on September 7.
The couple star in the hit Hulu TV show “Reservation Dogs.”
“We hope this is just the beginning of a deeper partnership between The Weidner and Oneida Nation Arts Program (NAPO),” said Kelli Strickland, Executive Director of the Weidner Center and President of ONAP. “It’s the perfect community partnership, where programming doesn’t happen in silos, but rather true collaboration.”
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“Reservation Dogs” follows four teenagers from an Oklahoma reservation who plan to flee their community to California to start a new life, but soon discover why they actually love their home.
On the show, Lil’ Mike and Funny Bone ride around on their bikes rapping and periodically delivering advice and warnings to teens.
The show had made an impact in Indian Country by providing insight into some aspects of reservation life on mainstream television.
“It brings a story that has never really been shown before on American television,” said Weidner Center marketing coordinator Troy Williams.
The interpreter Buggin Malone, a citizen of the Oneida nation, is to open for Lil’ Mike and Funny Bone. His hip-hop lyrics deal with social issues in Indian country.
“Their lyrics have positive messages, their choreography is great, and they’re so friendly to their fans,” NAPO’s Sherrole Benton said of Lil’ Mike and Funny Bone, who are citizens of the Pawnee Nation. “I think our local community would really appreciate their performance and be inspired by them as well.”
The couple will also be at Oneida the day before the Green Bay show for a community outreach event at the Radisson Hotel.
They will be joined by Jezelle Evans-Child of Appleton, who founded the HGM Music Group in Wisconsin to support Indigenous artists.
The three recently took part in a concert at the Turtle Lake Casino, which is owned by the St. Croix Tribe in far northwest Wisconsin.
Evans-Child, a Chickasaw Nation citizen who uses the stage name J25, said Lil’ Mike and Funny Bone have been an inspiration to other Indigenous artists.
“We admire them,” she said. “It was a great opportunity to be able to share the stage with both of them. So many kids on the reserve look up to the positive things we do in our communities and on stage. It’s important that we as artists give them let’s show you can chase your dreams and be successful.Indigenous hip-hop really has a huge impact in the recording industry and opens a lot of ears and eyes.
Oneida Nation HGM Music Group artist Cash Mami will also perform at the Woodland Indian Art Show at the Radisson on the evening of August 13.
Tickets for the Sept. 7 show at the Weidner Center are $21.
The venue welcomes another renowned native hip-hop artist, Supaman, on November 1st.
Frank Vaisvilas is a Report for America Green Bay Press-Gazette-based corps member covering Native American issues in Wisconsin. He can be reached at 815-260-2262 or [email protected], or on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible donation to this reporting effort at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA.
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