Circumpolar Hip-Hop Collab - 2017

above:  AKU-MATU (my rap name) as part of the Circumpolar Hip-Hop Collab created by Aqqalu Berthelsen at the 2017 Riddu Riddu festival,  in Mandalen, Norway

In 2017, I was invited to perform as part of as the Circumpolar Hip-Hop Collab, a project created by Greenlandic Inuit producer, actor and multi-disciplinary artist, Aqqalu Berthlesen.  It was an honor to be a part of Indigenous Hip-Hop artists from all over the Circumpolar North.  All of the participating artists could rap in their traditional language fluently and quickly, except for me.  I do rap in Iñupiaq, but not freestyle, not yet.  I need to have what I say translated and then I memorize it, yet I hope to be more fluent one day, fluent enough to rap in.

We collaborated on a song, and it was exciting to perform the song and also hear the end result, which as a recording on vinyl produced and distributed by the Anchorage Museum.

As artists at Riddu Riddu, we stayed at Airbnbs all in a row, near one another, farther away from the main festival.  It was a joy to move from house to house, collaborating, sharing food and visiting. 

In collaborating with amazing artists, the moments when we are backstage and in the green room, preparing to perform, remain with me the most.