The video for Supaman’s 2015 song “Why” opens with the stunning image of blue and white ribbons swaying in the wind. Adorned in traditional Native American regalia, the rapper—who was born Christian Parrish Takes the Gun and raised on a reservation near Billings, Montana—performs the men’s fancy dance alongside world champion jingle dress dancer and Umatilla tribe member Acosia Red Elk.
As the two move together in the countryside, Supaman layers his signature drum loops against a prayer melody from the Native American Church (NAC), then begins rapping about economic inequality and the struggles of parenting. Over the phone, Supaman tells me his grandfather was once president of NAC and played a key role in regaining religious rights for the church.
A member of the Apsáalooke (or Crow) Nation, Supaman is energized by the movement for indigenous unity. He’s also passionate about another culture: hip-hop. Drawn to parallels in the genre’s stories of systematic oppression, Supaman was inspired by B-boying and the Rock City Crew, and began DJing in the ’90s.
