ICYMI: Peep the Trailer for VICE and Apple Music’s New Doc on Native Rappers

By Sameer Rao Mar 29, 2016

"Everybody’s living the same struggles. Especially being Native American, it’s the struggle of being heard. That’s hip-hop, man. Hip-hop is struggle." 

That’s Baby Shel, one of several Native rappers featured in VICE and Apple Music’s new short two-part documentary "Reservation Rap." The doc, which focuses on rappers from the Ojibwe tribe in Minnesota, is the first episode in VICE and Apple Music’s new collaborative music-focused series, "The Score." 

"Reservation Rap" features candid interviews with Baby Shel and peers Thomas X, Tall Paul and Left Field. The MCs talk about making music relevant to their communities; why rap is important to Native youth growing up in the legacy of American imperialism, which includes crushing poverty, police harassment, and substance and mental health issues; and the rappers’ goal of uplifting their people through music.

Check out the trailer below. For those with Apple Music subscriptions, you can watch "Reservation Rap" here.

(H/t VICE, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Sway’s Universe