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Supaman dances at the Crow Fair powwow in Crow Agency this past August. The hip-hop artist, whose popularity has boomed since his video of "Prayer Loop Song" began making waves on YouTube, has released his fifth album, "Illuminatives."
For years, fans have been asking Crow rapper Christian Parrish Takes His Gun, better known as Supaman, to put his popular “Prayer Loop Song” on an album.
Well, the wait is over. Supaman added the song to 13 other originals for his fifth album,
Illuminatives
released in digital format on Jan. 1. So far the response has been good and sales are brisk, Supaman said in a telephone interview.
Supaman will perform a free concert on Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at Losekamp Hall at Rocky Mountain College.
A video of “Prayer Loop Song," recorded in 2014 by The Billings Gazette, "has gotten a lot of love online," he said. In the video, Supaman performs the song wearing his Crow regalia and speaking in his native language. The video has drawn more than 2 million views on YouTube.
He has since gone on to win a 2017 Video Music Award from MTV for his work on the song, “Stand Up Stand ‘N Rock” with Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas.
Supaman spent more than a year recording and mixing the new album in his home studio.
“It’s good to have that creative control. Every sound from the beginning to the end, I had control of,” Supaman said.
He explored some new territory on the album, recording multiple tracks of his voice so he harmonizes with himself. He calls the music “cultural fusion” because it includes songs where he raps in his native language and it also features Native flute and drums.
“It’s kind of like not your average hip-hop album. There are a lot of different elements on it. There is a round dance song and a powwow song. There is some looping, of course."
He covers some new territory with the song "Best Friend." Supaman was inspired to write the song after a harrowing flight to Portland, Oregon, when the winds blew so strong that the pilot couldn't land the plane and was forced to fly north to SeaTac Airport.
"Even the flight attendants were in bad shape. It was almost life-threatening to me. It made me reflect on life to those moments when we don't know how long we'll live. I made this song from my heart. I was writing it for my wife and kids. I decided to put it on there."
Supaman didn't grow up speaking the Crow language, but he is learning it so he can rap in it. A plus is that kids who listen to his music are learning the language, too.
"People say, 'My kids love your music. They always listen to your music and now they are speaking some Crow words.'"
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