Hip-Hop isn’t just a genre of music or a lifestyle for some it’s a force of nature. There is no one better to express it in that manner than one of the most prominent Native American emcees, Artson. While now living in the bustling Los Angeles, the Texas-born rapper has used his platform to bring together a culture through Hip Hop itself. While Covid-19 travel restrictions through 2020-2021 put a halt in Artson’s plans for his youth outreach tours, he still had the ability to find a way to connect with 13-year-old producer LJS4, a student and protégé of his long-time creative partner & friend Bboy Wicket. With the young producer, Artson was able to empower the next generation on Queendom, his 7th album, set for release this November 12, 2021.
While the new album marks an artistic shift for Artson, he continues to remain fluid as it’s filled with creativity. For the lead single “Heavy Heart” set for release tomorrow on all DSP platforms, LJS4’s stark soundscape has a timbre textured in darkness, which is fitting for the indigenous emcee’s lyrical wordplay. Here we see and hear Artson at his most vulnerable. He dives directly into his own depression during one of his darkest moments but overcomes it through love.
“I went through a deep state of depression this year after losing a lot of people close to me, all the pain people were going through, and just feeling like everything I’d worked so hard to build with my music career was ripped away because of COVID-19,” Artson shares. “But my wife held me down, she kept me grounded and never let me quit on myself or my music. That’s what I love about her. She always has my back and believes in me even when I feel like I’ve lost sight.”
Not only does Artson’s wife have his back, but she also stands with him on “Heavy Heart.” She makes her own debut as She-Rōze, the featured artist on the track, and is also set to release a full-length of her own co-produced by Artson. Her album is expected to drop early in 2022. “She’s actually been heavily involved in all of my albums over the last decade, but the pandemic lit something inside of her that she’s held back all these years,” he offers. “There’s a warmth, an edge, and a realness to her style that’s unexpected, striking, and authentically unique. It’s a powerful blessing to make music together, and to see it continue to evolve to where we are now is surreal.”
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