Christian Parrish Takes the Gun, known professionally as Supaman is an
Apsáalooke rapper and
ghost/thunder dancer who was born in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington and grew up in
Crow Agency, Montana
Crow Agency ( cro, awaasúuchia) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Big Horn County, Montana, United States and is near the actual location for the Little Bighorn National Monument and re-enactment produced by the Real Bird family known as Ba ...
.
The child of parents who struggled with alcoholism, Supaman spent part of his childhood in foster care before being raised by his mother. He began DJing in the 90s after hearing a
Litefoot
Gary Paul Davis (born September 11, 1968), better known professionally as Litefoot, is an American business professional, actor, musician, and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. He is the Executive Director of the Native American Financial Servic ...
song (with the two touring together in 1999), In the fourth grade, Christian began dancing at powwows.
While in elementary school he began to write poetry and later began to rap.
He related to rap music because he felt he was going through the same issues that most artists were rapping about.
Taking the name 'Supaman' at the spur of the moment in a DJ competition,
Supaman began rapping in a more original style until he had a spiritual encounter that told him to live a better lifestyle and rap about more meaningful and inspirational topics. In the spiritual encounter he had, Supaman said his creator " let
imknow
ewas to do everything on
isown."
In 2003 Supaman founded the Native American hip-hop group
Rezawrecktion
Rezawrecktion were a Native American Music Award-winning hip-hop group. Formed by four members of the Apsáalooke, the band self-released an album in 2005, ''It's Time'', and were nominated for that year's Gospel/Christian Recording Native Amer ...
, whose first album (''It's Time'') won a
Native American Music Award
The Native American Music Awards (also known as the NAMAs or "Nammys") are an awards program presented annually by Elbel Productions, Inc., The Native American Music Awards Inc., and The Native American Music Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit ...
in 2005.
Since then, he has released four solo albums and received coverage and plaudits for the song ''Why?'' (featuring
Acosia Red Elk
Acosia Red Elk (born 1980) is a jingle dress dancer from the Umatilla people of Oregon. A descendant of Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, she did not become interested in dancing until she was 16, when she taught herself to dance from videos of other ji ...
). In his hit track, ''Prayer Loop Song'', Supaman utilizes various instruments including the drum and the ute all while beatboxing, rapping, and remixing different Native tracks. His reasoning for the song and video was an audition tape for ''America's Got Talent.''
Alongside rapping, he also tours schools, where he educates students about Native American history and culture. He performed live on MTV as part of a show featuring new artists.
In 2013 his music and his fancy dancing skills were featured on a float for the
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...
.
One thing Supaman is known for is performing his music while wearing his traditional fancy dance outfit. He started doing this by accident when he was forced to do his musical performance right after he had performed a fancy dance while at a show for a school. Supaman typically fuses spiritual concepts and ideas with his rap music. Supaman creates all of his albums by himself, doing everything from singing and writing the music to creating and designing the covers.
Since releasing ''Gorilla'' in 2013 he has been featured on different songs and is set to release “Illuminatives” which features songs available from his viral videos.
Supaman is featured, with MAG7, in the
Taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
video "Stand Up / Stand N Rock #NoDAPL" which won an award for
MTV Video Music Award for Best Video with a Social Message
The MTV Video Music Award for Video for Good is an award handed out at the yearly MTV Video Music Awards, first introduced at the 2011 ceremony. Originally named Best Video with a Message, the word "Social" was added to its name in 2013. For the ...
in 2017. He has also been nominated for and received multiple awards for his work as a DJ, singer, and rapper, and a fancy dancer including the Tuney Award which he won seven times, the Aboriginal Peoples Music Choice Award, and the North America Indigenous Music Award.
Supaman was a contributor to the
Standing Rock protest in which the
Taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
song he is featured in is about. During the movement, Supaman visited Standing Rock frequently to perform and speak.
In 2018 Supaman released “Illuminatives” which features songs select songs from his viral videos.
Discography
* ''It's Time'' (2005, with Rezawrecktion)
* ''Honest to God'' (2007)
* ''Crow Hop'' (2008)
* ''Deadly Penz'' (2009)
* ''Gorilla'' (2013)
* ''Illuminatives'' (2018)
* ''Medicine Bundle'' (2021)
References
{{Authority control
Crow people
Living people
Native American rappers
Native American dancers
21st-century American rappers
Year of birth missing (living people)