Nahko and Medicine for the People - HOKA (2016)

Nahko (Nahkohe Parayno), a sixth generation Apache/Mohawk with a Puerto Rican/Indian mother and a Filipino father, grew up with the family that adopted him in an Oregon suburb, and suffered some early childhood identity problems until he began to ground himself in music, taking up the piano at age six, and in his teens he gave piano lessons and directed musical productions for local schools. His talents landed him a seasonal production position in Denali, Alaska, and there, with the wilderness around him, he began to put all the musical, cultural, and philosophical pieces of his personal creative vision together. Seeing music as international, multi-generational, and multicultural, and as a redemptive and healing force, he joined with his backing group, Medicine for the People, anchored by horn player and Berklee School of Music graduate Max Ribner and percussionist Hope Medford. Together they began making what has been called "thump-hop," a percussion-heavy, rainbow-envisioned mix of styles and approaches that is at times as much spoken word as anything else, a sort of 21st century medicine show for the mind and soul. A debut album, Dark as Night, appeared in 2013, and debuted at number six on the Billboard Heatseekers album chart. Hoka, the group's sophomore studio album, arrived in 2016 via Side One Dummy. ~ Steve Leggett.