Byline: Morgan Taylor/Multimedia Media
NIAGRA FALLS, New York – The Mvskoke Rapper Sten Joddi took home two major awards from the Native American Music Awards held at the Seneca Casino and Hotel commemorating Native American Heritage Month in November.
He was awarded the Best Hip-Hop Recording and the Best Male Artist of the Year awards. The ceremony occurred after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, with the last in-person show taking place in 2019.
“The music I got the awards for was actually behind in submissions,” Sten Joddi said to explain the show’s hiatus.
The collaborative song “Itz a Native Thang” won the best song of 2019. The song features other native artists, including Adrian Harjo, Chase Manhattan, the Native, and Joey Stylez.
Sten Joddi dreamed of performing at the NAMA since his first visit watching MikeBone perform in 2017, and after years of requesting his performance, he finally got his time to shine.
“I always wanted to perform there,” he said. “I wanted to represent not only hip hop, but I wanted to represent our tribe, and I wanted to perform.”
Whether he is performing at one of the most significant awards show for Native Americans, portraying his character, “Punkin Lusty” on the famous FX TV series Reservation Dogs, or returning to the reservation to perform at the Muscogee (Creek) Festival, Sten Joddi keeps the crowd poppin’ like hot fry bread grease no matter the setting.
His name, “Sten Joddi,” was his version of the Muscogee term “este cate,” meaning Native American.
“When I decided to use that name, I was getting in tune with the culture and our tribal ways,” he said. “I wear it with pride, and I wear it with honor.”
The meaning behind it carries a lot of weight for him as a representation of himself and his heritage.
During the 90s, as the Hip-hop scene was expanding, it still lacked the path for Native Americans. “We didn’t have the representation,” Sten Joddi said. “I didn’t really have anything to relate to as far as musical wise other than the rap and hip hop culture.”
Sten Joddi felt a kinship with characters in the movie Boyz in the Hood growing up. Sten Joddi could see much of himself in the characters.
“They were four friends trying to survive the world they lived in,” He said. “I could relate to that so much. The music told a story, the story in hip-hop music and the struggle was something I could apply to everyday life.”
Before the fame, he was just another kid off the Muscogee Reservation, causing havoc in his hometown Glenpool, OK.
Sten Joddi started tapping into music writing and drawing abilities at 14. That led him to start tattooing.
“These two things were something the creator was always trying to push me towards throughout my life,” he said.
The rural setting didn’t impress him much, and he started to get into trouble. Trouble led to incarceration, drugs, and alcohol. Sten Joddi recounts experiencing addiction, homelessness, and even hunger.
But he learned that art and music were more than a hobby. His artistic ability and creativity would feed and house his family.
According to Sten Joddi, “Tattoos and music have always literally saved my life.”
He claims that music gives him a way to tell this story.
“My music is full of struggle and things that I have overcome,” he said. “Even anger issues and problems that I have with myself, including mental health; all these things that I had to fight through to be where I am now, to be a better father, a better husband, better friend, and a better person.”
Finding the energy to push through is what keeps him going. He claims his family and late mother are that energy. Regarding shows, he says he needs to take his family or at least one family member.
Sten Joddi now has his own label he calls TattooMuzik. He owns a tattoo shop in Iowa, where he now lives. Fans can go to http://www.tattoomuzik.com/ to view his merchandise, his music, link to his socials, and even book Sten Joddi for performances.
