Rotary Waterfront Park set to host National Aboriginal Day

The Prince Rupert waterfront will be the happening place on Saturday as local National Aboriginal Day celebrations get underway with a number of events planned through the day.

The headline act for the festivities is Grande Prairies' REDDNATION, a much awarded hip hop group that promises an energetic and entertaining program for Rupertites to enjoy.

They highlight the day which gets underway at Noon and continues through until 9pm, with a number of dancers and singers set to take to the stage at the nine hour festival.

The Daily News featured some background on the group as the front page story in Thursday's paper.

HEADLINE ACT IS GIVING DAY INSPIRING, YOUTHFUL FOCUS
Acclaimed hip hop stars REDDNATION spending Aboriginal Day in Prince Rupert
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Friday, June 20, 2008
Pages one and two

National Aboriginal Day in Prince Rupert has always been largely about inspiring First Nations youth, and this year's headlining performance may be the most captivating yet for younger generations.

One of North America's foremost Aboriginal hip hop groups, REDDNATION will be closing the National Aboriginal Day celebrations at Rotary Waterfront Park on Saturday, putting down their own brand of inspirational music for the enjoyment of everyone, young and old.
Consisting of members Ill Logikal, Madjikal, Phenom, Rayne, and DJ Hooligan, REDDNATION were originally established in Grand Prairie, Alberta, and have gone on to become the most decorated Native hip hop group in Canada.

Their second album Now Or Never was crowned best hip hop album of 2006 at the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards and at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards the same year, and then in 2007 it received the award for Best Group at the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards.

Although three of the five members joined the group later than it's 2000 inception, since releasing Now Or Never as a crew two years ago the guys are solidified in their goal of consistently making quality hip hop and their vision of expanding their fan base as widely as possible.

In addition to their award-winning music, REDDNATION is also renowned for their youth-oriented workshops that focus on issues affecting Aboriginal youth across the country, sharing their own experiences and giving young people some positive influences to bring into their own lives.

"The topics we talk about in the workshops are alcohol awareness and goal setting, as well as gang awareness," said Ill Logikal.

"As we were growing up, we found ourselves faced with those problems, and especially today there's a lot more gangs coming out and it seems more prevalent right now, especially with Aboriginal gangs."

"It's more of an informative thing," adds Phenom.

"We don't try to push any guideline, we just share information and personal experience, be interactive with the kids, share information and let them make their own decisions from that," said Phenom.

The members held a workshop in Kitimat several weeks ago, which they say was fantastically well-received by the community and possibly one of the best shows they've had to date. They're also excited to be able to hold workshops for youth in both Kitkatla and Hartley Bay tomorrow, before travelling to Prince Rupert for the National Aboriginal Day celebration on the waterfront.
"It's always good to be invited, whatever community you're invited to on National Aboriginal Day, since it's pretty much the highlight and most talked about day of the year for Aboriginals," said Madjikal.

"We had a great time in Ottawa last year, and it's kind of neat to be out in B.C. this time, so we're happy to be in Prince Rupert for the event this year."

"It all depends on how the crowd will be, but we're anticipating that it's going to be a huge crowd, and that makes the show even better," said DJ Hooligan. "Whatever the crowd gives us, we'll give back 10 times."

REDDNATION is booked solid with workshops and performances for the majority of the summer with their Indian Summer Tour in collaboration with fellow Aboriginal artists Scott Ward and Dakota House. The group is also putting the finishing touches to a new album slated for release within the next few months, and says those in attendance at their performance on Saturday night can expect to hear a couple of new tracks and will be able to pick up various REDDNATION music and merchandise there as well.

REDDNATION's music and much more information on the group is available online, by visiting their MySpace and Facebook pages or checking out their videos on YouTube.