Indigenous in the News Featured Artist Review
Night Shield - Loved & Hated
By:
Recent Nammy award winner Gabriel Night Shield includes the adult illustrated novel, ???Scalped??? in his press kit? Right away I??™ve got to find out what??™s up wit dat?
Gabriel Night Shield??™s CD Loved/Hated features Night Shield as artist and producer doing work with the likes of Jay Nez, Jackie Bird, and Buggin Malone, award winners in their own right. There is a unique mix and blend of talents in the tracks on this disc.
Gabriel Night Shield, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, grew up on the Rosebud Reservation cut his eye-teeth on the likes of such Hip-Hop classics as Bone Thugs N Harmony's, "Creepin On Ah Come Up", Wu Tang Clan??™s, "Enter The 36 Chambers" to 2Pac's, "Me Against The World".
In 1997 Night Shield attended the Art Institute of Seattle to study Audio Production in Seattle, where he made a lot of important contacts in the business and he also started to develop as an artist recording many of his own songs.
On Loved/Hated, the Night Shield third CD there are many highlights and included among them is the dynamic What Can I Say. With a nice start and a good dance beat, this rhythm combined with the great lyric could put Mr. Shield over the top and this cut has serious potential written all over it.
With the track Boom the overall production quality and sound style is reminiscent of Eminem and the ???8-mile??? Detroit sound as NS pays homage to a talented white hip hop artist and explores the nuances of the sound. This piece has great audiio production quality, the strong lyric and combination of beats makes this a winner.
In the more R n B inspired track ???Lil Shorty??? the electric piano brings a welcome change-up to the instrumentation and include the great singing and harmonies and you??™ve got more than just another R n B piece. This song has a beautiful sentiment for the artist??™s baby daughter and lets us in on the soul of Mr. Shield. ???but I better run along, I got a little shorty waitin??™ for me at home.??? I have enormous respect for this track.
Night Shield proves he can think outside the box with the cut, ???Broken Dreams.??? When you sample Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer) from Smoke Signals and you??™ve got Jackie Bird singing you are now working from a new perspective; you are working on a work of art.
This song is a deep departure from the ordinary, It stands apart from standard hip-hop and is the Native American hip-hop voice that I personally look for in my research of the genre. Night Shield says: ???Are you really ready to die / Just to prove who??™s harder / How ???bout working really hard / Just to prove your smarter /??? All right class, listen up, Mr. Night Shield has something to say.
Building to the last track on the disc where the rhythm ends with The 605 (Cruelty III) in which the big daddy brings the posse together for the big finale. Perfect. Smart. It??™s an inspired multi talent jam session in a format that is somewhat reminiscent of the old school free-style jam. This is an incredibly insightful and profound ending to a good work deserving of the recognition its been receiving.
Apparently the audio recording classes were a wise investment. Night Shield sheds light on walking the walk and he lets us inside the footsteps of his musical journey with his Nammy award winning CD Loved-Hated. Thanks, bro??™!
Reporter
Jamison Mahto
Indigenous Internet Chamber of Commerce
Biography
Growing up on a reservation is never an easy thing; it's a struggle just to survive. That's why it's amazing to see someone come from nothing and accomplish so much. Gabriel Night Shield, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, grew up on the Rosebud Reservation. With the odds stacked against him Night Shield was raised in a single parent home and was heavily influenced by Hip Hop. From Bone Thugs N Harmony's, "Creepin On Ah Come Up", Wu Tang Clan??™s, "Enter The 36 Chambers" to 2Pac's, "Me Against The World", he soaked it all up. During high school Gabriel wrote poems and short stories that gained him prestige through out the community, he was also a popular DJ for local events around the area. His visions included a future in the music business owning his own record label, Night Shield Entertainment. In 1997 when he graduated from high school he set off to make that dream a reality, attending the Art Institute of Seattle to study Audio Production. During his 2-year stay in Seattle Gabriel made a lot of important contacts in the business and recorded many genres of music. Night Shield also started to develop as an artist himself recording many of his very own songs. After his 1999 graduation Night Shield returned to the Rosebud Reservation to further his success.
Nine years later, Gabriel, now a resident of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is a force to be reckoned with, as he is both an artist on and C.E.O. of Night Shield Entertainment. Night Shield Entertainment has released 10 full-length albums (The Nation, Hostile Takeover, The Savage Alliance, It??™z Official, Kataztrophik, Nightmerika, Savage Display: The Total Package, Revenge Of The Nerds, Paranormal: The War Within & Loved & Hated) that continuously raise the bar in both South Dakota and Native American Hip Hop. 2002 was the start of Night Shield the solo artist, he had a #1 radio requested song (Ride With Me from The Hostile Takeover) and the #1 South Dakota Hip-Hop/Rap download on MP3.com for the year. In 2004, Night Shield released his critically acclaimed solo debut album, ???Kataztrophik???, and in late 2005 released it??™s follow-up, ???Savage Display: The Total Package???. Fall 2007 saw the release of his 3rd solo epic, ???Loved & Hated???. Night Shield has been nominated by the Native American Music Awards in the Best Rap / Hip Hop Recording category for the past 4 years and took home the award in 2007 for his 2nd album, ???Savage Display: Total Package???, also in 2007 he was nominated for the Best Male Artist award, being only the 2nd Hip Hop act ever to be nominated in that category and was also selected by VIBE Magazine as one of the top 51 unsigned acts in the nation. 2008 saw Night Shield sign 2 new artists to the N.S.E. record label, (Committed Committee & Wellington Downs) as well as win his 2nd Native American Music Award in the Single Of The Year category for his song ???Broken Dreams???, from ???Loved & Hated???, Night Shield was the 1st Hip Hop artist to ever get nominated in the category. Night Shield has performed all across the country and appeared on over 40-album releases nation wide from various artists. In this time span Night Shield has garnered major label recognition, been featured in several local and national publications, had his own PBS special, shoe endorsement deal and been asked to give guest lectures at many South Dakota high schools and colleges.
Gabriel also manages and promotes Maniac: The Siouxpernatural, a Native American rapper from the Cheyenne River reservation who has released 2 albums on the Night Shield Entertainment label. Maniac has also won the 2008 Indian Summer Music Award for Best Hip Hop album for his 2nd LP ???Paranormal: The War Within??? and been nominated by the Native American Music Awards for both his releases and is considered to be one the best Native lyricists in the business.
Currently Night Shield is busy touring the U.S. promoting his 3rd solo album, ???Loved & Hated???, and continuously working on new music, with an ambitious 2009 ahead as N.S.E. plans on releasing 5 new projects within the year. What went from a High School kid's dream has become a powerful and respected reality. Night Shield is determined to meet his goals, with over 16,000 album sales and being at the forefront of South Dakota and Native Hip Hop Gabriel is leaving a powerful mark on the independent music scene.
Hated & Loved
