Michael Shaugobay-Hirsch put up a flyer one day, saying that he was
looking for musical artists in the Native community. He said, “I’m
interested in everyone with talent but definitely aim for my Native
peoples and their success and I would like to provide them
opportunities that were not there for me or my friends.”
That was in the 1980s and from there
came the company, Native Joint Productions, based in Cloquet, Minn.
It features such collaborative talent like Darrell “Deebo”
Shabaiash and Derek Delille. Shaugobay-Hirsch says on his Web site
that after managing Deebo’s sons group from Pine City, Minn., booking
shows for them and watching them perform he realized he was tired of
Natives waiting around for a chance to show their skills. “So here
I am trying making a difference and to make it really happen for my
Natives and yes everyone with talent is welcome to come to Native
Joint Productions.”
Shaugobay-Hirsch wasn’t specifically
looking for younger people and he tries to please a broad audience:
anybody who loves Native made music. His goal is to provide
opportunities to those who may not have had them before;
opportunities like performing and writing music of their own. Hirsch
also wants to show his apprentices how to promote themselves,
“because we are a self-empowering group sharing all we know for a
common goal, success.”
Shaugobay-Hirsch is working with two of
his colleagues, Darrell “Deebo” Shabaiash and Derek Delille, as
well as all of the willing participants, to make this music
production a reality. In 1997, these three released an album,
beginning their career as music artists. He started writing music in
1985 and played the piano, drums, clarinet and marimba when he was 10
years-old. In 1992, after years of playing in the school band, he
began making beats and took off with his dreams when he met Shabaiash
and Delille.
When asked what he believed his chances
were of success, Shaugobay-Hirsch said, “I have odds on my side. This is more
of a gateway to bigger things for now until we grow and gather
fanbase.”
Native Joint Productions is based on the Fon Du Lac
reservation, in Cloquet, Minn, but Shaugobay-Hirsch has reached out all over
the surrounding area, including Minneapolis, to try to recruit
musicians to join himself and his two collegues.
He credits his friends in the
industry for his success, Thurd Wurld, MN Sage and Crew, D-Hog, Rez
Rap Records, Knox, Chase Manhattan, Coley Gang, Tall Paul, C-Dub and
others for “keeping hip hop alive in our communities.”
