Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz - Real People of the Continent

At a moment when Indigenous communities continue to confront border enforcement, displacement and immigration systems that fail to recognize ancestral relationships predating modern nation states, Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz join forces with legendary Los Angeles Indigenous/Chicano collective Aztlan Underground for the powerful new single “Real People of the Continent.” Blending Hip-Hop, Funk, Rock and Soul with Aztlan Underground’s uncompromising collision of Indigenous ceremonial traditions, Punk, Metal and Hip-Hop, the track rejects the idea that Indigenous identity can be defined by colonial borders. Its message stretches from the Eagle to the Condor: Indigenous peoples are not foreign to these lands. As Curtis Clear Sky puts it, “We are not asking, we are taking control of the self-determination of our lives and the activities that take place in our lands and lives.”

Co-produced by Grammy Award-nominated producer GGGarth Richardson, known for producing Rage Against the Machine’s landmark debut album, “Real People of the Continent” brings together two generations of artists who have used music as a vehicle for resistance, sovereignty and cultural empowerment. For more than 30 years, Aztlan Underground have challenged colonial narratives through a groundbreaking fusion of Indigenous tradition and heavy contemporary music, while Vancouver-based Curtis Clear Sky, of the Nitsitapii (Blackfoot) and Anishinaabe Nations, has earned international recognition for using Hip-Hop to empower Indigenous communities, including being honoured by the United Nations as a Messenger of Truth. Together, they turn “Real People of the Continent” into something bigger than a song: a declaration of belonging, survival and self-determination — “We are the land; the land is us, and we are the Real People of the Continent.”