Today we’d like to introduce you to Doc Native.
Hi Doc Native, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am a Native American rapper from the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Music has been in my family for almost 100 years starting back from my great grandfather Isaac Battiest Sr. who taught himself to play piano on a $1 pipe organ. Since then, each generation of my family have all sung gospel music touring all over the United States and Canada. When I was starting out, I found my love for music playing the drums in my family band with my dad (Jr), my mom (June), my brother (Spencer) and my Grandparents (Henry “Doc” & Dina) but it was my uncle Petey Baker who really helped find my love for hip hop music. He would take me to the flea market where there was a recording studio run by his friend Curtis “crackerjack” Lima. There I would watch and learn from local rappers how to put together verse and how to structure songs. That was my first real experience of the work that was put in behind the scenes of hip hop music.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I’ve had an off and on relationship with music. I got burnt out of touring but the age of 16 and really wanted to slow down and focus on just being a kid so I started to focus more on school and got really into football where I excelled at. I was team captain and made it to the Broward all stars but after many injuries, I decided I would stop and just DJ at my local basketball games and parties on my reservation. During that time, my brother (Spencer) was gaining notoriety in the music industry and was flying back and forth from L.A. to record with some pretty big named Artists most notably RayJ who’s big song at the time was “One Wish”. From there, I got the urge to really learn the ins and outs of the writing and recording process. Years later, I started a recording studio in my home where I honed in on my craft and began recording local talent as well as myself and my brother. Together in that studio we wrote a song entitled “The Storm” that won and was nominated for some awards in the Native American music world but after that, I stopped making music to focus on my son and my then wife. After a few setbacks in my home life, it took me a while to get back into music but I found that spark again and started creating full time.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
All of my recordings have come out of my home studio on the reservation and out of my body of work. I’ve been blessed to work with some really great artists and have taken home many awards. Most of my awards I’ve won With my brother Spencer Battiest. My most notable awards are:
2022 Global Music Awards Bronze Medal – Best Hip Hop “Dream”
2021, 2010 American Indian Film Institute winner for Best Music Video “Dream”
2017 MTV Video Music Awards – Best Fight Against the System “Stand UP/Stand N Rock
This year I’m nominated in 5 categories at the 2022 Native American Music Awards which will be held virtually early spring. The categories are: Best Pop Video, Best Rap/Hip-Hop Video, Best Narrative in a Video, Best Live Performance and Best Collaboration in a video.
And my most notable performance was playing the halftime show with my brother Spencer Battiest and Indigenous Enterprise at the Los Angeles Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks game at the then Staples Center in November 23, 2021.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Always stay humble and willing to learn from those around you. If someone takes the time to tell you something constructive and helpful about your craft be open to listening to what they have to say because they are the consumers and could help you find that missing piece to your art. And always be willing to give what you learned back to the youth that’s around you, we’ve been given a gift so it’s only right to pay it forward to the next generation.
Contact Info:
- Email: battiest20@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/docnativemusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/docnativemusic
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/docnativemusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DOCNative
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/docnativemusic
Image Credits
LA Clippers media Kelly Galiszewski
