EMCEE UPDATE: YA, THAT KID'S CRAZY... By Coolero Brown

Other than the Great Dineh Nation things seem to be popping out of South Dakota these days. Take a listen to music from Night Shield Entertainment and what you'll see and hear is a rough mixture of Blacks, Whites and Native soldiers all marching under a Rezz'd Out flag. Being led by a somewhat chubby and squirrley looking Rez rap tycoon named Gabriel Night Shield. With a new album out and blessed with the production and rap skills to build a shining example of how rap should be done Maniac looks like the brightest star on the horizon. "It's a cold world that we're living in", the depressing words of a young man with no hope spring out at you, "At twelve years old I was gripping automatic weapons...life on the reservation. It's just a cold world." Maniac represents a darker side to life and it's about time. The worlds tired of happy feathers and beads and hearing about how White people took our land. We know they did. Maniac knows they did. He moved on. And, he's bringing the people with him.

It was 1999 when the fifteen year old Lakota Souix rappers love for hip-hop began to bud into something more than a way to pass the time. Slowly over the years following his fifteenth birthday Maniac started to delve deeper into audacious behaviourisms as he spit rymes over beats he self produced. Artistic from the jump the young Souix developed a knack for Djing and in the process developed a flair for producing high quality music. This in turn spawned the quaint beginnings of Loonatic Productions.

MM: What was your first release out of Loonatic?

Maniac: My first release was called "Horror Hop" in January of 2003. I followed that up later the same year with an album called "Reservation Underground". So, I released two albums in one year. Before that I was just making mix-tapes, singles, demos and shit like that.

MM: What was your third album?

Maniac: My third album is "Siouxpernatural" that I released last month.

MM: Did you release it under Night Shield Ent. or under Loonatic?

Maniac: Under mine. I think that's what got me signed to Night Shield. He heard it and he was really digging it. It kinda exploded, too because I just released it last month and it's outselling my last two albums. It's crazy.

MM: It's a hot album. I like the song "Cold World" with Memoree. Did you get a bonus or anything for signing to Night Shield or what? How did that come about?

Maniac: We had a show together in Rapid City and he just came up to me straight up and said 'man, I'm really feeling you and if you ever wanna get down with Night Shield Entertainment we'll sign you.' I just figured, man, that I can't get no higher than I already am on my own...so, I'll just sign with him and get some major exposure

MM: What do you see coming out of Night Shield for your next project.

Maniac: We're gonna start working on the album immediately. He's gonna supply me with some beats but I'll be doing most of the production. There won't be very guest appearances. It's my album so, it should be mostly me, you know? I'm already working on some beats. Probably by the end of the year or early next year we should have the first Maniac album on Night Shield Entertainment. But, in the meantime I'm still working on my own compilation albums and mixtapes.

MM: So, you get to still work on those things?

Maniac: Yeah, I still get to work on my own and distribute on my own things. That's another big reason I signed to Night Shield is because he's giving me total freedom to work on my own projects independently. But, when I go over there they'll release whatever I make with them on Night Shield Entertainment. That was a big factor when I signed to the company.

MM: Who do you see making guest appearances on your new album?

Maniac: The new album; so far: Quese iMC, Supaman and Red Cloud. I know Supaman is gonna be making me some beats. I'm not sure if Night Shield will be on it. It should mostly be me, though.

Considered to be a veteran by some and just a lucky guy by others. Maniac comes to the table armed with a strict passion for underground rap and hip-hop stylee. The real test, however, is to see if he has staying power. That's the hard part. Proving you got game and pushing that game to a whole other level is what makes the world notice you.

This is Coolero Brown reporting from the Front Lines of this miraculous movement and I'm out!