Nahko is an artist, a seeker, a storyteller, and a medicine man through soulful music. I love that his music sits at the intersection of deep personal introspection with social justice activism.
Although we didn’t discuss it in this conversation, Nakho was born as a result of human trafficking—his birth mother gave him up for adoption when she was fourteen years old; he was nine months old, then raised in Oregon just 20 minutes away. You can learn more about that in these conversations with Untangled: Take Your Power Back and with Rachel Brathen: Believe In The Good Things Coming.
Nahko and Medicine for the People has provided the soundtrack to everything important in my life these last five years: solo journeying, writing and then launching Pivot, meeting my husband, getting married, and navigating the 2020 coronacoaster.
🎵 Listen to the end for a special acoustic performance
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More About Nahko
Nahko, an Oregon-native born a mix of Puerto Rican, Native American, and Filipino bloodlines considers himself a citizen in service to the planet. Disillusioned by the world around him and inspired by vagabond, Americana musicians and storytellers like Conor Oberst and Bob Dylan, Nahko left home as a teenager in search of adventure and self discovery.
Armed with stories, a guitar, and a fierce set of ideals, he set out to bridge the cultural gaps dividing his own psyche. He began producing a public, musical journal of his journey toward personal, spiritual, and social healing, and thus Medicine for the People was born. Nahko describes his music as a mix of hip-hop and folk rock with a world message. His latest album, Take Your Power Back, debuted on May 15 and hit the Billboard charts for #1 Emerging Artists, #3 Alternative Album, and #5 Top Albums.
Topics We Cover
Take Your Power Back launched 5/15 - so needed right now
Pivoting to Sunday Service and Medicine Tribe TV (MTTV) on Instagram Live
Does the album transform you the way writing a book does?
“You are braver than your deepest fear.”
“I want to encourage all of you to pay close attention every day. The spirit world is speaking, acting’s showing us what is to come and how we are to prepare for it. You’ve just got to get out of your own way.”
His take on aliens, shadow government, and de-colonizing our mind
As he posed on Instagram: What gardens are you tending in 2020? What seeds will you sow? What will your harvest look like?
Solo performance!!
Resources Mentioned
New Album: Take Your Power Back
Instagram: @nahkobear, @nahko_and_mftp
Music Videos:
Spotify — Jenny’s Favorite Songs:
Books: Outrageous Openness by Tosha Silver
Pivot Playlist that accompanies my book Pivot
Related Pivot Podcasts:
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