Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Local rapper Travis Thompson, makes his small screen debut in 'Reservation Dogs'

Rapper Travis Thompson, from Burien, Wash., on the set of "Reservation Dogs" a TV show set in Oklahoma's Native American territory.
Travis Thompson
Rapper Travis Thompson, from Burien, Wash., on the set of Reservation Dogs a TV show set in Oklahoma's Native American territory.

The second season of the hit TV show Reservation Dogs premiered earlier this month. The show follows four teenagers living on a rural Oklahoma tribal reservation dreaming of escaping.

The realness is what drew local rapper Travis Thompson to the show, initially just as a viewer. Thompson is from Burien, Wash. and he’s Navajo on his dad’s side. He appears in a guest role in two upcoming episodes of the season now streaming on Hulu. Thompson plays a kid one of the characters meets at a group home.

"It was like the most supportive set you could ever ask to be on because like I said a lot of those people were like listening to my music for a while," Thompson said in a KNKX interview.

"So when I showed up on set, it was like half the set was already like, 'Hey, dude, it's crazy you're here!' And I'm like, 'Dude, what? I'm on a set and Hulu and FX are here.' Like, 'What are you talking about?'"

It turned out Thompson had a knack for acting. Which makes sense to him since he stars in and makes most of his own music videos. Since filming, Thompson has gotten an acting agent and he's been auditioning for stuff. But he says music is still the priority.

"It was one of the craziest experiences of my whole life and I was only supposed to be in one episode and they wrote me into another one," Thompson said.

He describes the show as an honest portrayal of modern Native life. When the show premiered last year, Thompson says it really resonated with him. To him it's "representation not just for the sake of representation."

He brought up the fact that in several episodes where there was an owl, they blurred out its eyes. In many Native cultures owls are a sort of bad omen — the fact the show acknowledged that was just one example of how it was catering directly to the Native community. But also those outside of it. That meant a lot to Thompson:

"It was one of the things where I get to put it on and like my friends understand me better, they understand my dad better. They've been to my house for family parties, but now they're watching a Native family party on television. What I'm saying is, like, it was just awesome to be able to explain myself without using words."

In addition to his acting role, Thompson’s music is featured in Reservation Dogs this season. The song "I Might Jump" is the opening track on his new EP which comes out September 16 and is featured in the first episode of the show's second season. Thompson will appear in episodes seven and nine.

(The video below contains explicit language.)

Grace Madigan covers arts and culture with a focus on how people express themselves and connect to their communities through art, music, media, food, and sport.