'Change In The Future Of Music': Hip-Hop Artist Is First Indigenous Woman To Judge Grammys

An Appleton-based hip-hop artist will help judge submissions for the 64th annual Grammy Awards Jan. 31 as the first Indigenous woman to be inducted the Recording Academy, the organization behind the awards.

With songs like "Indigenous," "Native America" and "Land Back," Jazelle Childs-Evans, who goes by J25, embraces her roots within the Chickasaw Nation and uses her music as a platform to rail against social injustices that have markedly affected Indigenous communities.

"It definitely gives me a chance to be a part of the change in the future of music, and also it gives me a chance to introduce a new sound in music," she Childs-Evans. "With me being an Indigenous artist, it gives me a voice for the Native American culture as well."