It was well past midnight when Mihkku Laiti took to the stage at an open-air music festival in Utsjoki, a Finnish village nestled north of the Arctic Circle.
Despite the hour, Lapland’s famous midnight sun still illuminated the scene; during summer, the sun never sets in Utsjoki, which lies less than 50 kilometres from the Arctic Ocean.
Under the glow of blue spotlights, Laiti, known by his stage name "Yungmiqu," captivated a crowd of over 300, many singing along and dancing. Like the majority of Utsjoki’s residents, Laiti is a member of the Sámi – Europe's only recognised Indigenous people – and he performed his raps in his native Sámi language.
Laiti, the founder of the Loktafeasta rap festival, first gained prominence on the television show Talent Finland. He famously surprised the judges by rapping while wearing the gákti, the traditional Sámi dress. This distinctive attire is brightly coloured, often characterised by plaits, intricate pewter embroidery, and a high collar.
The festival brought Laiti’s Indigenous culture to the spotlight, though some of his fans could not understand what he was saying. That didn’t seem to bother anyone at the Loktafeasta as the festival mixed performances from artists in both Sámi language and Finnish.
Some drank beer and ate sausages and the crowd seemed to enjoy the summer festival atmosphere despite spells of rain.
“When I rap about my culture... I want to show how being Sámi is like from my point of view," Laiti told The Associated Press.
“Because there are many stereotypes about Sámi people and I want to like normalize ... the basic stuff we do and not romanticize those things,” he said. He added that he has not worn the gákti for performances for about a year now to show people that it is possible to be Sámi and wear whatever you want.
Europe's only recognised indigenous people
The Sámi traditionally live in Lapland, which stretches from northern parts of Norway to Sweden and Finland to Russia. However, of the roughly 10,000 Sámi people living in Finland, the majority now live outside their homeland.
The Sámi people were oppressed for centuries by the powers that ruled and exploited their lands, including bans of the use of their native tongues and efforts to suppress their culture. In the past decades, there have been efforts to reestablish their rights, including the right to use Sámi languages which is now guaranteed in the Finnish constitution.
Today, the historically semi-nomadic Sámi people have modern lifestyles. The few who still tend reindeer do so with modern vehicles, digital tools and regulated land use.
However, there is an effort to preserve the Sámi's cultural identity. Distinctive Sámi clothing was worn by many at Loktafeasta, as is typical on special occasions.
Artists rap in Finnish and Sámi language
At the festival, Laiti mostly wanted his fans to be happy and enjoy the music.
“I want people to feel joy, of course, and I just want people to be happy that we have this kind of festival here in Utsjoki," he said with a smile.
Among the other acts was a duo comprised of self-confessed old school tango crooner Jaakko Laitinen and rapper Jouni J. They also reside in Lapland and perform in Finnish.
“I see a connection from the hip hop and the tinkering with words to the old Finnish like Kalevala freestyling folk poetry," said Laitinen, referring to Finland's national epic about the Earth's creation.
"So that obvious connection and the Finnish tango ... is part of our soul and heart,” he added.
A world away from the birthplace of rap music in the Bronx
Although the duo’s songs were a world away from the birthplace of rap music in the Bronx in New York City, their performance brought joy to Utsjoki's locals and visitors.
“Music travels and music brings people together. It’s the magic of the international language of music,” Laitinen said.
