Bio

Tufawon (2 for 1) is a Dakota/Boricua rapper, singer songwriter, producer and teaching artist from Minneapolis. His name represents his mixed heritage, and his music is a raw, honest reflection of his life. A sound track that captures his personal struggles, dreams for the future, spirituality, and deep connection to the land. Through his songs, he shares his experiences with love and confronts the complex realities of the world.

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Across Turtle Island, he teaches youth music production, songwriting and recording through his program .WAVWARRIOR. He's spent years community organizing and touring the world. Musically, he creates a broad spectrum of styles including hip hop, RnB, dancehall, reggaeton and afrobeats. He released his record When The Sun Sets in the summer of 2025. It’s a full length album he produced himself, and it radiates the energy of a summer evening at dusk. A perfect culmination of warm vibes over dancehall and reggaeton rhythms.​

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The past few years have been busy for Tufawon. He continues touring and living out his dreams as a full time artist. He was awarded the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, one of his biggest achievements. He participated in the inaugural First Nations SongHubs and recorded with Indigenous artists from around the globe at the Abbey Road Institute in Melbourne, Australia. He was featured on the Breakfast Club and Hot 97 Ebro In The Morning speaking on issues that impact Native communities. He completed his first headlining tour in Europe “Resilience" and stays active in his community. From fighting DAPL at Standing Rock to organizing efforts to Stop Line 3, to speaking at the United Nations in Switzerland, he continues to carry out his message and impact the people in a powerful way.

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Tufawon was recently commissioned by The American Composers Forum to create his upcoming EP “Gradient” as a part of the "Recomposing America" project and The Duluth Art Institute's exhibition "Fur Trade Nation and Ojibwe Adornment: Beads, Ribbon, fur, Cloth". Visitors at the Museum will be able to experience the exhibition while listening to his new EP.

 

Artistic Vision

​"I don't create for fame or attention. Music is a way of healing for myself. But I do want my music to reach people who would be moved by it. To inspire generations. I don’t package my art  for mass consumption. I want it to spread like sage on the prairie. I’m influenced by the genres I listen to, and styles that are connected to my culture and beyond. My vision is rooted in the idea of liberation, using sound frequencies to make people feel free. To decolonize through ancestral and contemporary music. To make people dance and provoke thought. To interrogate and address issues that impact our communities. To make people laugh, cry, and feel raw emotion. Colonialism wants us erased, so my art is here to make us visible, project our voices, and to uplift the most marginalized. To embody the sacredness our ancestors gifted us. To evoke joy in the hearts of the people. When we feel joy, we are liberated. I aim to achieve this through music, not only as a form of expression, but as an act of resistance."