Minnesota Hip Hop Artist
Big Dad The Chairman — Ojibwe rapper, DJ & MC
Everybody’s invited. Make some noise, make a difference.
Big Dad The Chairman is a Minnesota hip hop artist bringing original music, live energy, and real stories to stages across the state — from Minneapolis and St. Paul to Walker and the Leech Lake Ojibwe community where his roots run deep. Soul, trap, and Twin Cities hip hop with one message: Make Some Noise. Make a Difference.
About Big Dad The Chairman — A Minnesota Hip Hop Story
The Roots
Big Dad The Chairman — Donald Libby — is an enrolled citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, raised between Walker, Minnesota and the Leech Lake community his family calls home. His Indian name is Lead Wolf, and he comes from the Bear Clan — the bear, the first medicine man, who leaves berries and good medicine on the trail for those who follow behind. That is the measure he sets for himself: "I don't just want to make it out. I want to leave a trail worth following."
His music is guided by the 7 Grandfather Teachings — wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility, and truth — and lately by the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a daily frame for turning intention into a life. The brand themes never change: community, culture, music, unity. Everybody's invited.
The North
Understand the land and you understand the music. Northern Minnesota is lakes and pine, long winters and longer memories — a place that teaches patience whether you want the lesson or not. Big Dad carries that country in his voice: the quiet of a frozen lake, the green fire of the northern lights, wild rice water and small-town Friday nights, rez roads and city blocks. He lives in Minneapolis now, but the north is not behind him. It is under him — the ground everything else stands on.
December 7, 2022
Every comeback has a first day, and his has a date. On December 7, 2022, Big Dad began his recovery — and he has rebuilt his life the way his book, One Day Stronger, lays it out: "You do not rebuild a life all at once. You rebuild it one day at a time. One morning. One decision. One word." Days became months. Months became a catalog, a business, a mission. He does not hide the hard years; he put them in the music, because somewhere out there is a person in their own first day who needs to hear that a first day can hold. As a public speaker he takes on Indigenous incarceration rates and recidivism directly, and his project "Music to End Mass Incarceration" carries that work into rooms most artists never enter. This is not a redemption story told from a safe distance. It is a progress report, filed in public, one day at a time.
The Language
He is learning his own language the way he rebuilt his life — one word at a time. Ojibwemowin, the language of the Anishinaabe, carried by grandmothers and nearly taken by history: Big Dad studies it daily, word by word, and every word learned is a small homecoming. It lives in the music and in the work — a language coming back to a voice, and a voice carrying it forward to kids who have never heard their own tongue in a song. The words for the teachings are the oldest songs his people have. He is learning to sing them.
The Education
A rapper can be educated. Big Dad scored 29 on the ACT in the seventh grade, carried that mind through a NASA internship by way of Leech Lake Tribal College, and taught himself music from the ground up — at it, on and off, for a decade. No school built the sound. He did: soul and trap, boom bap and rock, whatever the song demands — "I've got too many styles to put me in a box." Six albums are live today, from BlackBox and Soul Step to Chairman 4 Chairman, with the Magnum Opus 1 mixtape free for anyone who wants an introduction. The seventh is in the studio now: a self-titled record, Big Dad The Chairman — his first true studio album, fourteen songs in four movements, built in the open in his "Building the Machine" series.
The Machine
The thesis he works by is the Machine: an environment, a team, and a set of tools that takes a person and transforms them into their best self — into who they want to be — with the end product being a successful artist. He built his own machine and runs it daily. New beats are produced two at a time, every hour — a catalog of hundreds of instrumentals and videos, half given away free to working artists and half sold to fund the operation. Everything runs direct, middleman cut out: his own website and gift shop, his own mailing list, his own bookings. Big Dad The Chairman Entertainment is an active Minnesota state vendor, and his live set — I'm The Illest through Automatic — is a complete show: live performance, DJ and MC work, hosting, and storytelling under one name. Paper, proof, promo. The work is documented, the receipts exist, and the promotion never stops.
The Youth
"I'm giving the youth a voice." He remembers what it is to be young with something to say and no room that wants to hear it — so he builds the room. Through the Chairman Youth Sessions, Big Dad takes young people from a blank page to the stage — writing, beats, recording, and performance — in schools, tribal programs, and community rooms across Minnesota. Participants leave with a finished piece of their own and the tools to keep creating. It is the Machine, handed to the next generation while he is still building his own — medicine left on the trail, in real time.
The Run
And the name is a commitment. Big Dad The Chairman is running for Chairman of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in 2028 — a campaign rooted in the same teachings, the same recovery, and the same trail-leaving measure as the music. Proof, in public, that a rapper can be educated and run for office — and that the road from Walker to Minneapolis to Cass Lake runs both ways.
Everybody's Invited
If you are counting days, this music is for you. If you are a kid with a notebook full of verses and nobody to hear them, this music is for you. If you are from the rez, from the north side, from a small town nobody can find on a map — if you have ever had to rebuild a life one morning at a time — this music is for you. That is not a slogan. It is the whole design: everybody's invited. Make Some Noise. Make a Difference.
Book the show, license a beat, book a youth session, or just press play — the trail is open.
Book a Minnesota Hip Hop Artist for Your Event
Whether it's a campus stage, a community celebration, or a full showcase, Big Dad brings a complete live show — not just a set list.
Live Hip Hop Performance
Original music with a message — high-energy Minnesota hip hop sets built to move a crowd and lift a room. Ideal for colleges, campus programming boards, tribal colleges, festivals, and showcases.
DJ + MC
The music stays right and the mic stays live — parties, showcases, and community events across the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota.
Beats & Production
Need beats? Big Dad produces. Type beats and original production for artists — hear beats on Airbit and get in touch for licensing and custom work.
Hosting & Storytelling
A host who holds the room — stories, humor, and heart, from Walker to Minneapolis. Youth programming, cultural events, and community gatherings where music and education meet.
Minnesota Hip Hop for Colleges, Communities & Events
Big Dad The Chairman performs across Minnesota for:
Colleges & universities — campus programming boards, student activities, welcome week, and cultural heritage events
Tribal colleges & Native programs — Ojibwe and Anishinaabe storytelling, youth music programming, and community celebration
Community events & festivals — showcases, benefits, and city events in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the Twin Cities metro
Schools & youth programs — music and storytelling that connects, educates, and inspires
Private events — DJ + MC for parties and gatherings that need real energy on the mic
Based in Minneapolis, available statewide — including Bemidji, Cass Lake, Walker, Duluth, Rochester, St. Cloud, and everywhere in between.
Listen to Minnesota
Hip Hop by Big Dad
The Chairman
Press play on the official playlist, watch the latest videos, and hear why Minnesota hip hop has a Chairman.
Big Dad The Chairman — Minnesota hip hop artist — live performance video
Minneapolis Hip Hop Artist — Based in the Twin Cities
Big Dad The Chairman is based in Minneapolis, the heart of Minnesota hip hop. Minneapolis hip hop — also called Twin Cities hip hop — has its own sound and history, built on independent artists, community stages, and music with a message. Big Dad carries that tradition forward as a Minneapolis hip hop artist with a statewide reach.
As a Minneapolis rapper, DJ & MC, he performs for showcases, campus events, community celebrations, and parties across Minneapolis and St. Paul — while his roots in Walker and the Leech Lake Ojibwe community give his Minneapolis hip hop a story no one else in the city can tell: Anishinaabe teachings, recovery, and resilience over soul and trap production.
Looking for Minneapolis hip hop for your event? This is hip hop from Minneapolis, for Minnesota — everybody's invited.
Minneapolis hip hop artist Big Dad The Chairman — back to homepage / booking
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is a Minnesota hip hop artist I can book for a live event?
Big Dad The Chairman is a Minnesota hip hop artist, Ojibwe rapper, DJ & MC based in Minneapolis. He performs original live hip hop sets for colleges, tribal colleges, festivals, showcases, and community events across Minnesota. Use the booking form on this page to check availability.
Is Big Dad The Chairman a Minneapolis hip hop artist?
Yes. Big Dad The Chairman is a Minneapolis hip hop artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His Minneapolis hip hop sets are available for colleges, showcases, and community events in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and he also performs statewide as a Minnesota hip hop artist — so the same booking covers both Minneapolis events and greater Minnesota dates.
Where in Minnesota does Big Dad The Chairman perform?
Statewide. He is based in Minneapolis / the Twin Cities and regularly travels for shows, including Walker, Leech Lake, Bemidji, and Cass Lake in northern Minnesota, as well as campuses and venues across the state.
What kind of music does Big Dad The Chairman make?
Minnesota hip hop rooted in soul and trap, with storytelling at the center. His message is "Make Some Noise. Make a Difference." — music about identity, recovery, community, and the 7 Grandfather Teachings.
Can I book Big Dad The Chairman as a DJ or MC, not just a performer?
Yes. In addition to live hip hop performance, he offers DJ + MC services, event hosting, and storytelling for parties, showcases, youth programs, and community events.
How do I book Big Dad The Chairman or buy beats?
Send the date, location, and event details through the booking form on bigdadthechairman.com. For beats and production, hear current beats on Airbit or inquire through the same form about licensing and custom production.
Book the Chairman
Planning an event, interested in a collaboration, or looking to license creative work? Bring a Minnesota hip hop artist who brings the crowd with him.
Make Some Noise. Make a Difference.
bigdadthechairman1@gmail.com
Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota — available statewide.