Flagboy Giz — born Aaron Hartley — is the Flagboy of the Wild Tchoupitoulas Black Masking Indian tribe, a fifth-generation New Orleanian from the 9th Ward. After graduating from UNO in 2011 and a decade working as a hotel bellman, he turned his lifelong culture into a music career: rapping, producing, engineering, and sewing his own suits with beadwork fine enough to exhibit at Art Basel in Switzerland.
His debut album Flagboy of the Nation (2021) introduced his blend of Mardi Gras Indian chant, bounce, and hip-hop; I Got Indian in My Family (2022), produced by Mannie Fresh, and Disgrace to the Culture (2023) followed. His breakout single "We Outside" passed a million YouTube views and was licensed by the NFL for Super Bowl 59 — the biggest stage Mardi Gras Indian music has ever had. He has played Essence Festival, Weezyana Fest, French Quarter Fest, and Jazz Fest, collected Best of the Beat awards for Best Album, Best Rap/Hip Hop Album, and Best Bounce Artist, and done costume design for Black Panther 2 and The Wiz.
For festivals, halftime shows, and cultural programming, Giz brings the full tradition with a modern sound — and he does his own advocacy and grant writing for the culture. His site is flagboygiz.com.
