Iñupiaq, Koyukon and Paiute musician Wasabi is about to release her first album, “Alaskamiuŋuruŋa.” It means I’m from Alaska in Iñupiaq.
Sharla Hausmann, known by her stage name Wasabi, is unveiling “Alaskamiuŋuruŋa” on Nov. 7, International Inuit Day.
Wasabi grew up in Point Lay and Kaltag before moving to Anchorage at 13. She said it was a culture shock to go from a place where people are proud to be Iñupiaq to Anchorage, “where people shun you or make fun of you for being Alaska Native, or call you derogatory terms.”
Wasabi said she had to fight against that racism and hatred, and you can feel it in her music. She tackles topics including food sovereignty, systemic violence, healing and language revitalization.
“I grew up speaking and hearing the Iñupiaq language from my Aaka (Iñupiaq for grandmother) and my hometown Point Lay, or Kali,” she said. “When the movie ‘Eight Mile’ came out and we got to see it in the village, me and my friends thought it was so cool and were like, ‘You could do that with poetry?’ We would start meeting up and have these songs that we would select to play and would just freestyle together in a circle outside.”
When she initially started pursuing music, she didn’t have the tools she needed, but in 2023, became a recipient of Rasmuson Foundation’s individual artists awards, which allowed her to fund a mobile studio. She says she’s grateful for the opportunity from the foundation to have the time, budget and equipment for album production.
“I really love being Alaskan, and how much music is embedded everywhere you go here,” Wasabi said. “Not just Anchorage, not just Fairbanks — even growing up here in Anchorage, we used to have these cypher circles at parties, that was one of those things that really got me out of my shell. My friends would be like, ‘Sharla, we know you know how to spit bars.’”
One of their favorite parts of the album was working with Nutaaq Simmonds, a language advocate and translator.
“I was able to send her some of my vocals and be like, ‘Hey, can you translate this to Iñupiaq for me?’ She would send it back so brilliantly, and I just love that now I get songs that I love that I made, but now they’re in Iñupiaq.”
Wasabi collaborated with producer DET Woah, who she met during the pandemic on the album. She says he makes all of her beats, and does her mixing and mastering.
“We ended up building this thing together that is really beautiful, and I love it,” Wasabi said.
Her music can be streamed on Soundcloud and YouTube.
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.
