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Nils Rune Utsi (born 1990), known professionaly as SlinCraze, is a Sámi-Norwegian rapper, songwriter, actor and social activist. He raps primarily in Northern Sámi, a minority language native to Sápmi in Northern Fennoscandia, and has been vocal in its revitalisation, though he also raps in English and Norwegian. He is widely known within the Sámi music sphere, having been recognised as the Sámi artist of the year by Scene Finnmark 2013 and winning the Áillohaš Music Award in 2020. He was awarded the Norwegian Theatre Critics Award and Hedda Award for his role in the theatre play Vidas Extremas.

Utsi has been a controversial figure in Norway because of the provocative lyrics in his music.

Personal life
Nils Rune Utsi was born in Máze, Norway, on 20 October 1990, the predominantly Sámi village where he grew up. In March 2005, Utsi was confirmed. Sport has been important to Utsi's family, with many in his family being competitive sport shooters, including himself, his brother, father, and grandfather. In his youth, Utsi was a victim of bullying, which forced him to leave Máze with his mother. The bullying lead to him spending time in isolation. During this time he grew an appreciation of rap because of its brevity and honesty.

In Novemeber 2018, Utsi disclosed that he had been diagnosed with cancer, leading to concerts being cancelled. His daughter Edella Marét was born while he was receiving chemotherapy at Hammerfest Hospital in January 2019.

Music
Utsi started rapping in 2004 at the age of 14. On 5 March 2005, he partook in a charity concert held at Báktehárji in Guovdageaidnu to raise money for new sofas at the local hospital. On 26 March, Holy Saturday, during Easter, he played the song Givsideapmi at the music competition Sámi Grand Prix in 2005 as an interval act where he conveyed the bullying he had experienced in secondary school. During 2005, he performed with the group Mázemafia, which consisted of him and two other boys from Máze. By September, he had joined the Guovdageaidnu group Born With Attitude (BWA), which he would focus on in place of Mázemafia. Later the same year, he auditioned to play at the music festival by:Larm in Oslo, and although he didn't make it past auditions, he was personally invited to play by the producer. In 2006, he partook in the TV song competition Kjempesjansen with singer Annbjørg Hætta.

Utsi was physically assaulted during a concert in Áltá in August 2006 by two people who climbed on stage while he was performing, after which they proceeded to jank him by a chain he was wearing around his neck. After a struggle, they were separated by his bodyguards. Min Áigi reported that the two assailants were members of the rap group Sinchronic; shortly after, they were removed from the premises, and their show at Aronnesrocken the following week was cancelled. The same night, SlinCraze and his manager were attacked by a group of ten youths outside another concert hall in Alta, who were then arrested by police. After he had left the city, he received death threats over the phone to never return. Finnmark Dagblad reported that police had implemented security measures to protect Utsi.

Utsi performed at King Harald V's birthday ceremony in February 2007, which was broadcast over TV 2. Later the same year, he partook in the Sámi Grand Prix again, together with his mother and sister, Marti Inga and Marit Susanne, the latter of which had previously won in the year 2000. They reached the finale with their song Osku, but did not win. In 2011, Utsi was invited to perform at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Holmenkollen National Arena by Sony Music Norway. The next year, he participated in the Bandwagon (music competition) music competition, earning a stipend of NOK250,000. He reportedly used the music to further his music career to make a living off it.

In February 2008, Utsi released his first CD, the EP "Storytime". Taking inspiration from Bronx and West Coast hip hop, the record was performed in English and Northern Sámi. He recorded, produced and published it himself, with mixing and mastering done at Alta Lydstudio. It was originally meant to be released the previous year with funding from Guovdageaidnu municipality, but they did not follow through. Utsi therefore had to finance the release himself, costing around NOK70,000.

Utsi wrote and performed the song Hjerterått for the children's 2013 TV series Hjerterått with two other artists, Agnete Båtnes Braaten and Sebastian "Dash" Bangen. The song was released ahead of the airing of the show, along with a music video produced by Original Film. Later the same year, he was recognised as the Sámi artist of the year by the cultural institution Scene Finnmark. In 2014, his sister performed at the Sámi Grand Prix again with the song Eatnis, which he composed. He released the love song Sáittit in 2017, which was the first time he had worked with a band in the studio. His 2019 performance at the Sámi music festival Riddu Riđđu was his first since his cancer diagnosis in 2018. The following year, he won the Áillohaš Music Award.

Though initially Utsi did not have language preservation in mind, he stated in a 2013 interview with BBC that one of his reasons for rapping was to preserve the Northern Sámi language and culture with contemporary music; he stated that it was his "duty to teach people to be proud of their culture". Utsi performed at the 2016 session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to promote his efforts of language preservation. In 2018, he was similarly invited to play at the First Nations Adäka Cultural Festival and the Atlin Arts & Music Festival, both in Canada. Despite his early focus on writing in Northern Sámi, he has also written in English and Norwegian, and in 2016, his attention shifted to writing music in Norwegian to reach a national audience with his songs. This coincided with his move to Oslo, where "nearly everything in hip hop" was happening according to him. In 2019, he published his fifth EP Jesu Kristus, which was written entirely in Norwegian. His 2022 EP Echo Chamber included only English-language lyrics.

Theatre
In 2016, Utsi partook in the theater play Vidas Extremas with the theatrical troupe Beaivváš. It portrayed and contrasted the everyday lives and struggles of Guatemalans and Sámis. The play won the Norwegian Theatre Critics Award and the Hedda Award. Continuing his work with Beaivváš, he wrote the script for the play This is me (Dá lean mun) alongside playwright Rawdna Carita Eira. The play has been performed at several schools throughout Northern Norway, both in Northern Sámi and Norwegian. The play was also performed at Vadsø prison.

Film
In 2016, Utsi was the subject of the documentary Arctic Superstar (Árktalaš Supernásti, Arktisk superstjerne), wherein he described his wish to change the stereoptypical image of the Sámi as 'blissfully ignorant reindeer herders' through his music. He promoted the film by touring the Arctic, including Alaska with his performance at the Anchorage Museum, which would later include him in their own documentary on hip-hop culture in the Arctic, We Up. Arctic Superstar was shown at several film and cultural festivals in the Arctic, including at the Tromsø International Film Festival in 2016, the Anchorage International Film Festival in 2017, and the Adäka Cultural Festival in 2018.

Musical style
Utsi has taken musical inspiration from artists like 2Pac and Eminem; the alias SlinCraze was taken from the Eminem character Slim Shady. Slin is additionally Utsi's given name, Nils, spelled backwards, and Craze supposedly means "positive insanity".

Activism
Utsi is an advocate against mining operations, evident in his 2013 release Min Guovlu (Our Tract) where he equates mining enterprises' entry into Kautokeino to mafia. He also had plans to take part in an environmental demonstration against ocean dumping from mining operations in Kvalsund the same year, but had to cancel.

Controversies
In 2007, after several reported cases of sexual assault against children in Kautokeino, Utsi performed at the Riddu Riđđu music festival in Kåfjord, with lines indicating that the victims were partially to blame for their own assault, reasoning that the they deceived their assailant to their own benefit. He later refuted the statements, claiming that the media had misquoted him out of context. He elaborated that rapists were the ones at fault, though he also stated that women should avoid dressing provocatively or getting into cars of older men. Aslak Mikal Mienna, leader of the men's self-help group Dievddut in Kautokeino, described his dismay towards Utsi's comments, as many teenagers looked up to him and his music. Mienna likened his actions to bullying, and expressed bewilderment given his career expressing sentiments against it.

During a concert in August 2009 at the Døgnvill Festival, he told police to "suck his cock" and "go to hell". The concert manager called the lyrics "unnecessary", and said that he was "acting tough", but Utsi said that his lyrics were controversial to create debate. Though he initially refused to withdraw his comments, he apologised to the parents and their children in the audience after the story was reported in Ávvir the following week.

At the 2011 Sámi Grand Prix during Easter, Utsi performed the song Neavri as an interval act with Intrigue vocalist Kai Somby, with Utsi and Somby portrayed as a priest as the Devil respectively. Many watchers associated it with black metal, and were concerned with its broadcast to a family audience on Holy Saturday, with one viewer likening it to Satanism, elaborating that Easter is a traditionally sacred holiday in Sápmi. Some also described it as a mockery of the Church. Utsi's manager, Johan Mathis Gaup, disregarded these criticisms, and called the performance effective at portraying the song's message of turning to religion for comfort in one's struggles against 'inner demons'. The act caused discussion surrounding Christianity's role within the Sámi community, especially the tension between Laestadian and non-Laestadian sections of society caused by contemporary culture.

Utsi's 2015 track Dus Lea (You Have) received criticism for its misogynistic themes and lyrics pertaning to violence against women. Utsi rebuked these claims, stating that he wanted to create debate surrounding misogyny and oppression of women in the Sámi community, and that the outrage caused by the brazen lyrics were meant to drive traffic both towards him and his new song. Despite statements that the song would not be removed from streaming, it was taken down days later. He stated that he did not regret his decision to include these lyrics.

While performing the play This is me at Lakselv middle school in 2017, students threw pins at him. Utsi commented on the incident, stating that the school had a problem its environment, noting its nature as one that fostered bullying. The principal appologized for the students behaviour, stating that it was an embarrassment.

Music
! scope="row" | 2013 ! scope="row" | 2020
 * Sámi artist of the year
 * Scene Finnmark
 * Won
 * Áillohaš Music Award
 * Norwegian Sámi Association
 * Won
 * Was held digitally due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Theatre
! rowspan="2" | 2016
 * rowspan="2" | Vidas Extremas
 * Norwegian Theatre Critics Award
 * Won
 * Hedda Award.
 * Won
 * Won