NBA Finals: Thunder Up in the Park DJ showcases Native American heritage, OKC community

Thunder Up in the Park returned this season with hopes of taking the energy of Loud City to Scissortail Park. While everyone enjoys the vendors and food trucks, DJs are tasked with keeping the hype alive outside and in the Paycom Center.

Raised in Tulsa, DJ Yuchi Boy, also known as Brad Hill, moved to Oklahoma City in 2016 as a photographer with a background in music and an interest in DJing and production. 

Although he has been a professional DJ for roughly six years, with a pandemic-induced break, his name has been his tag since high school. 

What started as a social media username referencing his Yuchi Tribe heritage ultimately became his moniker throughout Oklahoma. 

“I was advised to just run with it because it’s unique, and with the tribe being relatively small in Oklahoma, not a lot of [DJs] would have the name. It’s great for me because when people see me and ask how I got it, what it means, or how to say it, I get to also inform them about my Native American background,” Hill said. 

The Yuchi Tribe is a relatively small tribe, with an estimated population of only 1,500 active members in 2001, according to History Oklahoma. 

Because of the small population, Hill said many people may not be aware of the Yuchi Tribe, and he is proud to showcase his talent as a way of shedding light on the tribe. 

“DJing allows me to, in one aspect, educate people around Oklahoma that there are Native American tribes that they may not be familiar with, and I’m able to give a voice for a lot of the younger Native Americans that are aspiring to be artists,” Hill said. 

He admits Oklahoma is a very hospitable state throughout, but “there’s something about Oklahoma City” that he feels he doesn’t get in any other part of the Sooner State. 

Thunder Up in the Park

Thunder Up in the Park attracts fans from all across each home game of the NBA Playoffs. Whether they’re super fans chanting before the game or families just enjoying the atmosphere, when Hill looks out, he sees a pure reflection of Oklahoma. 

“It feels like a perfect representation of what the Oklahoma City community is,” Hill said. “Oklahoma City allows a lot of diversity amongst the community to be amplified. Getting to see all the different age groups from people in their 60s and 70s with their face painted to children having breakdance battles with Thunder performers, those are the types of experiences that I love as somebody who is curating that environment.” 

Brad Hill, also known as Yuchi Boy, performs June 8 on the Love's Travel Store Stage and Great Lawn at Thunder Up in the Park at Scissortail Park.

“Because it’s just a reflection on what Oklahoma City is; there’s no bounds to who we have in the community. It’s a large pool of people, and to get to watch that over the course of three hours is something that’s special to me.” 

As the playoffs continued, Hill said he has seen several families return each week and experience the vendors with the same joy as they did the first time. When designing this year’s events, Hill collaborated with the Thunder to make them as interactive as possible, offering one-on-one experiences that fans can have with performers and Thunder talent. 

Being in an arena with thousands of people, fans don’t get to see Rumble as much as they'd hope to, or dance with the Thunder Girls. 

With a hype crowd in the park, fans still get the energy they’d have inside, but with all the added perks. 

“When I see those interactions happening, I try to cater to that. We let those fans have those experiences and do what I can to provide our entertainers with the most weight,” Hill said. 

What's on rotation?

Finalizing the playlist for Game 5, and potentially Game 7, if necessary, Hill said three songs cater to the fans every time without fail. 

In first place, AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” always gets Thunder fans excited ahead of a game as the official Thunder anthem. After “Thunderstruck,” he said the only song that never fails to get the crowd belting is David Guetta and Sia’s “Titanium.” 

But the one song that gets everyone moving from the 70-year-old with their face painted to the children with Thunder haircuts is always the “Cupid Shuffle.” 

“It's something that just about everybody knows, and if you don't, it tells you how to do the dance in the song, so it always gets a large group of people out on the dance floor,” Hill said. 

And looking out on the crowd following along as Cupid sings aloud under an experience curated by Yuchi Boy, reminds him of one thing each night:  “I get to stay grounded in my Indigenous roots while still doing the things that I love artistically,” Hill concluded.