Native Funk is a stage name for James Lowery. Lowery was raised on the east side of Detroit. His family hailed from the Lumbee tribe in Pembroke, North Carolina. Lowery's father was a preacher. His aunt and mother taught him about his Native American heritage, telling him Cherokee and Lumbee legends and teaching him about dreamcatchers. Lowery started making music at a young age, using anything he could find as instruments, and began writing his own songs at the age of 13.