Now to some, the name might not be familiar but if we mentioned Jamie Foxx’ ‘Blame It’ or perhaps Trey Songz ‘Say Ahh’ it might come as a surprise to know that Nate was the one responsible for writing those tracks.
They say the man behind the scenes is the man that deserves the real credit, and it’s entirely that with the young Memphis artist.
Gone are the days when songwriters would write a hit, give it to your favourite artist’s favourite artist, watch the track take over the airwaves and then collect their royalties with a small credit on the album notes with minimal fuss.
The new age artists of today are all about getting theirs, and that’s quintessentially what Nate Walka is all about, citing, ‘Who makes the rules, we do’.
Playing a selection of material off his impending album, One Helluva Night which is slated for an early 2011 release, guests were treated to Nate’s charismatic sound which in his words cannot be boxed.
‘The majors keep coming at me but they wanna box me into something I’m not, who I am is versatile’.
A rapper at heart but signed to an Indy label under his own imprint, Versatile Music, Nate’s delivery is thorough, clear and poignant, gliding over beats with clarity, as expected from an award winning songwriter.
Most memorable were the tracks ‘Sky Walk Kid’ which has the production you would expect from the hardest of T.I. tracks but is evenly balanced with Nate on the hook, whispering ‘I’m a Skywalk kid, I don’t wanna grow up, I do what I want, anyway that I want to’.
Not forgetting about his female audience, another track, which caught the attention of those in attendance, was ‘Hair down’, and the futuristic sounds complimented by production of ‘The Thrillers’.
Nate’s sound is testament to where Hip Hop is at and where its going at the moment, out with the old and in with the new, young talented eager musicians who don’t wish to see their creativity caged up on a rap beat, instead opting to branch out and fuse other genres together to conjure up a new refreshing sound that’s changing the direction of what’s cool in Hip Hop music.
The influx of producers and songwriters that were usually cooped up behind the scenes are shaping the way Hip Hop is moving forward today and Nate Walka, isn’t that spoon fed highly marketed artist, that lacks talent, the young artist really is the real deal with nothing to prove as his CV is full of hits, but with it all to do, purely because he can.
Words by Richard Ashie
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