FEATURE: Spotlight: Nadia Rose — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex De Mora for Wonderland.

Nadia Rose

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THIS is one of these Spotlight features…

where I am featuring an artist who has been around for a while. I want to spotlight Nadia Rose because I think she is hitting a new stage in her career and there are people who do not know about her work. I will drop in a couple of interviews from last year nearer the end. First, I want to head back to when a then-twenty-three-year-old Rose was placed fifth in the BBC Sound of… 2017 poll:

“Two years ago, Nadia Rose was studying for a degree while working 12-hour shifts in a betting shop to make ends meet.

In her spare time, she’d scribble down lyrics but all around her male contemporaries – Section Boyz, Bonkaz and her cousin, Stormzy - were starting to break through.

Realising that the job was holding her back, she packed it in and started making music with friend and producer The Black Obsidian.

From the start, her witty lyrics and sense of fun set her apart. Her breakthrough video, Station, was shot, without permission, at a local railway station, with Nadia dancing nonchalantly on the tracks as a train pulled in.

More recently, the colourful, funky single Skwod saw the rapper taking over the streets with a girl gang, body-popping Beyoncé choreography and all.

“It’s Nadia Rose,” she raps on DFWT. “Who's she? Who's that? Well, who really knows?”

With a record deal at Sony and an arsenal of killer rhymes, that could easily change in 2017”.

I discovered Nadia Rose’s music back in 2017. I think she has grown in stature and confidence since she came onto the scene. That being noted, she definitely caught people’s eyes and ears very earl on! It is interesting reading interviews from 2016 and 2017 and hearing about this phenomenal young talent. In 2016, The Guardian featured Rose. We got to learn more about one of Britain’s most interesting rising female artists:

‘Everything we’ve done has stemmed from the fun factor. I can’t do boring,” says Nadia Rose emphatically. The 22-year-old Croydon rapper’s first music video, last year’s Station, found her dancing on railway tracks, unperturbed by the train pulling into the platform behind her. “We didn’t have permission,” she admits. “We literally had one shot to do that clip otherwise they’d have called the operators, but the videographer knew when the train was coming and timed it perfectly.”

The fun factor is very much present in the handful of singles Rose has released to date. She speeds up, slows down, drops into patois; stacks rhymes on rhymes, doubles up meanings, bounces between pop culture references. It’s no surprise to learn she used to read the dictionary for fun (“My mum wanted the Bible by my pillow, but I had the dictionary there!”); now, that childhood nerdiness is put to good use rapping circles around her targets and turning up the energy for her crew.

Most impressively, Rose seems to have skipped the amateur experimentation stage to emerge as a fully formed artist with her own distinct voice. There are echoes of her influences: Missy Elliott’s verbal eccentricity, Eminem’s technical panache with a dollop of dancehall, and she shares the penchant for banter that marks out her British peers such as Lady Leshurr. But on singles such as D.F.W.T. (her first viral moment, scoring nearly half a million YouTube views since last October) and Mufasa, her confidence in taking on two well-known, disparate beats – Mila J’s DJ Mustard-produced My Main and Wiley’s classic grime riddim Eskimo – and making them her own is breathtaking. It’s no shock, then, that Rose’s rise has been meteoric. This year alone, she’s signed a deal with Sony, played her first festival main stages and been invited to perform at an Alicia Keys showcase.

But just two years ago, there was rather more boredom in Rose’s life. Juggling university with a job in one of the many betting shops that have proliferated on Croydon’s high street since she was a kid, Rose would scribble lyrics on betting slips and go home to record them but kept it a secret from all but her closest friends. “It was a barrier. I wanted to do it, but I couldn’t,” she says now. So she quit her job, with no safety net. “I didn’t have a timescale, I didn’t have a plan. But I had the best people around me, and I haven’t looked back.”

The most formative of those people included her dad, a DJ who passed on a love of the musical spectrum from jungle to the Spice Girls; Rose remembers the first time his music drew her downstairs: “It was Capleton’s Cuyah Cuyah, I came down and would just sit there and take everything in from the speakers.” The charisma and hint of arrogance that magnetised her then still inspires her now: “There’s no point doing this if you’re not confident.”

A wave of charismatic, rapid-witted British female MCs is coming through along with Rose, such as Lady Leshurr and Lady Lykez. Rose is wary of a box that can be a trap for female artists, though. “We’re cool, but I don’t like the fact that we’re separated from the guys. Sometimes I feel they like to force the ‘unity’ too much and therefore separate themselves even more. Like, we’re the girls, we stick together.

“But right now we’re trying to bridge the gap. It’s cool that unity’s there, but also understand that the guys are there and they’re still our competition as well. We need to be drilling all angles”.

Not to skip through E.P.s and years but, as I want to try and bring things as up-to-date as possible, I am going to bring in interviews from 2020. I feel Nadia Rose’s best years are still ahead. She is, as I said, growing stronger and she will be a worldwide sensation very soon.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex De Mora for Wonderland.

There was a lot of attention around Nadia Rose last year as she released her First Class E.P. It is an extraordinary release that highlights the fact that we have a very special talent in our midst. Rose spoke with Wonderland. last year. We discover more about her pre-music life and how, in 2020, she was a force of nature, impossible to stop:

“At 16, she went through a period of anxiety. “Growing up, I tried to give off this confidence that I don’t know if I really believed in,” she explains. “I guess it got to a point where I realised that I’d have to start believing in it myself in order for anybody else to see me that way.” What she needed was within her, she just hadn’t unlocked it yet. “Maybe it was just making the decision to focus completely on music that changed things,” she considers. “It’s a vulnerable thing to share what you’ve taken out of your brain. I had to learn how to share myself and understand what would come with that.”

And now, Nadia Rose is “unstoppable”. Her confidence has been put to rights. Rose’s music will always be fun; again, that’s her “thing”. But she’s also aware that the secret to being a good artist rests, at least in part, on something that goes a little deeper than humour. “I like to think that I’ve grown into my music, that I’m able to express myself a bit more,” she says. “I realised that I needed to delve into myself and allow listeners to get to know me, which is something I had to do as a person as well. People have always found me a bit hard to read. I didn’t really see how that made sense. As in, how could I be so closed off when music is such a personal and vulnerable thing?”

Her conscientiousness is an echo of her mother, a nurse, who Rose cites as one of the hardest workers she knows. “My mum is super confident,” she says. “I’ve always tried to emulate that. She’s a hero to me.” And then there’s Lil’ Kim, who showed Rose that rap was by no means a man’s game. At a time when hip hop was dominated by the likes of Biggie and Tupac, Lil’ Kim, as Rose puts it, was “one of the only women repping.” “I loved how unapologetic she was,” she continues. “She said exactly what I’m trying to say now – that I’m equal, if not better.” Things are more level now; not perfect, but easier. Although, the issue in hand is just as important to Rose. “I just hate the inequality in the world,” she says. “I’m no different to the men in the game, and I want that to be something that every woman can see in what they do. It doesn’t have to be rap. It doesn’t have to be acting or dancing. It doesn’t even have to be creative. You’re a woman, and whatever field you’re in, you are an equal to the rest that are there. That’s what I try to push.”

Her video to “Big Woman” presents just this. It removes stereotypical beauty standards and showcases Rose’s appreciation for “real, clean-hearted people”: people dancing, people enjoying themselves without inhibition, people cheering other people on. At the centre of the video is Grace Victory, a body positivity advocate and blogger who takes to the dancefloor. “I wanted to show off people who, for whatever reason, society doesn’t want to show off,” Rose adds. This takes us back to where things are now. At present, Rose is suspended between two chapters. While the mess with Relentless is over, there’s still work to be done. From this point onwards, all of her music will be released via her own label. “I also want to put a spotlight on other acts,” she says. “I’ve already got a first signee in mind. I want to create an empire of superbeings.” And before that, Rose will appear in her debut acting role, which, at the time of our interview, is strictly under wraps. But the ball is rolling. It’s exciting to see firsthand. “I feel like they tried to slow down my train,” she says of her previous record label. “But now the engine is just revving 100%. It’s full steam ahead”.

I do think that we will see an album and some huge tour dates in the next year or two. First Class is an E.P. that more than lives up to its name! I want to source from this interview, as we discover why Nadia Rose continues to release music as an independent artist:

“First Class is your first big release as an independent artist. Why did you decide to continue without a big label?

It was around this time last year when I decided to cut ties with my label and start my own label. It was all becoming real and everything was coming out what has been around for a while.

How is it to be your own boss and make all the decisions yourself?

I finally feel in control of my destiny, which is something I guess everybody wants in their life in general. Just the freedom to express myself and do what I want to do is absolutely priceless. Honestly, I’m really enjoying this so much and finally have my power back.

Did that also boost your creativity because you don’t have to hold back?

I feel like I had a ton of chefs in the kitchen with me that all gave their unnecessary opinions. I’m finally free now and feel the way I felt before I entered the industry when I was writing music that felt right for me. There weren’t opinions and thoughts about stuff like sales, performing it live, and other things. I think I really got back to that youthful mindset that I had once before. Free as a bird when I’m creating now and nothing that infiltrates my dream anymore.

t’s been four years since you emerged on the big stage. What was your biggest accomplishment looking back?

Getting free from the shackles of Sony is definitely up there, but I’d probably say winning the MOBO Award for ‘Best Video’ with “Skwod”. Growing up, MOBO was the place where I saw all my favorite artists from over here and the US. As time was going, I saw people like my cousin Stormzy or Section Boyz all on my screen doing it. For me, being added to that great list was very special, and I was up against some real talent and some amazing visuals. I was so thrilled to know that my work has touched people and was rewarded for it.

Is there a big difference between the US and the UK scene in your opinion?

In terms of like production and all the things the Americans would do, which was really about going all out, I didn’t see that much over here. But it has always been fascinating for me that there’s a great scene over here as well that was flourishing. In terms of unity and collaborations, I definitely see a lot more happening of that in the US scene but as time has gone on, the UK is also doing a lot more dope collaborations. It’s great to see.

What’s for you, as the creator, the difference between your first project Highly Flammable and the new EP First Class?

I definitely say that the difference sound-wise, is that First Class is a little bit more polished. For Highly Flammable, I was just enjoying that I was making the EP because it was my first one, and I just wanted to put my favorite songs on it. First Class is my lead-in to my debut album because I think it’s a lot more directional and I, once again, got to work with some amazing producers. Further, I think there’s a lot of growth because I’m not holding back. Sometimes, the younger me being in these situations with all these different opinions, I might got too much in myself sometimes and didn’t say all the things that I wanted to say. Whereas now, I’m just saying what I think and feel”.

I am going to end up with a review of First Class. It is a wonderful E.P. and another remarkable chapter. I loved 2017’s Highly Flammable and, upon listening to the mini-album, I was pretty blown away! The same can be said of First Class. When London in Stereo reviewed First Class, this is what they had to say:

“It’s been three years since South London rapper Nadia Rose released her debut EP, Highly Flammable. During that period (2017), there was a lot of hype around her name and the project was a snack for fans to nibble on ’til she released her debut album. Unfortunately, she got caught up in a bad music deal and could only occasionally feed her fans singles and freestyles. Now, however, it’s a new era for the rapper and her supporters. To celebrate her artistic freedom, and prepare listeners for an era of consistency, she has released First Class.

On the opening track ‘Sugar Zaddy’, her witty lyrics and rhyme skills shine as she drops braggadocious lines. In the song she raps, “Big titties that resemble the racks // Cat, fat like the rest of the stack.” Meanwhile, on the Gemini anthem ‘Too Bad’ she adds another melodic hook to her collection while rapping about what it’s like to be in a relationship with Geminis.

First Class is like a Christmas present you can’t wait to open. In this case, 6th of August is Christmas Day, and ‘Werk It Out’ and ‘Higher’ are the rapper’s gifts to listeners. Beyond the fact that both are fresh (never been heard before) songs, Nadia Rose hits high notes like Adele over guitar riffs and smooth harmonies on ‘Higher’. While on ‘Werk It Out’ the touch of the bass guitar in the beat makes it a standout production-wise.

Nadia Rose is a confident rapper who will flaunt her endowments whenever she gets the chance to and, with the EP title, she asserts that she is in a class of her own. Also, on songs like ‘Sugar Zaddy’ and ‘Bad N Boujee’ her verses come with Swagger. On the latter, she says, “Already know I’m a cocky bitch.” Her hilarious descriptions lead to spit-take moments that make her a captivating rapper who holds your full attention. First Class might be a 5-track project, but it’s filled with anthems from start to finish, leaving listeners thrilled ’til the end”.

I wonder whether we will hear anything more from Nadia Rose in 2021. She featured on the Bad Habits single alongside TiZ EAST and Moelogo; she paired with Melanie C on the fantastic Fearless. Having joined forces with a Spice Girl and having huge fans like Rihanna, there is no doubt that Nadia Rose has a large and acclaimed fanbase. I feel she will continue to eschew the charms and attempts of a big label and direct her career in her own way. Succumbing to temptation – if there is any about signing with a big label – is quite hard. In the rising and always-brilliant Nadia Rose, we have an artist who is likely to be…