MEET NATE JOEL

a "rack" native serving us soulful rhymes and sweet treats on the side.

Nate Joel is a recent college graduate from the Tamarack, or “Rack,” neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland who relocated to New York City for college to fulfill his dreams of becoming a rapper.

Nate’s message is simple: He doesn’t have one. He says that he writes based on his feeling at the time and thinks that people will be able to relate to his reality: how frequently feelings change.

Nate prides himself in telling vivid stories with his music and hopes he can gain recognition for being himself. The track he recently released entitled “Love, Sahara” is a story about his relationship with his ex-girlfriend which he’s never discussed in his other songs.

Nate says, “I try not to do the same thing over and over again and I want to make music that forces people to have an opinion, whether good or bad, because that’s when you’re really moving the needle.”

Nate first realized his love for hip-hop in middle school, but originally had hoop dreams.

“I played basketball as much as I could and if I wasn’t playing with friends, I was playing basketball video games or watching on television,” Nate says. “Even though I rode the bench on my middle school’s basketball team, I was confident the NBA was still in my future.”

At the same time, Nate created his first rap persona: Hot Sox. He was not always the experienced and serious lyricist he is today but he still confidently performed his raps for his friends.

Nate gained inspiration from rappers Nas and Lupe Fiasco to perfect his skills. He held and continues to hold rappers like them in high regard. He admired their drive and ability to make their dreams to come true.

As many first-generation African American children can confirm, pleasing your parents is not easy when your passion is to be creative. Nate says his mother was “the stereotypical African parent” who aspired for her children to become engineers, doctors or lawyers. Despite this, Nate’s mother supports his dreams. Nate says that his mother is happy simply when he’s happy.

“My mom is like a living angel,” Nate says. “She often calls me on the phone to ask how many followers I have and she’s always impressed by whatever number I tell her… I can say with confidence that my mom is 100 percent in my corner.”

Speaking of followers, Nate says he’ll always be active on social media because he loves the connections he’s made and the reach it’s given his music.

“I’ve connected with people I’ve never met in real life. All because they like my song. It’s a dope feeling to have people excited when you say you’re going to drop new music.”

Nate originally detested rap music. He says that when his brother would watch the live BET music talk show “106 & Park,” he would snitch on him because he thought rap was vulgar. Once Nate was introduced to 90s hip-hop, that all changed.

“I used to listen to Rakim and KRS One daily,” Nate explains. “I really loved everything about that time period, and I know it played a part in molding my style.”

Nate Joel’s love for 90s hip-hop helped him with his job search upon graduating last May. When searching for jobs, Nate realized that none of the companies he interviewed for gave him the opportunity to focus on his rapping. But then he stumbled upon an ad for 2 Dough Boyz.

“I saw an ad for a new startup company,” Nate explains, “and in bold letters on the application read ‘Rap skills are a plus.’ I applied immediately after and I’ve been working there ever since.”

2 Dough Boyz is a food cart that sells edible raw cookie dough. All the menu items revolve around classic rap songs. Nate says he appreciates the connections he’s made and hopes to continue to “level up” in the process.

Nate has a simple tip for other young artists who want to start recording their own music and promoting themselves: Just go for it.

“Don’t let fear distract and deter your from your goals. I used to spend so much time trying to make sure everything was perfect and years went by and I had nothing to show for it. Don’t worry about how many plays you’re getting. Don’t worry about a lack of feedback. The beginning is not supposed to be easy, which I’m learning now.”

This year, Nate Joel plans to drop more visuals, especially music videos. He does not have any major goals other than to keep improving and gaining more recognition.

To listen to Nate Joel’s tracks and learn more about him, visit his Soundcloud and Instagram pages.

All photos courtesy of @NateJoel95