Born: December 30, 1981 Primary Instrument: Arranger
As long as I can remember I’ve been attracted to music with funk and soul. It started with Stevie and expanded quickly to Hip-Hop. Now living in heart of Harlem I don’t have to look far; its all around me. I am a big fan of all the talented artists that have something to say, and give back. They're the performers that head charities, build schools, buy books and make a positive change. That is the road less taken, but it is the primary force that drives me. Also.... around 18 I was introduced to tap dancing and the ole movie musical. I was floored and challenged by the caliber of performer; this is when I was introduced this incredible music. The more I learned ‘bout that time period and the music, the better it got. These performers rose to the occasion of being stars, they were more than familiar faces; they were personalities that the fans could count on and believe in. Music meant more to these people who were going through the depression and world wars; it was more than just a catchy phrase and a hot video. And the songs, the songs were gems that flowed out of these composers’ open hearts through these performer’s souls. Of course in the 21st century we have a couple wonderful personalities who fit that description; I’d just like to join the ranks. I want to bring brilliant and still relevant tunes back that the younger ears have never heard, (sometimes, with drastic interpretations, sometimes not) and write songs that will be as immortal as the ones from the American Songbook. I know the power of the right song is incomparable to any other art form. Whether it is expressing the words for how someone feels for the love of their life, inspiring someone to be the best person they can be, taking the listeners to a better world, or sharing oneself completely and singing about a broken heart. It is a wonderful gift to give, and I couldn’t dedicate my life to anything else. I intend to bring my music, along with the songs forgotten, to the generations of today by giving them something they’ve never heard before. I’ll start the journey by getting everyone’s head bobbin’ to a funked-up standard. Next hit ‘em with a tune that they can groove to, featuring the upright bass. Then casually mention before they slow dance to a ballad that the cut they were just feeling was written in 1935, we just put a little spin on it. I’m not here to stand on a soapbox and tell these kids that they should appreciate the music that I love; they’re too independent, and would change the channel before I finish my first sentence. I am going to bring the music to them, bring it to 2007- give it some flava. That way I can sing and spit rhymes to songs of substance. Reaching the kids from the ‘burbs to the cities. I live up in Harlem and love New York. I love the history, the opportunities and the mix of cultures and people. I also love almost every genre of music, depending on my mood. That being said; I don’t just have an appreciation for standards and hip-hop, I swear by both of them. The top dogs on the hip-hop scene prove that you can do amazing things with pro-tools in the studio, and lay down incredible beats layered with a thousand intricacies. But having that acoustical-live sound cannot be touched. Seeing a singer scat or genius musicians improvise in the pocket is on a whole different level. I‘m a pretty simple guy- I love real music- I love a funky beat “ I’ve don’t drink or do drugs- I love clever, thought provoking, or beautifully metaphorical lyrics- I love to perform- I listen to music spanning centuries- I want to inspire and give back- I’m pretty talented (a wee bit confident maybe), but know, without a doubt, my head and heart are in the right place. We are the Evolution of Jazz standards. I love certain aspects of hip-hop today. I love the way Eminem and J5 are storytellers who know the power and effect the words can have on their fans. I love the beats, layers, and the way people sing hooks together. But, imagine those qualities “amplified” with a real band. Having a piano player, an incredible one, that goes crazy on a brilliant solo. Or inspiring an urban kid to learn the upright bass because it is cool to be talented, and he can express himself that way. I want to educate them the way Nas does in the song “I Can.” And introduce themes of forgotten tunes… then in a couple years I can do a straight standard CD, and it will be cool to like and listen to my music… I will bridge that gap…I hope to interpret old tunes, write new ones and have them written for me with as many incredible artists as I can fit into one lifetime. My buddy Joe and just finished writing songs that fit into a bunch of different genres because “Good music is good music” - right? and “All you need is three chords and the truth”- right? Well, you be the judge.. You gottttta like a couple of ‘em, you just gotta
Last Updated: February 21, 2008
Nate is a talented music mogul who is inspired by the old and the new. He is among the cutting edge of
a major new direction in the evolution of hip hop and it's connection to jazz and music of the past. Jazz
has been termed as America's form of original music. Today's genres of music have their birth place
there. Follow the evolution from Plantation call and response, gospel, blues, blue grass, country &
western, ragtime, swing, bebop, rhythm & blues, off shots of the aforementioned, including hip hop
and you will see the development of music based on the lives and experiences of the people that lived
it .Where we have fallen short is connecting the dots with our music from one generation to the next.
Nate is a connector. The thrust of his music facilitates an appreciation of music by all generations.
People no longer have to segment themselves from the music of the young or music of the old.
Facilitators, like Nate close the generation gap and open the music to us all.
Eric Frazier- Jazz Journalist, (Jazz Improv) Author
“WHO is this new kid on the block?” I asked myself when I first listened to NATEKid. My immediate
impression,” Very cute, got the goods for modeling, let's hear the musical ideas”. Then I listened, and I
listened again. The ideas kept coming, there was more going on than just a mix of hip hop, jazz, and
funk. I played selected tracks to friends. They loved the jazz standards being modernized, their 30+
year old party generation kids loved it, even the 12 month old granddaughter grooved the booty. It was
refreshing to hear the minimal use of the beat-box and Pro- tools without all the dominant electronics
& hip hop anger that gets verbalized in their lyrics. Those of us who have spent years in urban
education teaching & training see this as a positive creative outlet as an antidote to racial
discrimination, for the Afro-American and Aboriginal adolescent facing a life of poverty, drug use,
incarceration and early deaths in custody. The arrival of Eminem and now NATEKid who lives in Harlem,
New York, is no accident. It’s the direct evolution of black & white kids sharing a common urban
cultural art form and then making it their own by sharing their influences in different ways. NATEKid's
version of The Pink Panther, Let Yourself Go, Too Darn Hot, I'm Yours, Blue Skies, Slap That Bass, & Call
Me Irresponsible (one of my fav's with a sexy R&B style),and the Piazolla Tango style of Cole Porter's “I
Get A Kick Out of You”, would have had the old boy chasing Nate around the block!! This is pure
musical innovation and would have had the original composers NOT turning in their graves BUT sitting
up and jumping for joy that their music has contemporary relevance and is living on, in the music of
genuine young innovators. NATEKid is keeping up a musical tradition, and connecting the dots by
making the music meaningful to his generation. NATEKid has broken through, he's definitely here to
make his mark!!
Helen Simon,s Dip.Advanced Studies in Education (University of Keele, UK)
University of Sydney Jazz Announcer/Producer/Reviewer Community Station Broadcaster
“ Since successful Caucasian hip-hop artists are as much an anomaly as white chocolate, comparisons
between jaFunk front man NateKid and Eminem are inevitable. But, the color of their skin not
withstanding, the rappers are as different as night and day. On his stellar debut, “jaFunk,” NateKid
accentuates the positive, eschewing hate rhetoric in favor of feel-good rhymes that,despite their
sensitivity and insight, do nothing to handicap the future pin-up's macho swagger. What's more, the
up-and-comer is not content to be merely ghetto fabulous: He's a bona fide music lover - an
aficionado of classic jazz, no less and wears his heart on his disc as well as his sleeve “.
” Eight of the album's tracks combine NateKid's original wordplay with alternately reverent and inventive
renderings of retro songs by the likes of Irving Berlin and Louis Prima. The result? Fabulous, period. On
paper, it reads like an accident waiting to happen. Yet in your Walkman, it's a miraculous marriage of
the urban and the urbane, an ultramodern, and refreshingly respectful, rejiggering of tunes that have
bypassed whole generations. Sure, teenagers won't know the numbers on which NateKid and Co. are
riffing. However, after hearing “Harness Melodies,” their slammin' revamp of “I Got Rhythm,” or the aural
strutting of “My Baby,” their hep overhaul of “Steppin' Out,” no one, regardless of their age, is going to
forget them. True, this ain't your grandma's Gershwin. Yet she'll tap her toe to it all the same. How
could she resist? How could anybody? “ - Charlie Mason - Contributing editor at Time Out New York,
TV Guide, Platinum and Album Network
“...Hip Hop...jazz...pop...it's really what Duke Ellington meant when he said 'something's are beyond
category!'...” - Dick Golden- XM Satellite Radio, Program Director Ocean 104 FM
“...NateKid's CD is more than just a mix of Hip Hop, Jazz, and Funk. It takes something more to blend
these elements together and achieve a style that is greater than the sum of its parts...”
- Mike Cuozzo- UPN 9, Director of Gravity
“The Harlem Renaissance forges a seductive partnership with Hip Hop on jaFunK's debut album. Lead
vocalist NateKid, a musician based in Harlem, mixes lyrics about his life and passions with classic jazz
melodies. The messages and taunt musical arrangements are uplifting. The band is surprisingly
successful at blending two seemingly different worlds. NateKid captures the diverse spirit of modern
urban life. At the same time the band is able to pump new energy into the horn sounds of New York
city during the hey day of the Cotton Club. jaFunK's first effort is and adventurous hybrid where the
influences of musical pioneers from John Coltrane to KRS-ONE find common ground. It's definitely
worth a listen.” - Dan Russo- WMUH, Allentown
Nate Lombardi proved that it's possible to mix jazz, pop.and hip-hop, with a little beat-box thrown in
for good measure! Where do they come from!?
Jim Caruso Birdland's Cast party
