Nat Powers – Lyricist, Musician & Producer

4 April, 2016

Well known for his association with Death Row Records, Nat Powers is a lyricist, musician and producer whose range of talents has seen him work on everything from grime music to film scores and with acts like Run DMC, Ghostface Killah and Professor Green – all before he’s 30! BIMM Manchester welcomed Nat to a Masterclass to hear about his career, skills and vision.

As a young person, Nat states,

“I was trying to find a way to take music out of my bedroom and turn it into a career.”

His first stop was college to study music production. After graduation, Nat took on many jobs to make sure he could capitalise on his purpose and spend all of of his time out of work in the studio.

Nat continued music production at University and, via his online work, was approached by Sam Sneed of Death Row Records, who worked extensively with Nat’s idol, Dr Dre. On their first Los Angeles meeting they wound up at Janet Jackson’s birthday!

Sam became Nat’s mentor, introducing him to Curtis Young, Spice One, Skepta and Run DMC. Even with such high-profile names, Nat urged students to be level-headed and be themselves, no matter who you find yourself networking with:

The artist must also want to work with you. Present yourself as an authentic person. Remember, you are offering something to the artist too.”

Nat discussed ways to stand out from the crowd:

Strive to break the mould with artistry. Don’t categorise yourself into one genre, be open to possibilities. Have the confidence to be proud of everything you are capable of. Have no fear!

Live Sound Tour Management student; Alex Colwell took real inspiration from the session:

I needed that. It was inspirational. All this information was so useful. You could relate to him and believe in yourself.

Nat also vouched for hard work and determination as the best way to break into music:

Let your creativity be the steering wheel. I never imagined I would be sat here, talking to students about working with Public Enemy and Snoop Dogg. This is possible for you too, you just need to believe in yourself.

Charlie Gough, BA2 Drums, told us:

Nat offered pro-active advice and useful insight, with really helpful tips on networking and how to meet like-minded people that I can definitely take on board.”

Miranda Myles, BA1 Vocals, agreed:

As an unsigned artist, it’s great to receive advice from someone who has so much experience.

From a young music student to an international producer, Nat showed our students that it pays to aim high and work hard!


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