The current rap landscape is littered with a sea Lil’s. A gang of “artists” who look and sound alike, devoid of originality and the raw talent that once made hip-hop so special. While these artists may be dominating SoundCloud charts and even gaining mainstream attention, that doesn’t mean that’s all rap has to offer. Parting the sea of mediocrity comes S’natra. An emcee from Harlem who has been patiently perfecting his craft and bubbling on the low. His sound tips its hat to the golden era of hip-hop with clever wordplay and storytelling laced throughout. But don’t think he sounds dated, having worked extensively with Grammy Award winning production duo Brasstracks, they’ve been pushing the boundaries sonically; blending classic boom-bap, with elements of jazz, trap and more.
S’natra has been making waves with impressive features like ‘Opposite Ways,’ ‘Lemme Put This Cup Down,’ and ‘Wassup’ and stellar singles like ‘Power’ and ‘Can’t See Me’. All the while he’s been plotting his debut, carefully perfecting Subject To Change, “it was a bunch of trial and error. I had a lot of ideas. And I’m the kind of person that when I create I wanna try whatever I’m feelin’ at the time,” says S’natra. Long sessions alongside Brasstracks resulted in a 10 track effort that’s one of the best of the year. With no skips or filler, Subject To Change serves as the perfect introduction to one of the best up-and-comers in rap. The project is deeply lyrical without being unapproachable. Each track sounds perfect from your first listen but like any great rapper, a deeper appreciation forms as you delve deeper, understanding each story and connecting the wordplay. Subject To Change is what New York rap should sound like in 2018, rappers take notes.
Listen to the album below and be sure to read our interview with S’natra. We discuss growing up in New York, putting 10,000+ hours into his craft, how he connected with Brasstracks, his place in rap and more.
Tell us a little bit about your upbringing. Are you born and raised in NY? Did your surroundings have a big impact on you?
I was born and raised in Harlem, NY. My surroundings had the biggest impact on me in terms of music cause that’s where it all came from. My family, the people in my hood and a few of my niggas I went to school with inspired me to take this shit serious.
How did you get into rap? When did you start rapping? Why?
I think it came from it just being around me when I was young. My dad had a lot of records he played in the house all the time. One of my cousins lived in the building right next to me and he was a DJ back then so he had a lot of music too – vinyls, cassettes all that. I also had a lot homies I went to school with that was nice too. I started trying to put rhymes together for real in like the 7th grade. For some reason that’s when I started to pay attention to flows and song structures and shit like that and I started appreciating the music even more.
On ‘Number One’ you mention Gladwell’s 10,000 hour theory. How many hours do you think you’ve put into your craft? Do you consider yourself a master yet?
Man, I probably done that a few times I think. I wouldn’t consider myself a master yet tho. There’s still things that I wanna learn and it’s gonna take some time but hopefully I get there.
Can you expand on what you want to learn?
I’ve been learning how to produce using Ableton and learning how to fuck with the keys. I love piano so I definitely wanna get better at that. ‘Tonight Freestyle’ and ‘Wildfire’ (shout out my brother Radamiz) were both joints I produced. I never really put it out there cause like I said there’s so much more shit I wanna learn but look out for more joints produced by me in the near future.
Can you tell us a little bit about the title of the album? Where did Subject To Change come from? What does it mean to you?
The title of the album wasn’t even supposed to be the final name. I was messing around with a couple ideas but I just used that name like a placeholder. I had a few songs on a playlist in my laptop and just labeled it S.T.C but the more music I made, the more the title just made sense. I subconsciously called it what it would end up being cause I was going through changes at the time – musically and just as a person hustlin’ tryna figure shit out.
You said on Twitter that the album took months of mixing and re-recording. Can you talk a bit about the processes of putting the record together?
Yeah it was a bunch of trial and error. I had a lot of ideas. And I’m the kind of person that when I create I wanna try whatever I’m feelin’ at the time. I think that’s where the best type of inspiration comes from for my process.
The entire project was produced by Brasstracks. Was that always the plan?
It wasn’t. When we first got into the studio though, I knew it was different cause Ivan and Conor are crazy music geniuses. That made me wanna experiment sonically and see where I could go with it. By the time we noticed, we had so many songs in the vault and it just made sense to have the first joint be just their production.
When you can just say “na I don’t like that” or trust that they gonna call you out when you know you not doing your best – that’s when it translates into the music and you can hear it.
How did you guys first connect? How has that relationship evolved over time?
Just being around in the city, working with different people tryna make shit happen. The relationship evolved with trust. When you first link up and start creating with people, the fact that ya haven’t built that trust up yet kinda stops one person or the other from doing exactly what they wanna do. We agreed and disagreed on a bunch of shit and I think that’s when you get to a better spot in any relationship. When you can just say “na I don’t like that” or trust that they gonna call you out when you know you not doing your best – that’s when it translates into the music and you can hear it.
On ‘S’natralude’ you mention having to separate S’natra from Randy Leonard. What are the main differences? Is this a struggle?
I’m not really sure of the answer all the way yet, still tryna figure it out. An example I can give you though is like, on the project, I talk about my cousin Minnie having a baby and me being on the road. Situations like that come up all the time when I feel like I’m missing out on memories with people that been there for me before music. It feels like a struggle when I’m far away and I know a facetime aint enough you feel me.
The track fades out while your still rapping. What’s the significance of this?
I wanted it to feel like me thinking at like 3-4 A.M. – when my thoughts just come and go and I’m tryna figure shit out. It fades when I start talking about what I want cause I feel I’m so quick to help people out sometimes, that what I want gets pushed to the side or – like the track – fades away.
How do you feel about your place in the game right now? Does it frustrate you that less talented rappers are blowing up seemingly overnight?
I feel like I’m right where I need to be at the moment. I still got stuff I wanna learn and tie in with the music so I think I’m on track right now. It doesn’t frustrate me at all that other rappers are blowing up overnight. I actually like a lot of the new shit that’s coming out. I listen to everything and I find what I like about it and how it connects with me even though that’s not always obvious at first when you listening to something new. I like pushing the boundaries when I create music so I can’t hate on someone else doing it their way just cause I don’t like it immediately. Certain music gotta grow on you and that’s how it’s been for me these last couple years.
I did a lot of shows where 12 people was the crowd that night and I still went out and turned up like it was packed. More people don’t always mean you gonna be able to connect with them and have a better show.
I had the chance to catch you in Toronto and was really impressed by your live show. How important is being a good performer to you as an artist? How do you hone those skills?
I been blessed to have been touring for the past 3-4 years across the country and I think it’s one of the top things you need in order to have success and keep building a fan base. It makes the experience of being a music fan come full circle. You might end up fucking with somebody more just cause you felt their energy from the stage. I think honing these skills just comes with being able to put in the time to perform. I did a lot of shows where 12 people was the crowd that night and I still went out and turned up like it was packed. More people don’t always mean you gonna be able to connect with them and have a better show.
Speaking of the tour, how was the experience? Any highlights?
Being able to take this project on the road and perform the songs for people before it comes out was one of the best parts for me. I met a few people after a lot of those shows and I got to hear what resonated with them about my music first hand and you gotta remember – I’m going places like Bellingham, WA where I don’t even know if they fuck with hip-hop out there like that (shout out Bellingham they definitely showed love though). That’s experience you can’t get anywhere else but hitting the road. The craziest part of it all though was selling out the first night of tour at home. First sold out show I was a part of and that gave tour a crazy energy to start off with.
What’s next for S’natra? Where do you want your career to go?
What’s next? Hopefully just keep growing. Keep creating. Stay balanced. Hit the road again soon. I know when I think about my career and where I want it to go, aside from being able to support myself and my family from it one day, I just wanna keep making shit that people can relate to cause I love doing what I do. If it connects with people and I’m able to keep touring and growing throughout it all and not go crazy, I think it’s going where it’s meant to go right now.
