NateKodi
Nathaniel Kodi Wa Mwenze goes by many names; NateKodi,
KodiNate, NateK, YungNate, or my personal favorite “Nater”. Hailing from Macon, Georgia, this 20 year-old is “swagging” his way into the music industry as a sound designer, producer, and rapper. Following his first two mixtapes WTF Compilation 1 & 2, NateK released I Do My Thang and in April 2011. Last week, June 17th, Nate released It’s Kool, a mixtape that features K.O. King, BSway, and CelloSmoov3. What makes his sound so different, is his production style, taking
When Nate is not putting out dope mixtapes, you can find him playing video games, eating cereal, or making another based hit with his music business, Badstar Studios.
“…music is subconscious. Music is spiritual. Music is subliminal.”
Q. How did you get started producing and rapping?
Well the reason why I started, like I said, I was in Africa. I was listening to hip hop. I was listening to mad 50 Cent and gangster rap. I was inspired by 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Trying. I thought that was a good album. [Me] and my friend got into music because we wanted to blow up and we wanted to be famous. I started out as a rapper and the reason I started producing was because the studio cost so much money and I didn’t want to depend on anybody. We started paying for the studio
and I was learning from the producers in the studio. I was just looking at what
they were doing and just started jocking them. That’s how I learned how to use CuBase.
Q: Is that your favorite software?
Yeah, I like CuBase and Reason.
Q: Which do you like more, producing or rapping?
I like producing more but I like rapping too. I mean, I’ve been around so many rappers and so many different artists, and I’m not the most lyrical rapper, but I feel like rapping isn’t hard to do and anyone can do it if they put their mind to it.
Q: What is your creative process when producing? 
It depends. I like being around people when I make beats so I know what they feel. But usually I make beats by myself and my process is; I get a cool sample that I like, I mix it, and then I put some drums on it. And I put a lot of time in mixing and I put a lot of time in making everything sound clean. And also, I do a lot of panning and automation. That technical stuff.
Q: How would you describe your sound lyrically
and/or producing-wise? How does it set you apart?
I’ll say, as a producer, my style is diverse. I like experimenting with different styles of music. I recently have gotten into sampling. I like doing southern beats and putting electronic music on it.
Q: What about when you’re writing?
I like freestyling but I’m making this mixtape and I’m writing to every song on it. I feel like writing is important too.
Courtesy of Rosario E.
Q: What is your favorite song to perform and why?
There’s so many of them [Haha!] Right now…this song I made- it’s an instrumental- called Sonic Dream. It’s influenced by some of the based music I was listening to and the producers. It’s Seattle hip hop, they call it Based Music. I think their music is pretty cool. They sample video games and……they
sample video games!
Princess Peach
Q: Yeah, I remember you did some song called Princess Peach. I LOVE that song!
Yeah that is an awesome song. I sampled
that from Super Mario 64. You know the level where you go into the castle and it’s like a blue room? That’s the track for the song and I reversed it.
Q: Yeah, I remember that level. I like that Eliza Thornberry joint too.
Yeah, we just rapped on that today! You can download it off of SoundCloud. It’s free.
Eliza Thornberry Swag
Q: Cool! So onto performances; What is your most memorable performance?
That performance with Mosley. [Haha!]
Just kidding. When I was in Africa, I was trying to be a rapper. That’s when I started rapping and we did some shows out there. It was pretty cool.
Q: Who are some artists you have worked with?
(musicians and/or visual artists)
When I was in high school I worked with some artists. They were doing southern rap and I was getting into southern rap. I’ve worked with my brother, K.O King, and Junior, he’s an R&B singer. I can’t really tell you who I think is the best. I mean, I think my brother is really good. I think you’re really good. …Mosley’s really good too- like when he’s really rapping. There’s so many people I have worked with and there’s so many people I want to work with.
Q: Speaking of the future, who would you like to work with in the future?
I would like to work with the producer KeyboardKid206 and all the Seattle rappers (the based music people.) I want to rap with Lil B. I want to rap with Jay-Z. I want to rap with Kanye West. Jay Elec. I want to
work with Wakka Flock-
Q: I’m NOT about to name that name.[Haha!] I just can’t do that. Anyway, so what are some projects you are currently working on?
Right now, I’m working on a mixtape called, It’s Kool, because I have a song I’m working on called It’s Kool. I just made the cover for it today. I think the title is pretty simple. It’s coming out next week…maybe like Friday.
Q: At Common Since…, we try to emphasize the relationship
between art and music. As a SCAD student, do you have any thoughts on how they
relate?
Since I’ve been at SCAD, I feel like the classes I’ve taken for sound have influenced me musically ‘cause I’ve learned about sound effects and I like incorporating sound effects in my music now.
I feel like music is subconscious. Music is spiritual. Music is subliminal. I want my music to have a subliminal feel to it. When people listen to my music, I want people to listen to it, not just vibe to it. I want people to listen to the sounds and listen to the lyrics. I feel like that would be a cool rendition [or] a cool way of seeing hip hop.
Q: For your fans out there, how can they get in contact with you?
Google me. [Haha!] You can Google me at natekodi.com, I just made a website. I got my Tumblr, natekodi.tumblr.com. My youtube, youtube.com/natekodi. I have my SoundCloud. Soundcloud is where I’m going to put most of my music. www.soundcloud.com/natekodi. Most of the music I have on SoundCloud is free.
You can find Nate’s I’m Kool mixtape at this link: http://soundcloud.com/natekodi/sets/itskool. Also, be sure to follow Nate on Twitter @natekodi.
Common Since... 