Nolan Natasha "fuses the smart-aleck...attitude of the Beasties with the whimsical storytelling skillz of Buck 65." -Now Magazine.
Though the solo debut from transgender Toronto MC Nolan Natasha is entitled Beginner’s Luck, the album is anything but. Instead, it’s the product of a meticulously honed knack for lyricism, a finely tuned ear for rhythm and the ability to take on the most serious topics with cutting humour and clever insight.
Former front-man of queer punk band Scandalnavia, Nolan branched out on his own in order to find an outlet for the intensely personal subject matter, layed back flow and refreshingly minimal beats that would eventually make up Beginner’s Luck
Nolan Natasha’s music career began early. At the age of eleven, Nolan would hang out in his cousins’ basement during band practices and parties and soak up music-nerd chatter about the defining qualities of a great bass line or guitar riff. Later, the tough, proud lyrics of icons such as Queen Latifah, and Salt n Pepa, and the fierce feminist and DIY tell-it-like-it-is spirit of musicians like Kathleen Hannah and Tribe 8 would further shape and fuel his expression. The result is a mix of evocative, heartfelt storytelling and witty lyricism laid down on a deceptively simple and elegant scaffold of homemade beats.
“I’ve been writing since I was a kid and it’s always been about these things. Love makes and breaks me. Through writing this stuff down I get a better sense of what it means to me, where I fit in the world and where I don’t. The first time I heard a Bikini Kill record something just snapped into place for me. I understood that I as long as a keep communicating what I think and feel and someone else is connecting with it, then I have community, I’m doing something worthwhile. Once I started to learn the software and began producing beats, I fell in love with that side of things as well.”
Like Nolan says in A Bit Gay: “its not much, I made it in garage band with just the thoughts in my head and the beats on hand… its nothing grand…. But I was hoping that it might help you understand”
Nolan produced all but two tracks on Beginner’s Luck. Friend and renowned DJ Cozmic Cat - who’s shared the stage with heavy-hitters like Jazzy Jeff, Switch and De La Soul - lends her production skills on “I’ll do it tomorrow” and “Work in progress”. “Cozmic Cat’s beats are so inspirational to me, they don’t sound like anything else out there right now…Working with her gave me … a boost; from there I had a better sense of the sound that I wanted,” Nolan says.
Beginner’s Luck is a heart on the sleeve masterpiece with no punches pulled.
The 14 tracks tackle love, loss, gender politics, sexuality and identity; they will make you want to do everything from dance your ass off to drown yourself in a bottle of jack, but you’ll stay glued to your headphones, hanging off his every clever word.
“I can’t promise this record is going to be up your alley, but I can promise that it isn’t like anything you’ve ever heard.”
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That was a great set at The Gladstone. The transgendered MC Nolan Natasha in full effect, clever racy rhyming over a sweet-sounding electro-funk grooves. NN bare-chested, well-chiseled (revealing surgical scars in all it's glory) lit-up the stage with a commanding, yet kinky stage presence. The queer manifesto in full effect, invoking the giddy crowd to collectively quiver with joy.
I was really entertained by your set at The El Mocambo. Definitely some premier rhyming skills. Great turn-out also considering the weather wasn't too great. Keep to your musical vision. Peace.
Hey bro! sorry about chippys way way back! I gotta check my messages more often.. and then ..return phone calls.. also. anyway, been thinkin' about you lately! hope you had an awesome christmas + new years. I got a new skateboard! :) well, hope to talk to you soon (and maybe get chippys for real this time!)
