I catch Natanya on a late lunch break, tucking into a salad on a sidewalk in London, where she’s from. The 24-year-old singer, songwriter, and producer is about a week out from her first headlining tour to promote her latest mixtape, ATTITUDE ERA! , a slick project that spans pop, R&B, jazz, and beyond, and feels fated for world domination. At least a slice of the online world populated by people who know a star when they see one—especially one inspired by the subversive theatrics of women’s wrestling. They’re called WWE Divas for a reason, after all. This is Natanya’s fourth project; she’s also toured with artists like PinkPantheress , Ravyn Lenae, and FLO, and counts Doja Cat , Slayyyter and Tyler, The Creator as fans. A student of music history and pop stardom, her artistic influences run deep and wide, from Janet Jackson to Tim Burton to the Cocteau Twins. But even so, nothing Natanya does feels pastiche.
Natanya: I’m doing Brazilian long heart vibes.
Greenblatt: You’ve talked about bringing bravado back to pop. Can you tell me more about that?
Natanya: We’re all human, and I feel like we have such a problem with the fact that we’re human, especially now. Being Gen Z, everything’s all self-help and how to improve yourself. We’re all maxxing. I think bravado is the audacity to stand in a room and not be finished yet, and not be perfect, and have things about your character that aren’t fully put together yet, but still be excited about the process of growing and learning more. That’s what I’m training for. I feel like that’s what ATTITUDE ERA! is all about. It was about me being audacious enough to say, “Guys, I’m here and I’m going to start growing from this point.” Rather than hiding myself until I was, like, Miss Supreme, because life is short.
Greenblatt: The name “Attitude Era” comes from WWE. Were you a WWE fan?
Natanya: I was a huge WWE fan. I grew up on it. I come from a family full of boys. I’m, like, one of the only girls, and it’s lots of cousins. So that was always playing on the TV every Monday, Friday—actually, every day. I used to want to be a Diva when I was a toddler. They always showed wrestling documentaries in between the matches, so I knew all the wrestlers. I started to delve deeper into the philosophy of Attitude Era itself, because it really changed wrestling forever.
Natanya: I feel like it stopped being about trying to be different from the sport than it was. I think they just leaned in a bit deeper into what made wrestling wrestling . The characters weren’t 2D anymore. They became multifaceted. They’d make mistakes, but you’d still be rooting for them. It made it so addictive because people love a story. So, wrestling started to give us real storylines.
Greenblatt: How do you do that in your music?
Natanya: I like to tell my story as I can. I think my music is super autobiographical in its own way. I’m producing it, the lyrics have so many metaphors in them, but when you really go in and decode them, there’s so much going on there. Even just the topics that I write about, the specific quirkiness, like “ On Ur Time ” or “ Sofa Joy .” It’s so specific zoomed in. I do feel like I take people on that journey, and I love to immerse people in the music with the songs.
Greenblatt: You’re student of music and music history, but you also understand what it means to be a pop star. I think there’s something so fully realized about your project that makes it feel original. And it looks you’re having so much fun. Are you?
Natanya: Yeah, when my B12 levels are right, when they’re nice and high. Like when I’m not having fun, I think everything suffers. I really need to keep that spirit alive, that sense of exploration.
Natanya: I bet you ask a lot of people that question! But I would love to do the best job I can at being the best artist I can be, and I’d love to look back one day and say that I really, really developed and I grew as much as was possible. That’s what I want to train for.
Greenblatt: Is there anyone today that you think is really doing it right, or that you really love their music or love their project?
Natanya: I loved Adela’s most recent album. Malcolm Todd . I’m going on tour with him next year, I think his newest album is so sick. But I usually look backwards. I feel like I’m such a history buff, I really enjoy looking at people who came before me who did really great things because there’s such a pattern between them all. I just remember watching lots of Muhammad Ali documentaries for some weird reason. Lots of Dorothy Dandridge content. I think she’s a queen. She’s just tea. She’s a diva. And I love Halle Berry! Everything about her is just one big yes.
Greenblatt: Is it better to want or to have?
Natanya: Oh, I think the picture that you have of fame when you’re a child is so different from how it looks when it starts to develop, and I wonder if more people feel that way. But it definitely has a different feel to it. I think they’re both good feelings, and they both feel real. No, they don’t both feel real, but they both feel incredible to think about. But one is more fantastical than the other, and the other is a bit more mundane and has a lot more admin involved.
Greenblatt: When do you feel most in control or most like yourself?
Natanya: When I’m having fun, for real. Like, I’ve been thinking about this a lot because I’m so cerebral. I’m always in my head. I’m such a thought daughter, but I feel myself and the most in my element when I know I’m having fun. And usually, that begins with a morning at the gym. Whenever I go to the gym, I’m that person on the underground that, like, skips two steps at a time. I feel so ready to attack the day. That’s probably the best answer I can give because I love every aspect of my job.
Greenblatt: You produced the album with Oscar Scheller . How do you choose who to work with?
Natanya: It’s a personality thing. They gotta love what they do as much as I love what I do. Because, like we were just saying, the bigger you get, the more things you have to do, and the more things you’re not going to be an expert in. So I love when people want to explore their craft as much as they want to explore mine so that they can give me advice and teach me things I’ve never known before. That’s important to me. And also, people that are a great vibe. Like, I need to be able to laugh with people.
Greenblatt: I’m always curious when an artist is like, “Oh yeah, we had a studio session and it didn’t really go anywhere.” How do you manage that when you’re collaborating with new people and it’s not clicking? I’d be Charli XCX in The Moment being like, “I’ll do whatever you want!”
Natanya: Being lifted up to the sky in the green dress? That’s crazy. I remember finishing a lot of sessions that I didn’t enjoy, and I really put my heart into them because I love to see the best in people. But then, there’s something in my body that’s like, “I don’t want to go back.” So I think it’s good to give people your time. Then, when you’re done, it’s like, “Okay, enough now.” But I think as you get more successful and you get busier, you have to learn how to discern. It’s so important. You have to know when something really isn’t worth your time because you’ve only got one body and one brain, and people want you in 50 billion directions.
Greenblatt: This is your first headlining tour, right? How are you feeling?
Natanya: I’m so excited. Honestly, it’s just one of those things you never think you’ll do. I remember making my first song in music class when I was, like, 14 and I just don’t know how all those steps have actually led me here. Like, it feels incredible, but it’s definitely a lot of hard work. I just try and attack the rehearsals with as much excitement as I can. When I’m stressed, I have a Carrie moment. I squee and get stressed. But I just try and make it as, like, Lalaloopsy as I possibly can.
Greenblatt: What was your favorite song from ATTITUDE ERA! to work on?
Natanya: I have two. My first one would be “Hush” because I think that was my moment as a producer to really consolidate all the stuff I’ve been doing up till then. We were working on these incredible synths, and I really just lost myself in that moment, making that bridge and layering all the textures together. I also remember the day we made “Show Me Right,” and I found that sample [of “Eppur Si Muove” by Enigma] and I was like, “This is so incredible!” I caught the bus for the first time in New York, and I was watching all these families get home from work, like moms with their babies, and I just heard the magic in the song. I was like, “This is really going to touch people.”
Greenblatt: How has your family adjusted to your fame?
Natanya: Oh my god, my parents have transitioned from tiger parents to stage parents. They’re the most supportive. My dad would drive me to the gym, and he’s like, “Just so you know, I’ve seen you in your room working a lot and I’ve been meaning to tell you this, but please sleep, please rest.” And my mom’s on Twitter every day like, “Oh, what are you thinking of this cosign?” They’re like, “All your cousins are calling about guest list, but I’ve got it. I’m gonna sort them out.” They’re so sick. I really relate to them right now. They’re my vibe.
Greenblatt: That’s so sweet. You mentioned how much you love movies. Who are your favorite directors?
Natanya: Well, my favorite director is Charlie Kaufman . He’s just the king. Every single thing that guy has made, I just eat it. Even Synecdoche, New York . I was watching these films when I was a teenager, so I was influenced quite early by them, by just the cerebral quality that they all have. Each film attacks a different side of the human condition and summarizes it in the most beautiful way with the most beautiful visuals. So, I love him. I also love Tim Burton films, and I’m a big stop motion fan. I love stop motion.
Greenblatt: Speaking of being cerebral, is it hard being smart and famous?
Natanya: Damn! Hm. There’s a lot to think about. I think the less you think about it, the better you’ll do. So, I’ve had to kind of turn off parts of my brain on purpose because it’s a life change. It’s a really weird life change. And if you think too much about how your life is changing, and the crazy stories that you have, and the situations that you’re being injected into, I think your brain can definitely have an overload. But if you just lean in, turn it off, enjoy what’s in front of you, you’re gonna have a great time. Like, take those Zooki collagen little things. Just take them! It’s good for you, actually.
Greenblatt : And what’s next? You’re touring with Malcolm Todd soon. Are you making more music?
Natanya: I feel like I’m working on my life as much as I possibly can because life can change like this . So, I’m just making sure I’ve got all the right friendships in front of me, making sure my love life is in check. I think that’s so important because, once your life changes, it goes really, really fast.
Greenblatt: Your music spans genres. How do you categorize it?
Natanya: I think it’s heavily influenced by music that I grew up listening to. Lots of pop, R&B sort of stuff, and from playing classical, playing jazz, Motown Soul. I had my big grunge phase, I have my emo moments, there’s some of that in there. There’s always an electronic influence too.
Greenblatt: You and Tally Francis have created this feline persona and visual world. Tell me more about that.
Natanya: Well, I used to go out with this guy for a while, and he was pretty serious about his life. He was doing his master’s, and I was figuring out what I was going to do after uni. I would just sit, like when he would go out for the day, and mood board a lot, like obsessively. But I would say it’s just super inspired by old Hollywood. It’s very fantastical. It’s fun. It’s punchy and it’s boundless.
Greenblatt: What’s your favorite thing to write about?
Natanya: Oh my god, I think it’s going to be the condition of my life at any given time. Like whenever I’m super in love, I write about love. Whenever someone is dogging me out, I will write about that. When I’m stressed out, I write songs about being stressed.
Greenblatt: Have any guys reached out and been like, “That song’s about me.”
Natanya: Yeah, they always know, and I have no shame about it. I’m like, “Yeah, exactly. And what do you think? Did you like it or not?”
Source: Fashion
0 Comments