Born and raised in sunny Los Angeles, California, a 19-year-old rapper named Nate Savage is making a name for himself with his career in the music industry. After “freestyling with [his] friends at lunch, [he] eventually started experimenting with garage band,” and once he figured out what he was doing in the booth, the rest is history. Pulling inspiration from Kanye West, Travis Scott, and even John Lennon, he progresses everyday and strives to continue developing and evolving his dynamic style of rapping.
After dropping the track Old Me (prod Beast Boy) about 3 months ago, we got hit in the face with a tightly produced banger. Racking up several thousand plays easily on SoundCloud, he raps about staying the same even as his current situation is changing. With all of the new clothes, women, and drugs, he has “new shit,” but it’s still the same old Nate Savage. Giving fans an early taste of the new music, Old Me definitely did the job that Nate Savage wanted it to do. Although the song didn’t make the new EP track list, it still gave a listeners an idea of what to expect from him this year.
Out with a brand new, 10-track EP titled Disappointed But Not Surprised, the LA rapper released an intricate set of songs that cohesively come together to form an overall great project. Opening up with Way More and its spacey beat, produced by Eem Triplin, the booming 808 pairs well with the hard chorus:
“Jive like a slave with these chains on,
Looking live with the pain when the fame’s gone.
Mr. finesse I do not care ’bout how your day going
To the cash I’m never last I need it way more“
Growing up in LA, “[he] used to hang out with kids way older than [him] and they put [him] on to a lot of stuff,” but as they were older, he spent a lot of time by himself. In order to really create buzz surrounding his newest project release Disappointed But Not Surprised, he released a single, Sip Alot ft Nj Fuego, from the tape along with a great music video shot by Carlos Peralta. Catching eyes and turning heads with the incredible videography in the video, he raps over a flossy instrumental and auto-tuned vocals run circles in your head after the catchy hook. An ode to the drug of choice of many in the hip-hop culture today, the lean-soaked track forces you into the world of Nate Savage.
Rolling into the next few track, Savage keep the energy of the EP at maximum level rapping over an instrumental from Dirty Sosa, titled Down. Creating a style of music that he calls “smooth chaos,” each aspect of the project, the content, the vocals, instrumentals, beats, are seriously off-the-wall. Coming together to form a great work of music and a great effort from the LA rapper, Disappointed But Not Surprised is almost cinematic. No Wisdom No Heart, perfectly captures the culture that encapsulates the youth of today. Telling a tale of love broken by the temptations of society including money, drugs, and money. A classic story intricately told with Nate Savage’s unique take.
The song Company (prod. Swavve) struck me as particularly interesting as Savage appears to be the most vulnerable on this cut. Seeming to discuss a former lover who is no longer in his life, he masks the pain of that person leaving with other women and drugs:
“You’re not dead to me,
You’re just a memory,
Popping ecstasy,
Cause I can’t feel a thing.“
Blocking out his real feelings, he clearly was affected deeply when this relationship ended. At the end of the song it seems like he is almost lost in the music and in the emotions provoked by this love. As the next song, Golden (prod. MaxE-F) comes on, it is a perfect transition of emotions as he begins with
“Don’t know where I’m going,
Love was lost and stolen
Now my heart is broken,
But by soul is golden.“
Ending with the track Victory Lap ft. Nj Fuego, which serves as the end of the conceptual ideas behind the EP (even though there is technically a BONUS TRACK). Purging himself of all the negative energy that comes with failed relationships and everyday life in general, he uses this track to release it all. Ending on a high note, saving some of his best bars for the ending track, he concludes the EP with a bang. Still flexing, Nate Savage ends the entire project with the incredibly hard track along with Hotel-r00m and Fuego, and it makes the EP something not to miss out on.
Carrying great energy and charisma throughout the entire selection, Nate Savage definitely came through on this EP. With bright production and ferocious lyrics, he ignites the booth from start to end. If you venture to give this EP a listen, there is a great chance that you will soon be on your third listen, happily stuck in the vibrations that Savage blessed our ears with. Keep an eye out for this LA-based emcee, as we have certainly not seen the last of him!
Be sure to check out Nate Savage’s newest EP below!
