December 20, 2025 • 25 mins
In the latest episode of Deeper Than Music Radio, host Markivus Nious sits down with the multi-talented Nate Hicks, an artist who not only sings and raps but also serves as an EMT firefighter. Nate’s journey from a humble background to pursuing his passion for music is both inspiring and relatable, making this episode a must-listen for anyone chasing their dreams.
Section 1: Discovering a Passion for Music
Nate Hicks shares that his love for music wasn’t apparent until his teenage years. Growing up in a family with musical influences, including a father who sings and a sister who appeared on The Voice, Nate found himself exploring various genres. It wasn’t until he moved to Toledo, Ohio, that he discovered his singing talent while joining a youth choir with friends. This pivotal moment ignited a passion that would shape his future.
Section 2: Musical Influences and Inspirations
When asked about his musical influences, Nate mentions artists like John Legend and Molly Music, who have significantly impacted his sound. He admires the authenticity in their music, which resonates with his own journey. Nate also reflects on being compared to vocal greats like Kim and Joe, which motivated him to explore their music and integrate elements of their styles into his own.
Section 3: The Duality of Music and Service
Nate’s artistic journey does not exist in isolation; it is intertwined with his role as an EMT firefighter. He explains how his upbringing in a family that experienced homelessness instilled in him a deep desire to serve others. This desire to help people is reflected in his music, which often touches on themes of spirituality, love, and personal growth. Nate emphasizes that his acts of service are a crucial part of his identity and creative expression.
Section 4: The Creative Process
Nate's creative process has evolved over the years. Initially, he would find beats online and derive inspiration from them, but now he incorporates his instrumental skills with the piano and guitar. He describes his songwriting journey as one of self-discovery, where he often journals his thoughts and later transforms them into songs. This multifaceted approach allows him to create music that is both personal and relatable.
Section 5: Balancing Spirituality and Music
Addressing the challenges of balancing his R&B music with his spiritual beliefs, Nate shares how his current pastors support his artistic endeavors. He believes that as long as he remains true to himself and his values, he will continue to create music that resonates with his audience. Nate's journey reflects the importance of authenticity in artistry, especially when navigating the complexities of personal beliefs and public perception.
Conclusion: Key Takeaways
Nate Hicks' journey is a testament to the power of resilience and passion. From discovering his musical talent in a youth choir to navigating the challenges of the music industry while serving as an EMT firefighter, Nate exemplifies the idea that it’s possible to pursue multiple passions. His story encourages aspiring artists to stay true to themselves and their roots while embracing the journey of self-discovery.
Tags: Nate Hicks, Deeper Than Music, podcast, music journey, R&B artist, EMT firefighter, creative process, musical influences, spirituality in music, authenticity in artistry.
Be sure to like, subscribe, following and leave a comment about this great episode.
Check out our Nious Media Merch store: https://nious-media.printful.me/
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/deeper-than-music-with-markivus--2705530/support.
Section 1: Discovering a Passion for Music
Nate Hicks shares that his love for music wasn’t apparent until his teenage years. Growing up in a family with musical influences, including a father who sings and a sister who appeared on The Voice, Nate found himself exploring various genres. It wasn’t until he moved to Toledo, Ohio, that he discovered his singing talent while joining a youth choir with friends. This pivotal moment ignited a passion that would shape his future.
Section 2: Musical Influences and Inspirations
When asked about his musical influences, Nate mentions artists like John Legend and Molly Music, who have significantly impacted his sound. He admires the authenticity in their music, which resonates with his own journey. Nate also reflects on being compared to vocal greats like Kim and Joe, which motivated him to explore their music and integrate elements of their styles into his own.
Section 3: The Duality of Music and Service
Nate’s artistic journey does not exist in isolation; it is intertwined with his role as an EMT firefighter. He explains how his upbringing in a family that experienced homelessness instilled in him a deep desire to serve others. This desire to help people is reflected in his music, which often touches on themes of spirituality, love, and personal growth. Nate emphasizes that his acts of service are a crucial part of his identity and creative expression.
Section 4: The Creative Process
Nate's creative process has evolved over the years. Initially, he would find beats online and derive inspiration from them, but now he incorporates his instrumental skills with the piano and guitar. He describes his songwriting journey as one of self-discovery, where he often journals his thoughts and later transforms them into songs. This multifaceted approach allows him to create music that is both personal and relatable.
Section 5: Balancing Spirituality and Music
Addressing the challenges of balancing his R&B music with his spiritual beliefs, Nate shares how his current pastors support his artistic endeavors. He believes that as long as he remains true to himself and his values, he will continue to create music that resonates with his audience. Nate's journey reflects the importance of authenticity in artistry, especially when navigating the complexities of personal beliefs and public perception.
Conclusion: Key Takeaways
Nate Hicks' journey is a testament to the power of resilience and passion. From discovering his musical talent in a youth choir to navigating the challenges of the music industry while serving as an EMT firefighter, Nate exemplifies the idea that it’s possible to pursue multiple passions. His story encourages aspiring artists to stay true to themselves and their roots while embracing the journey of self-discovery.
Tags: Nate Hicks, Deeper Than Music, podcast, music journey, R&B artist, EMT firefighter, creative process, musical influences, spirituality in music, authenticity in artistry.
Be sure to like, subscribe, following and leave a comment about this great episode.
Check out our Nious Media Merch store: https://nious-media.printful.me/
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/deeper-than-music-with-markivus--2705530/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
The morning, good evening, wherever you are in the world,
Deeper the Music Radio, Behind every great song, there's an
even greater story. I like to say, what's up to
everybody listening to us on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Geo seven, iHeartRadio,
Spotify and all the platforms that are streaming deep of
the music. And also now we're on YouTube. So if
you're listening to us on any of those platforms, like subscribe, comment,
(00:29):
and let us know your thoughts. Today we have a
very special guest, one of the type of artists man
that I could really appreciate. Man, I appreciate those in
the vein of Lauren Hill, in the vein of Fonte,
in the vein of Missy. I'm talking about people that
cannot only sing, they can rap. He's also an instrumentalist.
He goes by way of the Midwest end of South
(00:52):
and he's also done shows as far as Jamaica. And
another thing is he's an EMT and firefighter. So, ladies
and gentlemen, we have Nate Hicks here on Deeper than Music.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
How you doing brother, Hello all as well. I'm grateful
to be here. Thank you for having me. No complaints
from me. God is good life.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
It's been no no worries.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
And like we were talking earlier, you're out there in
the Midwest man, and living in southern Illinois.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
I know how you fridgid up there right now. It's
a little chiller man, you had.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
We're well, you're still in MC writer. You learn you're
also an instrumentalist.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Did you know at a young age that music was
your passion and what you wanted to pursue?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
No, not really, Honestly, I found out along the way.
I knew I liked listening to music. I grew up
on gospel music, and I wanted to branch out into
other genres. I kind of had to sneak, you know,
around my parents. From there. It took probably up until
my eighth grade years when I actually discovered I could sing.
I liked singing, but I didn't know I could sing
(01:51):
until we moved up to Toledo from Atlanta. Okay, some
of the homies that I had just made some new
friends playing football, and they joined the new choir at
church and invited me to join with them. So I did,
and from there it turned into an actual passion of mine.
So started singing. From there, I started picking around on
the piano from there and then you know, senior year
(02:13):
of high school, well, no, senior year of college, I
picked up the guitar. So wow, spin a journey's been
a journey.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Man and what like?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
So singing, and then what motivated you to did you
do you come from a musical family or a singing family?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, I would say so. My dad used to chase
the dream. Okay, he still sings, you know, whether it
be church or just you know, singing to my mom
or around the house. Still sings. My little sister Rolano
was just a contestant on season twenty seven of the
Voice and she made it quite far.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
And I also have eight other siblings, so most of
us can carry a tune at the very very least.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Wow wow wow.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
And so you said Midwest and then Southern roots. Does
that is that also inspiration or behind your sound? Do
you intertwine it too?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Still like, as far as my sound being developed, comes
mainly from the people that I've listened to along the way,
just like John Legend has been a huge inspiration. Yeah man, Yeah,
Molly Music, Jonathan mc renald that just really like their
sound and their authenticity and the music. So I'd say
really the sound kind of developed from them, though I
(03:22):
don't know them personally, more so than a specific region.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
John Legend Man, who else? Like, who else are your influences?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I've been compared a lot to Kim a little bit.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Joe Kim a little bit. Goodness.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Yeah, so these are people that you know, I didn't
necessarily grow up on their music, but when people started saying,
you know, they can hear a little bit of them
and me, of course I had to branch out and
start listening a little bit. And I can see it,
and I do desire to have the same type of
influence and impact you know that they have had with
their careers.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
No, Kim and Joe Man, they bring it man, So
that's huge, huge compliments man. And also I mentioned that
you are EMT and the Firefighter. I'm not gonna lie man.
One of my favorite shows is Chicago Fire Dude.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Very intrigued.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Side question, man, is is that realistic or is that
just Hollywood?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Like in some of this stuff is pretty accurate, but
a lot of it is not. I can appreciate how
they do try to intertwine some accurate information, so like
when they're speaking in medical terms and stuff like that.
I'm like, I know what that means and it applies
to this situation. So yeah, I can appreciate that. But
some of it is definitely theatrics, you know, because you
got to make make for good.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
I'm like, man, it's not every week every episode something
crazy happens. They gotta be a time but they it's
like normal. But like you said, it's the uh, it's
the you gotta yeah, you gotta keep the theatrics in it. So, like, Nate,
what is what inspires you?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Man?
Speaker 1 (04:47):
What inspires you to create and make music? Because I
act like I think that access services is part of
your DNA.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Yes, okay, So.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Just a little bit of family history again. I have
eight siblings. Parents come from very humble roots, and my
family was actually homeless, which is why we moved from
Atlanta to Toledo.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yeah, So we were, you know, spending time sleeping with family,
you know, and friends. Family friends. They would allow us
to utilize their face for a little bit of time
until we had to move on, and eventually we Since
my mom has roots in Toledo, we came where the
family support was. So the acts of service again is
part of my DNA. I've always had a heart for people,
(05:30):
which is why I ended up going to school for
social work. It was while I was in school that
I discovered, you know, that I wanted to actually do
music full time.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Yeah, as soon as.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
I realized that I wanted to do that, I wanted
to drop out of school, but I finished a degree.
And again it's a part of me. So I would
say the first song that I ever wrote was a
gospel song, got to stay in touch with the spiritual side.
But then the first thing that I ever released and
kind of pushed was more on the R and B side.
So there's a balance of the more entrance things, you know,
(06:01):
spirituality and stuff that influences my music and my sound,
and then there's also life experiences like love and happiness
and joy that also influenced my sound.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Yeah, because I was going to say, man, your EP
of road trips and intentions, it's to focus on the
journey and the why behind your actions. So like it's
like you said, it speaks to your access service and
you want to give service and also then tell people
of your journey. What is your creative process, Like how
does that happen? Like is it the melody in your
(06:32):
head first or your writing, like, can you explain us
to your creative process and how it comes becomes a song.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
If you will.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Absolutely, it looks a lot different today than it did
when I first started. When I first started, I first
started to beat on YouTube and instrumental and from there
kind of listen to it, let it speak to me,
so to speak, and then got like a subject matter
and just took that subject matter and ran with it,
put it all together and it came into to be
a song. Then as the years went on, I just
(07:03):
wanted to write and get some of my thoughts out
on paper. So I would write and just basically empty
myself onto paper. And then maybe even years later, I
would hear an instrumental or something and then take the
words that I wrote from years ago just from journaling,
and I would put it into the format of a song.
And then now I can also, now that I'm better
at instruments piano and guitar, I can formulate anything from
(07:26):
than air, so to speak. So it doesn't take one
specific process or one specific journey from start to completion
of a song. It can come in different shapes and forms.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
And then another question I wanted to ask is coming
from you know there's like old movies like The Five
Heartbeats or The Temptations. There was always in that group,
there was always somebody that had a church foundation right,
and then sometimes they would they would be challenged right
spiritually or then some people like I guess Tony Braxton,
she came from a very church background, and when you're
(08:05):
doing R and B, and sometimes with R and B
sometimes in the traditional church background or conservative church background,
it's frowned upon. Have you experienced any of that? And
then how do you balance the music with spirituality?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I have. I wouldn't call it a weird relationship, but
I guess growing up and realizing that R and B
music actually came more naturally to me as far as writing, yes,
and I felt like singing as well. The people that
I was surrounded with they didn't necessarily understand it at
the time, but I wasn't even in that environment for
(08:41):
long much longer after that journey started for me. My
current pastors to a husband and wife shout out to
pastors Gaming and Marquisa Corinth Baptist Church. They support me.
It doesn't it doesn't matter, they say, as long as
I can look myself in the mirror and go to
sleep at night and God has not convicted me to
do something different, then they'll support me. So I feel
(09:03):
very adding easy at peace with where God has me
right now. Yeah, I don't if there's anybody that has
issues with what I'm doing and how I'm doing it.
Nobody said anything to me personally, so I'll just take
it as it's none of my business.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I feel like too, like it's your journey. Your relationship
with God is between you and God, and God has
given you that gift, right and you understand the assignment
and you know what it is. So when you decided that, hey,
this is what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna do music,
what were your initial challenges Like, were there anything that
was unique that you had to overcome to make that breakthrough?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Yeah, So the very first song that I wrote and
recorded was in a bedroom studios, in the closet of
somebody's upstairs bedroom. It was Yeah, Yeah, I feel like
that's a lot of people's story and it is definitely
one hundred percent of part of mind. I thought that
that was how all studio sessions were supposed to be.
The end product sounded okay, like I go back and
(09:59):
listen to now and I cringe a little bit. But
I was very proud of it back then, and from
there I kept trying to get in contact to record more,
and he was just on a totally different type of schedule,
so you know, it was a challenge to find people
to record me. From that point on, I ran into
more instrumentalists, people that could produce stuff from scratch that
I felt could help me get my vision out. And
(10:19):
I realized that not everybody had the same drive, the
same vision for music as I did, so it was
just a struggle to get people on the same page
as me. Eventually I had to stop being cheap. I
asked for a recommendation, and the recommendation came from my
actual high school English teacher. He told me about a
friend of his who owns a studio that was years
(10:39):
ago that he gave me the recommendation and I still
record there today. Very professional Firefly studios in Toledo, Ohio. Okay,
multi million dollar studio. It doesn't look like much from
the outside, but you walk inside you see all the
equipment and the knowledge of the owner and engineers that
are house there amazing. So I've reached that breakthrough as
(11:00):
far as knowing where to go to record, yeah, certain processes.
Now the most prominent obstacle, I would say would be finances. Okay,
just to have the money to get in the studio
as often as I want to get out as.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Much as I want to get out there. And it's like,
it's your dream. You gotta invest your dream. And you
bring up a good point because I say, I know
a lot of talented people, but very few have the
drive and the tenacity. And then sometimes your vision may
not be necessary the other person's vision. And then I
tell people too, you may see somebody with a house,
(11:33):
or you may see somebody with you see the fruits
of their labor, but you don't know what they what
they've been through to get there.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Man.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
So now the drive the tenacity is there. And then
another thing that I like that you do is like
you have to be multifaceted. Like with me, I'm also
a musical artist, podcaster, and I work in aviation field,
you know, or traf control. And it's like, well, I
can't be multifaceted. And I like the fact that hey,
you you work and this is your other job. You know, music,
(12:03):
you can you can do more than one. You know
more than one things. I love airplanes. I love talking
to people like this is like talking to airplanes. And
I like doing music. So I'm gonna do you know,
I'm gonna do it all.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
You would love my brother in law.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Oh okay, okay, he's an aviation.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
As well aviation air Force. He's a technician also a
bass player and musician.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah, why not? Why not do it all? Man?
Speaker 1 (12:27):
If you had any dream collaborators, who would you collaborate with?
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Jake Cole is number one?
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Man.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Hey, I'm right here, I'm in I'm right here in Sanford,
north of Fayetteville.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
So he Cole he is. He is huge out here.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Yeah, yeah, that is awesome. I love everything that he
stands for. Obviously I don't know him personally, but you
can kind of just tell, you know, based off of
a person's energy. And of course you can be let down,
you know, once you meet somebody in person. I just
feel like that would not be the case with him.
I don't hold him on a pedestal, you know, He's
not got to me. But I really admired his work
(13:03):
and I would love to collaborate with him, plenty of
other people of the artists. I'm open as long as
the message behind the song is something meaningful, or even
if it's just a vibe, you know, as long as
it's not like over the top, raunchy or anything like
that that would deter the majority of my audience. I'd
be okay with collaborating with numerous people.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Nice and man, that's awesome. And then you like mentioned
like you mentioned Kim, you mentioned like Joe and I
feel like that era of music. How do you feel
about that era of music? And then like R and
B today, like how has it evolved?
Speaker 2 (13:37):
In Shanes, I feel like because of how heavily strapp
and hip hop was pushed and marketed that people have
a disposition towards that, So R and B kind of
had to take a lot of elements from those genres,
which I guess I would say that's how R and
B has evolved over time. It's taken on a more
(13:58):
yeah base, the type of feel, and I'm okay with
that for some instances, but also it has its place
and Kim era of the Joe era, it has its place,
and I feel like there are plenty of artists out there,
new and up and coming that are probably not as
appreciated as they could and should be, because you know,
the masses want more base heavy stuff.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yeah, and they don't realize that some of them, some
of them was created off exactly it just like, I mean,
up from that era, man, I just feel like, Man,
I mean even now Don B Kim Joe Man even
a case man, I missed that era.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
And then also you also have the you.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
I feel like, I know that you do a lot
of shows, and I mean even with your guitar, I
feel like even from your albums, I feel like that
energy is very intimate. Do you get a lot of
joy out of performing live? What does it do for
you as an artist?
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah? I do get joy from it. It's not about
the money. The money is, you know, a wonderful side
effect of what I do. But yeah, whenever I just
get to share. And that's even a struggle that I'm
trying to find balance between what I should do for
free or for very cheap and then where I should
stand on business. Yeah, yeah, as it relates to that.
But the one thing that I can always fall back
(15:17):
on is if I can make eye contact with one person.
I know that I made their day better or their
evening better. I did my job, and I have, you know,
a sense of fulfillment in that. So I love the
energy from other people. I love receiving it. I love
giving it if it seems like they don't have it.
And by the end of the session, you know they're
in a better mood and their vibe and they're having
a good time. They seem more in love, you know,
(15:39):
more present in the moment. I'm happy I did my job.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
So yeah, and then that's the challenge too with being
an artist, man of the music, being an artist, and
then the music business. It's also music, it's also business.
Like I was just before we even had this interview,
I was listening to an interview with I think it's
as yet man. These guys were signed a Babyface record
and they're like, we just wanted to record, We just
(16:03):
wanted to do music.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
But I didn't realize on the.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Babyface they had an exclusive deal where he was only
the producer and if they worked with any other outside
forces they couldn't. And they were like, look, this is
what we wanted to do, was music. We figured once
we get the deal, later on we can negotiate, but
they used to start off as a group that could collaborate.
That's how they got the deal. They did their own
music to then restricted the Babyface and how.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
It kind of like ruined the band.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And it's like, ultimately, you're an artist, want you want
to do your art, and it's hard for us like
to put a dollar amount, like we want to spread
our music and joy. We love performing, we love expressing,
and it's hard to draw that line, like all right,
when do I charge? When do I do this and that?
And you also had the you performed in Jamaica, man,
(16:53):
like how was that? How was the vibe in Jamaica
different than the vibe in the US.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Well, it's just it's an energy thing. And that was
like total happenstance. I went My best friend from college
just from Jamaica, and so I just went down there
with her. I met her family. I sent half the
trip with her family off the resort. The second half
of the trip, I went on resort. There was a
band playing and I mingled with them. I met them
(17:21):
one night and then a couple nights later they were
playing again. I walked up to the headlining artist who
currently lives in the UK now, and I just stoked
with her and she gave me a platform. It was
just awesome to flow from a song that everybody knew.
The band didn't even really know the song, but I
knew the audience would know the song. It was a
John Legend song. And then I went from that song
(17:43):
into a piece of an original and it was just awesome.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
So what is your favorite Okay, what do you like
about being a musical artist and what do you don't
like like about the whole business of music? Like, what
do you like in what aspects do you.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Like administrative stuff, paperwork? If I could hire somebody to
do that for me, yeah, and if I could trust
them to take care of business on that end, all day,
every day, I would totally outsource that. Everything else, to
the most part, I'm okay with. I love singing, I
love learning instruments. If I could focus my time on
that alone and getting better at those things, I would
(18:21):
totally do that. Okay, production and everything everything music I
truly love. But it's the business side of things. The
administration is kind of the issue.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yeah, And then I was going to say too, also
with you know, your love of service and being a firefighter.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
How do you find balance? How do you make it
all work?
Speaker 2 (18:41):
My schedule with the fire department is so good. I
might have to miss out on some gigs or something.
But in the grand scheme of things, music, I can
probably do a whole music career with the current schedule
that I have. We work twenty four hours, we're off
for forty eight hours. Wow, okay, yeah, and then every
three weeks we'll get an additional shit golf which is
five days in a row, and we get a decent
(19:02):
amount of vacation time. It just works out. And if
I need to like trade with somebody, hopefully somebody is
available for me, you know, it works out. And then
the job in and of itself, it can be touching
at times. It can be emotionally draining, physically draining, yeah,
mentally draining, all of that, But helping people is the motivation.
(19:23):
I've always wanted to help people. I went to school
for social work. Like I said, I tried a couple
of social work jobs. I tried teaching. None of those
were for me. I tried driving the bus of the city.
I mean, I love driving, figured you know, working driving
people driving, which I love and then people, which I
love would be great, but the administration there kind of
turned me all the way off from that, and then
(19:44):
the fire department kind of just selling my lap. And
I think that was orchestrated by God and he knew
what I needed. And I'm going to cherish that and
be grateful every moment.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I have no imp and I tell people and even
in the words of Great Steve Harvey Man, your calling
will always be in your ear and you always know when.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
It's like this, isn't it? Like I love the story
of Sting.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Like he was an English teacher, he had a cush
English job, but he's like, I want to be I
want to be an artist.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
I want to reach people.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
I mean, you have to align with you know, everything
that you want to do, and man, you're doing it.
And like you reach people via your job and reach
people via your music. So in this career, because I'm
pretty sure you're gonna have a lot more highlights, So
so far in your music career, what has been like
a moment where you were just like this is so surreal.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
And there's been so many of them. I'd have to
say my recent trips to New York, but we did
July and November of this year. It was for showcases
to be in front of record label executives and okay,
A and R's radio personalities and other artists. I would
say those moments kind of put things into perspective for
(20:58):
me because it was like a specially cure ready the
audience of people who were there looking you know, we
were there looking for opportunities, and they were there looking
to give opportunities. And you know, regardless of the opportunities,
I felt like they were tuned in and paying attention
and their songs that I've received from that has encouraged
me to go so much harder and it put things
(21:19):
way more into perspective for me than a lot of
my other shows have. So okay, yeah, yeah, and then
there's also a Christmas tour. I just finished up the
second show in Detroit with Mike Williams on Saxon's and
Saxophone Play here in Toledo. Oh man, Yeah, we've been
locked in. We found out that we've been doing it
for four years. We found out at last year's show
(21:41):
that my grandfather and his you know, family members grew
up together.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Oh wow yeah, small, small, Yeah. So for the listeners
listening and getting the backstory, and for the listeners that
haven't heard of you or haven't heard your music, like
I said, road trips and intentions, like how we did
you describe your sound?
Speaker 2 (22:01):
How?
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Who is Nate Hicks it?
Speaker 2 (22:04):
My sound has evolved so much over the years. If
you listen to my older stuff, you know, I can
appreciate people who appreciate it, but I'm like, there's so
much more and it gets so much better. I just
haven't been able to put out the quantity that I
would like as it relates to my newer sound, which
takes on I guess, more of an acoustic vibe, more
(22:25):
natural instrumentation as opposed to I don't want to say fabricated,
but that's the only word that's coming to mind right now.
I feel like my sound is soothing. I don't feel
like it's over the top. I don't feel like it's
two in your face. It might have a little bit
of an edge to it, but I feel like I'm
soft spoken in general when that kind of comes across
in the music, but it can kind of shape shift
a little bit too, so you might think I'm coming
(22:46):
on some smooth R and V stuff and you know,
you get somebody that's rapping a little bit and a
little bit more edgy.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Yeah. So because you said you said Kim Man, Kim
is that dude.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
It's smoth, very smooth man, silky smooth man. So and
Nate Man, thank you for like, thank you for your
time and sharing your story. So my last two questions.
First of two is where can people find you? What
does twenty twenty six look like? It's a shameless promotion?
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Time perfect. I've been waiting in this moment all my life.
My name is Nate Hicks. You can find me everywhere.
Just type in Nate Hicks music in a t E
h I c ks music. You'll find me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok,
maybe Snapchat. I'm probably missing one, but you can find
natehategsmusic dot com is my website. If you want to
book me, you can go there. If you want to
(23:37):
know where I'm going to be performing, you can go there.
If you want to know a little bit more about
my backstory, you can go there. If you want to
make a donation, you can go there.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
All in my website.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
If you want to just have a conversation with me,
I make rooms for a little bit of everything on
my website. So I'm trying to push that one, especially
because I pay for it. So I wanted to, you know,
I want to continue to be able to pay for
the website, pay for you know, creating more music and
things like that. So that's how you can support me.
Plan to do a little bit more traveling in twenty
twenty six. So if you're in a city that has
(24:07):
never seen Nate Higgs before, give me a call and
I'll come through there you go. Yeah, Yeah, I'm around.
I'm open. I feel like I'll go anywhere so long
as God doesn't tell me not to go.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Okay, So hey, y'all got his. Y'all got his socials
and old school. He's on the Worldwide Internet's look above.
So then my last question, what does music mean to
Nate Hicks Music?
Speaker 2 (24:32):
From where I'm sitting right now, the first work that
came to mind is connection. Music has allowed me to
connect with so many different people. So a shout out
to my manager, mister Stephen Byrd. He's been very, very
instrumental in where I am today and I've only known him.
I've known him for less than a year, and it
feels like a lifetime. So okay, being connected with him
(24:53):
and then everybody that he's connected me with, you know,
he's connected me with people who have connected me with
other people. So it's an ever ending cycle. I feel
like I have lifelong friends now because of music and
the connections that I've made because of music. There's that
aspect of it, and then there's the aspect of music
in and of itself can connect me to somebody just
because they feel the same way that I felt when
(25:14):
I decided to write a song.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Yeah, yeah, man, good deal. So, ladies and gentlemen, another
great episode with a multi instrumentalist, rapper singer in the
vein of Joe and Kim. Go ahead and check him out,
you know. Support again man, thank you for your time
in your sharing your story, your inspiration, and ladies and
gentlemen like.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Subscribe and also follow.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
And again this is Markuivis, Nias and Nate Hicks signing
off on another great episode to deepen the music with Marquivis.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Thank you
The morning, good evening, wherever you are in the world,
Deeper the Music Radio, Behind every great song, there's an
even greater story. I like to say, what's up to
everybody listening to us on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Geo seven, iHeartRadio,
Spotify and all the platforms that are streaming deep of
the music. And also now we're on YouTube. So if
you're listening to us on any of those platforms, like subscribe, comment,
(00:29):
and let us know your thoughts. Today we have a
very special guest, one of the type of artists man
that I could really appreciate. Man, I appreciate those in
the vein of Lauren Hill, in the vein of Fonte,
in the vein of Missy. I'm talking about people that
cannot only sing, they can rap. He's also an instrumentalist.
He goes by way of the Midwest end of South
(00:52):
and he's also done shows as far as Jamaica. And
another thing is he's an EMT and firefighter. So, ladies
and gentlemen, we have Nate Hicks here on Deeper than Music.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
How you doing brother, Hello all as well. I'm grateful
to be here. Thank you for having me. No complaints
from me. God is good life.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
It's been no no worries.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
And like we were talking earlier, you're out there in
the Midwest man, and living in southern Illinois.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
I know how you fridgid up there right now. It's
a little chiller man, you had.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
We're well, you're still in MC writer. You learn you're
also an instrumentalist.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Did you know at a young age that music was
your passion and what you wanted to pursue?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
No, not really, Honestly, I found out along the way.
I knew I liked listening to music. I grew up
on gospel music, and I wanted to branch out into
other genres. I kind of had to sneak, you know,
around my parents. From there. It took probably up until
my eighth grade years when I actually discovered I could sing.
I liked singing, but I didn't know I could sing
(01:51):
until we moved up to Toledo from Atlanta. Okay, some
of the homies that I had just made some new
friends playing football, and they joined the new choir at
church and invited me to join with them. So I did,
and from there it turned into an actual passion of mine.
So started singing. From there, I started picking around on
the piano from there and then you know, senior year
(02:13):
of high school, well, no, senior year of college, I
picked up the guitar. So wow, spin a journey's been
a journey.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Man and what like?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
So singing, and then what motivated you to did you
do you come from a musical family or a singing family?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, I would say so. My dad used to chase
the dream. Okay, he still sings, you know, whether it
be church or just you know, singing to my mom
or around the house. Still sings. My little sister Rolano
was just a contestant on season twenty seven of the
Voice and she made it quite far.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
And I also have eight other siblings, so most of
us can carry a tune at the very very least.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Wow wow wow.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
And so you said Midwest and then Southern roots. Does
that is that also inspiration or behind your sound? Do
you intertwine it too?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Still like, as far as my sound being developed, comes
mainly from the people that I've listened to along the way,
just like John Legend has been a huge inspiration. Yeah man, Yeah,
Molly Music, Jonathan mc renald that just really like their
sound and their authenticity and the music. So I'd say
really the sound kind of developed from them, though I
(03:22):
don't know them personally, more so than a specific region.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
John Legend Man, who else? Like, who else are your influences?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I've been compared a lot to Kim a little bit.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Joe Kim a little bit. Goodness.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Yeah, so these are people that you know, I didn't
necessarily grow up on their music, but when people started saying,
you know, they can hear a little bit of them
and me, of course I had to branch out and
start listening a little bit. And I can see it,
and I do desire to have the same type of
influence and impact you know that they have had with
their careers.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
No, Kim and Joe Man, they bring it man, So
that's huge, huge compliments man. And also I mentioned that
you are EMT and the Firefighter. I'm not gonna lie man.
One of my favorite shows is Chicago Fire Dude.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Very intrigued.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Side question, man, is is that realistic or is that
just Hollywood?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Like in some of this stuff is pretty accurate, but
a lot of it is not. I can appreciate how
they do try to intertwine some accurate information, so like
when they're speaking in medical terms and stuff like that.
I'm like, I know what that means and it applies
to this situation. So yeah, I can appreciate that. But
some of it is definitely theatrics, you know, because you
got to make make for good.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
I'm like, man, it's not every week every episode something
crazy happens. They gotta be a time but they it's
like normal. But like you said, it's the uh, it's
the you gotta yeah, you gotta keep the theatrics in it. So, like, Nate,
what is what inspires you?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Man?
Speaker 1 (04:47):
What inspires you to create and make music? Because I
act like I think that access services is part of
your DNA.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Yes, okay, So.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Just a little bit of family history again. I have
eight siblings. Parents come from very humble roots, and my
family was actually homeless, which is why we moved from
Atlanta to Toledo.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yeah, So we were, you know, spending time sleeping with family,
you know, and friends. Family friends. They would allow us
to utilize their face for a little bit of time
until we had to move on, and eventually we Since
my mom has roots in Toledo, we came where the
family support was. So the acts of service again is
part of my DNA. I've always had a heart for people,
(05:30):
which is why I ended up going to school for
social work. It was while I was in school that
I discovered, you know, that I wanted to actually do
music full time.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Yeah, as soon as.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
I realized that I wanted to do that, I wanted
to drop out of school, but I finished a degree.
And again it's a part of me. So I would
say the first song that I ever wrote was a
gospel song, got to stay in touch with the spiritual side.
But then the first thing that I ever released and
kind of pushed was more on the R and B side.
So there's a balance of the more entrance things, you know,
(06:01):
spirituality and stuff that influences my music and my sound,
and then there's also life experiences like love and happiness
and joy that also influenced my sound.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Yeah, because I was going to say, man, your EP
of road trips and intentions, it's to focus on the
journey and the why behind your actions. So like it's
like you said, it speaks to your access service and
you want to give service and also then tell people
of your journey. What is your creative process, Like how
does that happen? Like is it the melody in your
(06:32):
head first or your writing, like, can you explain us
to your creative process and how it comes becomes a song.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
If you will.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Absolutely, it looks a lot different today than it did
when I first started. When I first started, I first
started to beat on YouTube and instrumental and from there
kind of listen to it, let it speak to me,
so to speak, and then got like a subject matter
and just took that subject matter and ran with it,
put it all together and it came into to be
a song. Then as the years went on, I just
(07:03):
wanted to write and get some of my thoughts out
on paper. So I would write and just basically empty
myself onto paper. And then maybe even years later, I
would hear an instrumental or something and then take the
words that I wrote from years ago just from journaling,
and I would put it into the format of a song.
And then now I can also, now that I'm better
at instruments piano and guitar, I can formulate anything from
(07:26):
than air, so to speak. So it doesn't take one
specific process or one specific journey from start to completion
of a song. It can come in different shapes and forms.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
And then another question I wanted to ask is coming
from you know there's like old movies like The Five
Heartbeats or The Temptations. There was always in that group,
there was always somebody that had a church foundation right,
and then sometimes they would they would be challenged right
spiritually or then some people like I guess Tony Braxton,
she came from a very church background, and when you're
(08:05):
doing R and B, and sometimes with R and B
sometimes in the traditional church background or conservative church background,
it's frowned upon. Have you experienced any of that? And
then how do you balance the music with spirituality?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I have. I wouldn't call it a weird relationship, but
I guess growing up and realizing that R and B
music actually came more naturally to me as far as writing, yes,
and I felt like singing as well. The people that
I was surrounded with they didn't necessarily understand it at
the time, but I wasn't even in that environment for
(08:41):
long much longer after that journey started for me. My
current pastors to a husband and wife shout out to
pastors Gaming and Marquisa Corinth Baptist Church. They support me.
It doesn't it doesn't matter, they say, as long as
I can look myself in the mirror and go to
sleep at night and God has not convicted me to
do something different, then they'll support me. So I feel
(09:03):
very adding easy at peace with where God has me
right now. Yeah, I don't if there's anybody that has
issues with what I'm doing and how I'm doing it.
Nobody said anything to me personally, so I'll just take
it as it's none of my business.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I feel like too, like it's your journey. Your relationship
with God is between you and God, and God has
given you that gift, right and you understand the assignment
and you know what it is. So when you decided that, hey,
this is what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna do music,
what were your initial challenges Like, were there anything that
was unique that you had to overcome to make that breakthrough?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Yeah, So the very first song that I wrote and
recorded was in a bedroom studios, in the closet of
somebody's upstairs bedroom. It was Yeah, Yeah, I feel like
that's a lot of people's story and it is definitely
one hundred percent of part of mind. I thought that
that was how all studio sessions were supposed to be.
The end product sounded okay, like I go back and
(09:59):
listen to now and I cringe a little bit. But
I was very proud of it back then, and from
there I kept trying to get in contact to record more,
and he was just on a totally different type of schedule,
so you know, it was a challenge to find people
to record me. From that point on, I ran into
more instrumentalists, people that could produce stuff from scratch that
I felt could help me get my vision out. And
(10:19):
I realized that not everybody had the same drive, the
same vision for music as I did, so it was
just a struggle to get people on the same page
as me. Eventually I had to stop being cheap. I
asked for a recommendation, and the recommendation came from my
actual high school English teacher. He told me about a
friend of his who owns a studio that was years
(10:39):
ago that he gave me the recommendation and I still
record there today. Very professional Firefly studios in Toledo, Ohio. Okay,
multi million dollar studio. It doesn't look like much from
the outside, but you walk inside you see all the
equipment and the knowledge of the owner and engineers that
are house there amazing. So I've reached that breakthrough as
(11:00):
far as knowing where to go to record, yeah, certain processes.
Now the most prominent obstacle, I would say would be finances. Okay,
just to have the money to get in the studio
as often as I want to get out as.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Much as I want to get out there. And it's like,
it's your dream. You gotta invest your dream. And you
bring up a good point because I say, I know
a lot of talented people, but very few have the
drive and the tenacity. And then sometimes your vision may
not be necessary the other person's vision. And then I
tell people too, you may see somebody with a house,
(11:33):
or you may see somebody with you see the fruits
of their labor, but you don't know what they what
they've been through to get there.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Man.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
So now the drive the tenacity is there. And then
another thing that I like that you do is like
you have to be multifaceted. Like with me, I'm also
a musical artist, podcaster, and I work in aviation field,
you know, or traf control. And it's like, well, I
can't be multifaceted. And I like the fact that hey,
you you work and this is your other job. You know, music,
(12:03):
you can you can do more than one. You know
more than one things. I love airplanes. I love talking
to people like this is like talking to airplanes. And
I like doing music. So I'm gonna do you know,
I'm gonna do it all.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
You would love my brother in law.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Oh okay, okay, he's an aviation.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
As well aviation air Force. He's a technician also a
bass player and musician.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah, why not? Why not do it all? Man?
Speaker 1 (12:27):
If you had any dream collaborators, who would you collaborate with?
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Jake Cole is number one?
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Man.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Hey, I'm right here, I'm in I'm right here in Sanford,
north of Fayetteville.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
So he Cole he is. He is huge out here.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Yeah, yeah, that is awesome. I love everything that he
stands for. Obviously I don't know him personally, but you
can kind of just tell, you know, based off of
a person's energy. And of course you can be let down,
you know, once you meet somebody in person. I just
feel like that would not be the case with him.
I don't hold him on a pedestal, you know, He's
not got to me. But I really admired his work
(13:03):
and I would love to collaborate with him, plenty of
other people of the artists. I'm open as long as
the message behind the song is something meaningful, or even
if it's just a vibe, you know, as long as
it's not like over the top, raunchy or anything like
that that would deter the majority of my audience. I'd
be okay with collaborating with numerous people.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Nice and man, that's awesome. And then you like mentioned
like you mentioned Kim, you mentioned like Joe and I
feel like that era of music. How do you feel
about that era of music? And then like R and
B today, like how has it evolved?
Speaker 2 (13:37):
In Shanes, I feel like because of how heavily strapp
and hip hop was pushed and marketed that people have
a disposition towards that, So R and B kind of
had to take a lot of elements from those genres,
which I guess I would say that's how R and
B has evolved over time. It's taken on a more
(13:58):
yeah base, the type of feel, and I'm okay with
that for some instances, but also it has its place
and Kim era of the Joe era, it has its place,
and I feel like there are plenty of artists out there,
new and up and coming that are probably not as
appreciated as they could and should be, because you know,
the masses want more base heavy stuff.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yeah, and they don't realize that some of them, some
of them was created off exactly it just like, I mean,
up from that era, man, I just feel like, Man,
I mean even now Don B Kim Joe Man even
a case man, I missed that era.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
And then also you also have the you.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
I feel like, I know that you do a lot
of shows, and I mean even with your guitar, I
feel like even from your albums, I feel like that
energy is very intimate. Do you get a lot of
joy out of performing live? What does it do for
you as an artist?
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah? I do get joy from it. It's not about
the money. The money is, you know, a wonderful side
effect of what I do. But yeah, whenever I just
get to share. And that's even a struggle that I'm
trying to find balance between what I should do for
free or for very cheap and then where I should
stand on business. Yeah, yeah, as it relates to that.
But the one thing that I can always fall back
(15:17):
on is if I can make eye contact with one person.
I know that I made their day better or their
evening better. I did my job, and I have, you know,
a sense of fulfillment in that. So I love the
energy from other people. I love receiving it. I love
giving it if it seems like they don't have it.
And by the end of the session, you know they're
in a better mood and their vibe and they're having
a good time. They seem more in love, you know,
(15:39):
more present in the moment. I'm happy I did my job.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
So yeah, and then that's the challenge too with being
an artist, man of the music, being an artist, and
then the music business. It's also music, it's also business.
Like I was just before we even had this interview,
I was listening to an interview with I think it's
as yet man. These guys were signed a Babyface record
and they're like, we just wanted to record, We just
(16:03):
wanted to do music.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
But I didn't realize on the.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Babyface they had an exclusive deal where he was only
the producer and if they worked with any other outside
forces they couldn't. And they were like, look, this is
what we wanted to do, was music. We figured once
we get the deal, later on we can negotiate, but
they used to start off as a group that could collaborate.
That's how they got the deal. They did their own
music to then restricted the Babyface and how.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
It kind of like ruined the band.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And it's like, ultimately, you're an artist, want you want
to do your art, and it's hard for us like
to put a dollar amount, like we want to spread
our music and joy. We love performing, we love expressing,
and it's hard to draw that line, like all right,
when do I charge? When do I do this and that?
And you also had the you performed in Jamaica, man,
(16:53):
like how was that? How was the vibe in Jamaica
different than the vibe in the US.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Well, it's just it's an energy thing. And that was
like total happenstance. I went My best friend from college
just from Jamaica, and so I just went down there
with her. I met her family. I sent half the
trip with her family off the resort. The second half
of the trip, I went on resort. There was a
band playing and I mingled with them. I met them
(17:21):
one night and then a couple nights later they were
playing again. I walked up to the headlining artist who
currently lives in the UK now, and I just stoked
with her and she gave me a platform. It was
just awesome to flow from a song that everybody knew.
The band didn't even really know the song, but I
knew the audience would know the song. It was a
John Legend song. And then I went from that song
(17:43):
into a piece of an original and it was just awesome.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
So what is your favorite Okay, what do you like
about being a musical artist and what do you don't
like like about the whole business of music? Like, what
do you like in what aspects do you.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Like administrative stuff, paperwork? If I could hire somebody to
do that for me, yeah, and if I could trust
them to take care of business on that end, all day,
every day, I would totally outsource that. Everything else, to
the most part, I'm okay with. I love singing, I
love learning instruments. If I could focus my time on
that alone and getting better at those things, I would
(18:21):
totally do that. Okay, production and everything everything music I
truly love. But it's the business side of things. The
administration is kind of the issue.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yeah, And then I was going to say too, also
with you know, your love of service and being a firefighter.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
How do you find balance? How do you make it
all work?
Speaker 2 (18:41):
My schedule with the fire department is so good. I
might have to miss out on some gigs or something.
But in the grand scheme of things, music, I can
probably do a whole music career with the current schedule
that I have. We work twenty four hours, we're off
for forty eight hours. Wow, okay, yeah, and then every
three weeks we'll get an additional shit golf which is
five days in a row, and we get a decent
(19:02):
amount of vacation time. It just works out. And if
I need to like trade with somebody, hopefully somebody is
available for me, you know, it works out. And then
the job in and of itself, it can be touching
at times. It can be emotionally draining, physically draining, yeah,
mentally draining, all of that, But helping people is the motivation.
(19:23):
I've always wanted to help people. I went to school
for social work. Like I said, I tried a couple
of social work jobs. I tried teaching. None of those
were for me. I tried driving the bus of the city.
I mean, I love driving, figured you know, working driving
people driving, which I love and then people, which I
love would be great, but the administration there kind of
turned me all the way off from that, and then
(19:44):
the fire department kind of just selling my lap. And
I think that was orchestrated by God and he knew
what I needed. And I'm going to cherish that and
be grateful every moment.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I have no imp and I tell people and even
in the words of Great Steve Harvey Man, your calling
will always be in your ear and you always know when.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
It's like this, isn't it? Like I love the story
of Sting.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Like he was an English teacher, he had a cush
English job, but he's like, I want to be I
want to be an artist.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
I want to reach people.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
I mean, you have to align with you know, everything
that you want to do, and man, you're doing it.
And like you reach people via your job and reach
people via your music. So in this career, because I'm
pretty sure you're gonna have a lot more highlights, So
so far in your music career, what has been like
a moment where you were just like this is so surreal.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
And there's been so many of them. I'd have to
say my recent trips to New York, but we did
July and November of this year. It was for showcases
to be in front of record label executives and okay,
A and R's radio personalities and other artists. I would
say those moments kind of put things into perspective for
(20:58):
me because it was like a specially cure ready the
audience of people who were there looking you know, we
were there looking for opportunities, and they were there looking
to give opportunities. And you know, regardless of the opportunities,
I felt like they were tuned in and paying attention
and their songs that I've received from that has encouraged
me to go so much harder and it put things
(21:19):
way more into perspective for me than a lot of
my other shows have. So okay, yeah, yeah, and then
there's also a Christmas tour. I just finished up the
second show in Detroit with Mike Williams on Saxon's and
Saxophone Play here in Toledo. Oh man, Yeah, we've been
locked in. We found out that we've been doing it
for four years. We found out at last year's show
(21:41):
that my grandfather and his you know, family members grew
up together.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Oh wow yeah, small, small, Yeah. So for the listeners
listening and getting the backstory, and for the listeners that
haven't heard of you or haven't heard your music, like
I said, road trips and intentions, like how we did
you describe your sound?
Speaker 2 (22:01):
How?
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Who is Nate Hicks it?
Speaker 2 (22:04):
My sound has evolved so much over the years. If
you listen to my older stuff, you know, I can
appreciate people who appreciate it, but I'm like, there's so
much more and it gets so much better. I just
haven't been able to put out the quantity that I
would like as it relates to my newer sound, which
takes on I guess, more of an acoustic vibe, more
(22:25):
natural instrumentation as opposed to I don't want to say fabricated,
but that's the only word that's coming to mind right now.
I feel like my sound is soothing. I don't feel
like it's over the top. I don't feel like it's
two in your face. It might have a little bit
of an edge to it, but I feel like I'm
soft spoken in general when that kind of comes across
in the music, but it can kind of shape shift
a little bit too, so you might think I'm coming
(22:46):
on some smooth R and V stuff and you know,
you get somebody that's rapping a little bit and a
little bit more edgy.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Yeah. So because you said you said Kim Man, Kim
is that dude.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
It's smoth, very smooth man, silky smooth man. So and
Nate Man, thank you for like, thank you for your
time and sharing your story. So my last two questions.
First of two is where can people find you? What
does twenty twenty six look like? It's a shameless promotion?
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Time perfect. I've been waiting in this moment all my life.
My name is Nate Hicks. You can find me everywhere.
Just type in Nate Hicks music in a t E
h I c ks music. You'll find me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok,
maybe Snapchat. I'm probably missing one, but you can find
natehategsmusic dot com is my website. If you want to
book me, you can go there. If you want to
(23:37):
know where I'm going to be performing, you can go there.
If you want to know a little bit more about
my backstory, you can go there. If you want to
make a donation, you can go there.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
All in my website.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
If you want to just have a conversation with me,
I make rooms for a little bit of everything on
my website. So I'm trying to push that one, especially
because I pay for it. So I wanted to, you know,
I want to continue to be able to pay for
the website, pay for you know, creating more music and
things like that. So that's how you can support me.
Plan to do a little bit more traveling in twenty
twenty six. So if you're in a city that has
(24:07):
never seen Nate Higgs before, give me a call and
I'll come through there you go. Yeah, Yeah, I'm around.
I'm open. I feel like I'll go anywhere so long
as God doesn't tell me not to go.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Okay, So hey, y'all got his. Y'all got his socials
and old school. He's on the Worldwide Internet's look above.
So then my last question, what does music mean to
Nate Hicks Music?
Speaker 2 (24:32):
From where I'm sitting right now, the first work that
came to mind is connection. Music has allowed me to
connect with so many different people. So a shout out
to my manager, mister Stephen Byrd. He's been very, very
instrumental in where I am today and I've only known him.
I've known him for less than a year, and it
feels like a lifetime. So okay, being connected with him
(24:53):
and then everybody that he's connected me with, you know,
he's connected me with people who have connected me with
other people. So it's an ever ending cycle. I feel
like I have lifelong friends now because of music and
the connections that I've made because of music. There's that
aspect of it, and then there's the aspect of music
in and of itself can connect me to somebody just
because they feel the same way that I felt when
(25:14):
I decided to write a song.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Yeah, yeah, man, good deal. So, ladies and gentlemen, another
great episode with a multi instrumentalist, rapper singer in the
vein of Joe and Kim. Go ahead and check him out,
you know. Support again man, thank you for your time
in your sharing your story, your inspiration, and ladies and
gentlemen like.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Subscribe and also follow.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
And again this is Markuivis, Nias and Nate Hicks signing
off on another great episode to deepen the music with Marquivis.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Thank you
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!