The East Coast just isn’t letting up, and with such good reason.
One of the latest rising voices to begin carving his path towards Hip Hop stardom is Philadelphia-bred emcee Nate Runnur.
Touting a self-proclaimed motto of “Own Wave Only” Runnur embodies the common phrase, “Do what you love, and love what you do.”
Taking off this year with the single, “Everyday”, Nate Runnur isn’t showing any sign of a slow-up after unveiling his most recent 3-for-3 project last week. Long story short, we’re excited to see what this budding artist creates next.
Q: How did you get your start and what inspired you to take it this far?
A: I started writing raps in my dorm room my freshman year of college. Aside from that, my homies would play instrumentals and have me freestyle for them and they all would go crazy over me spitting.
When I noticed the reception I was getting, I decided to start taking it seriously and I started making songs and recording.
More and more people started really rocking with my music. So, now I’m more inspired than ever to keep it going and take everything to the next level.
Q: How have you progressed both as an artist and a person since taking music seriously?
A: When I first started I was just trying to make sure I got my bars off so everybody would know I could really rap but, now I’m more focused on making timeless music that people could vibe out to 10 years from now.
As a person, I’m way more serious about my brand than I was before. Everything I do or put out is a direct reflection of my brand as a whole. Whether its social media, my music, or anything else that’s shared with the public, I gotta make sure I’m giving the world 100 percent me at all times.
Q: Who has had the most influences on your art?
A: I would say my biggest influences are the people around me everyday. I’m usually with my bulls Kenny, Hez, Scott, Cee, and CJ when it comes to music. Most of the time we’re discussing real life issues that we go through on a day-to-day basis or shorties that we’re messing with, and all that gives me constant material to write about.
I write about my life experiences so the people and places that I’m around keep me inspired to make music.
Q: What’s been the greatest highlight of your career by far?
A: The greatest highlight of my career was probably performing in packed out cribs in DC. My bro Shaq curated a concert series where he would throw lit ass parties in big cribs but have performers throughout the party.
I headlined it and I’ve never seen so much raw energy in my life. The feeling I got when I controlled the crowd with my music–I can’t even put it into words. I also just launched my lifestyle brand called “Own Wave Only” and basically I’m just trying to inspire people to have the self-confidence to do the shit that they always wanted to do in life by seeing me put out gear, music, and a bunch of other cool sh*t.
Q: What experiences do you feel have prepared you best for this career?
A: Growing up in Philly definitely gave me the tough skin to deal with anything that’s thrown my way. When you’re from a city like Philly, music industry problems are light compared to the types of things you see or hear about on a daily basis.
I’ve also always been heavily invested into the hip-hop culture. So, I have a good idea of what drives it forward. I try to make sure I do my homework on how all of my favorite artists came up and I take bits and pieces of their movements and incorporate [them] into mine.
Q: What’s the message that you want to leave fans with when they’ve listened to your music?
A: Every time fans listen to my music I want them to feel connected to me. Every song I put out I’m shooting to provide a wave for people to vibe out on. Sometimes I make tracks about having fun and getting lit, or I might have a track where I’m talking about real life sh*t I’m going through.
But, by listening to it, I want listeners to feel connected to the different aspects of me and my life. I ultimately want to push fans to spend life doing what they love to do because life is too short.
Keep up with Nate Runnur:
