Photo by Deanna Trombley
The up-and-coming hip-hop artist Gatsby released his album The Vendetta. Gatsby has taken the Los Angeles music scene by storm and performed at the Becker Amphitheater on Wednesday.
The hip-hop sensation took the stage name Gatsby from the main character of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The artist connected with the basic human need to climb the social ladder in America.
Gatsby said the main character of the novel is a social climber in his journey of acceptance and his struggles are representative of our own struggles.
“I have a fondness over Gatsby because I think his character represents our struggles in trying to climb up the ladder in society,” said Gatsby.
The independent artist performed at the Sugar Spun Carnival Oct. 13 and is forming a partnership with Vatican Clothing.
His prominent list of influences include Drake, Lupe Fiasco and, most of all, Pharrell Williams.
As opposed to hip-hop with darker tones and diminished chords, Gatsby said these artists have a more soulful style with brighter sounding chords and an overall higher spirit.
Along with touching on meaningful messages and points, Gatsby admires these artists for their witty play on words and double meanings. It’s a form of poetry in its own way.
Given the chance to work with any artist in the business, Gatsby would collaborate with Pharrell. His singing style, natural talent and how he forms his beats together in the mixing process is what makes Pharrell unique.
Gatsby worked closely with his brother to work on the original mixing of songs in The Vendetta. “Tonight,” “You My Favorite,” “Low Low Low,” “LMSYGI” and “Crazy Again” are all products of their focused collaborative work.
Gatsby featured other artists in the album including Saint Anthony, Poetic Sky, Vatican Naters, and Llaves De La Calle.
A strong advocate of collaboration and unity, Gatsby was part of the End of Summer Festival in San Bernardino. Made possible by a group of ambitious and close friends, this festival hosted headlining artist Akir.
Gatsby will continue to work on his music and plans to have another album out by next winter.
Most artists used to think they could get on a label and their career would be set after that, Gatsby said. But as of the last five years, that is oftentimes not the case.
“Nowadays, with the way things are with the labels and whatnot, really it is all about a lot of artists coming up through the grassroots movement,” Gatsby said.
Gatsby is in the process of climbing the music industry ladder. He said musicians cannot get to where they want to be unless the fans back them up. Even musicians with connections have material that flops.
“We’re just regular people that need the support of the people,” Gatsby said. “We’re not rich or powerful and I appreciate all of the fans and their support.”
Gatsby’s music can be found on his Facebook page and at ListenToGatsby.com.
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