Meet Native James…real name Aaron James hailing from Ipswich. The innovative rising star today unleashes his punch-to-the-gut single, Hammer via Saviour Recordings. Combining Native’s distinctive rumbustious rap style and a filthy riff which chugs on throughout, the track is delivered with self-assurance and urgency. Listen here. Native has also treated fans to the official music video. Produced by Grade A Productions and directed by Reece Selvadorai, the visuals flit between the rap/rock artist performing with his band in an old abandoned building, and Native hooked up to wires and subsequently ripping them off in a rage. Watch the video here.
Of the single, Native James has explained, “Hammer is my own rallying cry about who I am and what I’mabout… it’s not to say I want everyone to scream along with my lyrics and get behind me and my mission, but rather to be shouting the words along thinking about their own version of what I’m saying — how they relate — their anger, their frustration, their mission, their identity… it’s meant to incite the community’s inner voice and to make it louder to build a community and make the people feel empowered my tribe… the tribe of native.”
Native recently signed with Saviour Music, an Essex-based artist-led indie collective. Of the signing, producer and label co-founder, James Curtis-Thomas has said, “I was physically blown away from the moment I saw the live video of the Reading Festival performance, and I just had to meet this guy and find out what he’s about. Backstage before his headlining gig, within 30 seconds of talking to him it was clear the energy, emotion and self-belief was the same from the video. When he got onstage that night, everything levelled up. In the studio, he was able to deliver that same passion from live to recording. We all knew collectively there was something special in this music, but we didn’t realise we were creating a new genre. “
Native James is gearing up to play Brighton’s Great Escape Festival tomorrow. He will perform as part of Escape From The Escape at The Pipeline, at 3.30pm. This is a free showcase curated by his new label home, and will also see Laura’s Dream, Nuns Of The Tundra, Holocene and Carpark play. It’s hard to believe that Native only played his debut live show last Summer, on the BBC Introducing stage at Reading Festival. He drew in a raucous crowd, performing a high octane set including his track Field, which can be seen here. Later that year, he played a show at the Waiting Room in Stoke Newington in December.
As with most of his songs, Hammer was born a freestyle rap – an awe-inspiring craft Native has been honing since he was at school. He first discovered he could freestyle when he was put on the spot and asked to ‘spit some bars’, a phrase that was then alien to Native. Since this defining moment, Native has been cutting his teeth, performing live in a different iteration to what we see today. Fusing his love of rap, grime, rock and metal, Native is finally creating the music he has always wanted to make.
Native wants to create a tribe and sees his fans as one big united family. He wants his live show to be a space for his fans to feel empowered, and be a space for them to leave their worries at the door; to heal, to rage but most importantly, to engage. Native James welcomes you to the realm…