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A Rockin La”teen”a. JD Natasha: The Generation Ñ Connection. by Sarah Atkinson It’s only recently that Natasha discovered Latin rock en español artists like Bunbury and Babasonicos, but she’s become an instant peer, with her first Spanish language single, “Lagrimas,” hitting the top 10 play lists at major Latin radio stations in New York, Miami and Chicago. But she’s also influenced by English language artists like the Beastie Boys, Slipknot, Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne and Lenny Kravitz, and proves this with her acoustic cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya.” She has received over 30,000 views on Sessions@AOL, enough to rival a week’s worth of play from other artists. I ask her about it: “Yeah, yeah, I just heard, it’s a really good feeling,” she says seemingly unsurprised, or maybe the news had not yet had time to fully sink in. She’s also been profiled on MTV’s “Advance Warning,” a show that “brings you artists on the verge of breaking big,” with her video for the English language track “Imperfect,” which aired during the month of August. At 16-years old, she’s a powerful, tenacious new talent representing the growing group of American-born teenagers and 20-somethings with Latin roots, who grew up listening to acts like Nirvana, Thom Yorke, Courtney Love, Pearl Jam; teenagers you’re more likely to see sporting a Radio Head or Cold Play T-shirt than a Café Tacuba, Julieta Venegas, or even a Juanes T. “I didn’t listen to Latin music growing up, I listened to the music everybody else listened to,…I like Nirvana, David Bowie…but I’m starting to listen to more now.” Like pop/rock artists Jorge Moreno and the up-and-coming hip-hop artist, Pitbull, Natasha was educated in English, spoke to her friends in English, but also spoke Spanish with her parents, grandparents; and, living in Miami, where there is a vast Latino population, she found herself speaking en español in many everyday situations as well. Natasha is among the young people you hear switching back and forth from Spanish to English during the course of a conversation, one of these artists who bring that bilingual culture into their music, writing and singing as seamlessly in English as they do in Spanish. She’s one of those literal overnight success stories: a client of Natasha’s mother, a hairdresser, just happened to be neighbors with EMI Latin president, Jorge Pino. One night she knocked on his door, passed along Natasha’s self-made demo, he listened, she was signed, and stepped into the lights. Is it overwhelming? “No. I was born ready,” she says with confidence and giddy laughter. Knowing she’s been through an onslaught of interviews over the past few months and featured in countless newspapers and magazines, I ask her to tell me a question she hasn’t been asked yet: “No one’s asked what my favorite color is, “ she says. So I ask: “Purple, because it’s a mix of light and dark, like my personality. Well, people say I’m dark, but I don’t really think so.” Natasha writes songs of angst and non-conformity. “I just write what I feel, what kids my age are going through.” Her familiar topics and raging talent not only build a connection with her fans, but they have the potential to bust the barriers of culture and language, and she has the bravado, the talent, and the vitality to crack the just-a-pretty-face syndrome that many Latina artists struggle with in the music industry. It’s not what she set out to do: “I was just a normal teenager, you know going to movies, hanging out with my friends, and I recorded some of my songs” she says. Just a short time ago was laying down tracks in the privacy of her own home; but now she’s out there and, whether she’s conscience of it or not, she has the potential to break ground for a new generacíon of artists, merging their Latin roots into mainstream music. And she’s armed with some solid advice from a family member who influenced her art: “My aunt told me ‘when it starts to suck, get out.’” |
JD Natasha writes songs of angst and non-conformity.. » Listen to JD NATASHA on Batanga's TOP HITS station » Subscribe to Club Batanga to watch videos and more! “I just write what I feel, what kids my age are going through.” -- JD Natasha |
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