Man Like I [CD]

It’s a sleepy, laid-back kind of vibe that runs through Man Like I, the debut album from North London’s Natty, but don’t mistake it for laziness. The tales we find within mark our narrator out as neither saint nor sinner, bouncing round London’s streets with a badman swagger and an eye for the ladies, but with a skill for a deft, lyrical narrative and a social conscience learnt from his heroes, “Marcus, Mandela and Marley”. And while Bob Marley is a fair reference point to Natty’s shuffling, light reggae skank, it’s just as easy to locate these tales of life, love, and misadventure on the streets of London in the neighbourhood of Lily Allen, Kate Nash, and their attendant clan of new-school songsmiths. Some of it, then, is pretty simple fare--see “Last Night”, a break-up number that sees Natty reach for the spliff and the bottle--but elsewhere, there’s politically charged numbers like “Burn Down This Place”, a lament for his slave ancestors, or “Hey Man”, which sees our narrator lash out at the political apathy displayed by his peers. “My father’s generation had fires in their belly, man/We sat there like living room furniture, in front of our tellys, man”. --Louis Pattison

With his name, dreadlocks, and easily comprehendible patois, Natty has been hailed by the mainstream press as an up-and-coming reggae artist, even drawing hyperbolic comparisons with Bob. It's a categorisation that seems to cause him discomfort – although not enough to avoid signing up for Boss Sounds, the UK's biggest reggae festival, and has sparked debate as to whether his eclectic blend of styles is tribute or dilution. Debut album, Man Like I, proves it to be neither. If you've even a passing interest in reggae there is little on offer from this disc. Positioned slightly to the left of the jolly mockney hockeysticks of Lily and Kate, Natty's songs are a more rhythmic, culturally diverse take on the great British tradition of confessional summer music. Natty clearly knows his way around a studio, having got his breaks (and some free session time, no doubt) as an engineer. He also understands that the finest records fuse the sounds of the country and city. Badman's rapid-fire MC delivery rides jazzy guitar chords and furious hand drums. July has a folksy harmonica, a clear Jamaican afterbeat and words conceived in the throws of young love. It's easy to sneer at guileless lyrical indiscretions like Coloured Souls' "sometimes we jump the trainfare to get to where we're going" (Peter Tosh must be shaking in his boots) and the "hoodies" "you get me's" and "ends" straight from "yoof speak" central casting – but these also have a certain exuberant charm. What limits Natty's appeal is an inability to laugh at himself: the very best pop has a universal sense of fun - yet even his non-political songs take themselves so seriously that they betray his tender years. The more seasoned listener wanting to hear Rasta concerns over intelligent pop should check Winston McAnuff's peerless 2006 album Paris Rockin'. If, however, you're just after some vaguely rootsy chillout music – and don't care much for reggae or its history – Natty's got the tunes and the summer vibes to make you smile. The next Bob Marley? Try the new Finlay Quaye. --Angus Taylor

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"Soundtrack to the Summer"

With a mother from Lesotho, the tiny kingdom that sits completely within the borders of South Africa, and an English father of Italian descent, Natty's intelligent words on racial issues have already led to involvement with Love Music Hate Racism. The campaigning organisation featured his song `If I' alongside Bloc Party, Babyshambles and The Enemy on a compilation given away with the NME in October 2007. The folky ballad cheekily addresses the preconceptions of the typical indie fan: `So I'll sing you this song out my pigeonhole/But you'll still probably call me reggae soul/And I'll be wondering is it my dreadlocks and skin tone/So I sing, how do I break the mould?' Obvious Bob Marley comparisons seem less relevant when you learn that Natty featured samples of Simon And Garfunkel, Neil Young and Nas on the mixtape that became his early calling card, covered Afrorock hotshots Vampire Weekend during this February's iTunes Live concerts, and has booked indie acts such as Mr Hudson & The Library and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. at his successful Kentish Town club night Vibes And Pressure. Tours supporting Hard-Fi, Kate Nash and Adele have endeared him further to fans with broader tastes to match his own. `I grew up listening to a lot of reggae, but also African music, Pink Floyd, Dylan, Neil Young and a whole heap of Motown.' The nickname admittedly has a Marley connection. As a 13-year-old he left a copy of Marley's 1974 album Natty Dread on a sunny windowsill at home, causing the vinyl to warp and sustaining much abuse from his mother in front of his delighted friends. His pals kept his embarrassment simmering by calling him Natty, and when he `locksed up' at 16 the moniker stuck still stronger. `Locks aren't just Rastafarian, they're African. They came about for me after a period of being bad, when it was time to start saying no to a few things. It's a spiritual thing, and it's about reminding myself where I come from.' If he has a reggae idol, it's mad genius Lee `Scratch' Perry.` I supported him once at the Jazz Café and thought, where do I go from here? He travelled the same road I did, going from producer to performer.' For Natty is no newcomer, having worked in the music industry since finishing school and blagging his way into a job at premier league recording studio Sphere in Battersea. Ditching the guitar he learned to play at 10, for teenage years spent creating hip hop beats for rapping mates, his bedroom mastery of music production software Cubase gave him the confidence to earn a tryout, by convincing his potential employers he was a fully fledged studio engineer. `Everyone passed through that place over four years, from Duran Duran to Mos Def,' he says. `I ended up spending two months recording Razorlight's first album in Cornwall. That guy's got a reputation but he's one of the smartest dudes I know.' Natty only picked up his guitar again as he turned 18, beginning to write his own songs `as a hobby'. Craig Dodds, a producer Natty worked with at Sphere heard his early demos and encouraged him to take things further. The two ended up working together and co-producing Natty's debut album with Jonny Dollar (Massive Attack). By day he was engineering for some of the biggest names in the indie music scene and by night this gave him the inspiration to nurture his own developing talent. The devout following from his open mic sessions captivated the well deserved attention from many labels, including Atlantic Records who had the same vision as Natty and supported his creativity. `I wanted to start a vibe, a movement, and bring on a few musicians who should be better known. I wasn't interested in all these record companies saying, 'We're gonna turn you into a star'. That's for the people to decide.' A smart, thoughtful singer with integrity and a diverse sound ready for summer and beyond with or without assistance, it shouldn't take too long for the people to decide that Natty is a true star indeed.