You can go anywhere in the Downtown Detroit area and hear about Nolan aka Nolan The Ninja. Weather it’s him getting on a new track, doing a show at BOB’s (Bobs Classic Kicks), The Kick Back or just people asking the question…yo.. who is Nolan? The 18 year old super talented emerging MC sits down with me to give us some insight on his music, who he is, V.V.E. and to give everyone a small tour of Ninja Town.
Delon: So tell us who is Nolan?
Nolan: Simply, I’m just an 18-year-old chico who has a strong love for music….
So I noticed on Twitter your name is @NolanTheNinja. What’s the ninja part about?
haha Well, it all originated from the Shawnimals’ Ninjatown series. I’m a huge fan of it. But for more information on that, you can go to www.ninjatown.com or www.shawnimals.com....
Are you a real Ninja?
Well, I’m a wee-ninja….
Ninjas in the D that’s new to me lol so you’re in school right? How are you handling school and music?
Eh, it’s frio (cool) I suppose. I’m just trying to finish this education thing so I can do what I REALLY want to do….
So what is it that you REALLY want to do when you finish school?
Music of course….
Of course right duh…what or who inspired you to become an artist?
Artist-wise, nobody did. I just love the artistic expression through use of words over beating basses & melodies….
So one day you were just like huummm I love artistic expression, beats & melodies I think that I will start rapping.
haha Not at all. Actually, it’s somewhat difficult to put in a words. It’s an emotion I gained from audio one day. Therefore, I feel as though my emotion(s) can only be described through my expression(s). In my case, my expression(s) is made through song….
How would you define your style of rapping?
It’s distant. By ‘distant’, I mean beyond the limited skills I’m hearing now. I’m not a cocky or arrogant person at all. However, I feel as though this shit is easy. I’ve been doing this music shit for years now. It feels like practice to me. When will the game start? haha Damn, that does sound cocky, huh? Hmph….
Now that you say that it kinda does..but I wont go into that lol. As far as Detroit Rappers or just rappers in general what separates you from everyone else?
My musical outlook & presence as a whole. I’m only 18 but I swear I’m 36 musically. haha Plus, nowadays, a lot of artists based their rapping images &/or style off of a popular or well-known artist they look up to & whatnot. But like I told you before, I don’t have an influence based off of anyone. I found my love for music through my own outlook & observation(s) of it. Therefore, I can only be me. All I know is ME. I don’t know, it’s somewhat of my own philosophy. haha I could teach a class on this shit….
Can you tell me a lil bit about V.V.E.? Is it something that you started??
Naw, I didn’t start amigo. Actually, it’s Chavis Chandler’s music group. It’s been running for almost two years now. One day, Chavis caught me performing for a crowd & he was impressed. After that, he got me down with the crew & we’ve just been kicking it from there….
Who all is apart of V.V.E.
Me, Chavis Chandler, SirTes, Zelooperz, MC Marie, A-Minus & a few others….
Who are some of the artist that you would like to do a calab with?
It’ll either be Teddy Riley or Tony! Toni! Toné! but if I had to choose one, it’ll definitely be Teddy Riley….
Ok what’s with all of the Spanish are you part Mexican or somthin?
haha Not at all amigo. It’s just something I play around with. I know a little foreign language here & there though. I mean, I do plan on traveling all over the world. Why not get a head-start & learn some language(s) outside of American English? That way, I wouldn’t have to pay for a translator to assist me during my trip(s), you know?
Congrats on “Go In” & “Phat Tracks” getting over a 1000+ downloads!
How did you manage to get on those tracks?
It’s pretty much the common story of how an artist is discovered. haha Reason & Merlie Merle heard me somewhere & was interested in working together so we linked up for a joint or two. But as far as the downloads, I don’t think too much about them. I don’t do music for downloads, I do it because I enjoy & love it. Nonetheless, I truly appreciate the support I get from my Ninjatown residents…..
What made you come up with the album name Ninja town?
Like I stated earlier, the origin of my whole ninja-theme & interest is derived from Shawnimals & whatnot so that plays a huge part of the ninja-theme applied to my music….
What makes Ninja town different from any other mixtape that will be dropping?
Simply, it’s truly a piece of art & not a piece of bullshit. So many artists are just releasing ANYTHING (project & song-wise) just to say that they’ve done it before but in all actuality, their shit is horrible. That’s why I’m patient with all of my material. I’m not going to rush anything just so I can say I did something. You can either come correct or come off whack, period….
Yeah I understand were your coming from you can’t rush progress..in the end you will look back at your work and say damn that was kinda trashy guess I should have took my time with that one.
Can you explain to us..what is Ninja Town?
Well, it’s a small town populated by ninjas & it’s located in Shawnimaland….
Who is going to be on the album production and artist wise?...jus to name a few.
You’ll find all of that out when Ninjatown drops. haha
Outside of Ninja Town do you have any other projects that you’re working on?
Well, I have some guest spots for other artists’ projects coming up. But overall, I’m always working & I’m not trying to stop anytime soon. I love this shit so why would I stop doing what I love? Expect a lot from me in the future….
Jus out of curiosity will you be doing a few shows to promote the album?
Si, there are definitely some shows coming up. If you follow me on Twitter (@NolanTheNinja), Facebook (facebook.com/nolantheninja) & whatnot, you’ll get all of that information….
In a lot of pictures on the internet I see you rockin Freshman Clothing and DSE @ Grand what’s you affiliation with the two?
Well, Freshman Clothing is my second home. haha Everyone there is muy frio. Along with that, the co-owner Phil Simpson & I share the same love for hip-hop as well musical interest in general. We’ve had countless in-store cypher sessions & whatnot. haha As for DSE @ Grand, they’re frio too. James definitely adds to my wardrobe. haha Shoutout to E. Grand River….
With NinjaTown dropping as a whole what do you hope to accomplish with this project?
Ultimately, I just want to expand my love for music through my own audio sound. Nowadays, a lot of artist’s love for their craft have majorly decreased. It’s a bunch of bullshit. And due to me having so much love for music & what I contribute to it, I refuse to let it degrade like that. So through Ninjatown as well as anything you hear from me, I’d like to see it modify all of that bullshit….
That’s what’s up man so is there anything else you wanna leave us with today?
Si. Peep, shoutout to all my amigos & amigas over at Verbal Vomit, Freshman Clothing, Morbid Music, So Fresh In High Def, Inner City Skateboards, CMC, Uber Threads, etc. Muy special shoutout to Shawnimals. And of course, mucho love to all of my Ninjatown residents. haha Definitely….
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