Author | Sammi Rowell |
I think it’s safe to assume that all of us listen to music, right? Whether you pursue songwriting/performing or just put in earbuds when you’re doing your homework, music is probably a part of your daily life. I know that it is a huge part of mine! One of the best things about music is how diverse it is. There are 1,264 different genres so it’s almost impossible to dislike all music. Whether you’re into pop or are a rock-head like me, I can guarantee you’ll enjoy PartDeux by Narrowgate. To be completely honest, I’ve never been a fan of rap music, but Narrowgate has definitely worked his way into my top ten favorite music artists. And if you listen to his latest album, PartDeux, I think you’ll see why.
Oddly enough, Stuart, aka Narrowgate, said that he used to hate rap music too. “I just thought it was a bunch of dudes talking offbeat with bad music in the background.”
That opinion changed, however, when he heard the song Keys to the Kingdom, by Group 1 Key, and loved it. Then he started getting into other Christian hip-hop artists, like: Tedashii, Lecrae, Trip Lee, Andy, Derek, Prop and a few others. “I can’t really pinpoint one moment or one person that got me into hip hop, but it was more of a progression from a pop group rapping to being fully involved in the culture, if that makes sense. Needless to say, I don’t hate rap anymore.”
Stuart said overall, the artist that inspires him to write his own music the most would be NF because of his passion and work ethic. He said he listened to NF’s first EP one night and then wrote his first song, called “Shadows.” From that point, he just kept writing. More recently he’s been drawing inspiration from artists like Aha Gazelle, Middle Clash, and Adrian Stresow. Stuart said that nobody really knew this, but he actually wrote his first songs back in 2012 although he didn’t really like them. He considers the summer of 2014 to be when he actually started writing music because he and some friends at summer camp all tried to write a song together, but never finished.
When asked how he chose the name Narrowgate, Stuart said, “I was part of this website for kids back in 2013, and for security and privacy reasons, everyone had to choose a username/nickname. Well, I brainstormed a couple of different ideas, but I eventually landed on Narrowgate, because 1) I thought it was dope, and 2) it was a subtle statement about my faith. So then, when I started making music, it only made sense to use that name.”
Back to the future, Narrowgate released PartDeux a little earlier this year on Soundcloud, Spotify and a few other music apps. His favorite personal song on the album would be: “10 Days.” Stuart says, “The beat I made for that track is still one of my most favorite beats I’ve ever made. That is pretty much the only reason why, to be completely honest, I think it’s the most professional sounding song on the entire record. I could be wrong, though. But lyrically? “Improbable” is definitely a favorite five minutes of me just having fun with writing and rapping. That song was a lot of fun to make.”
When I asked Stuart his personal favorite, he said, “My personal favorite off the album would have to be ‘Great Expectations’ or ‘10 Days.’ I love the lyrics and the beats of both.”
As I mentioned earlier, all of us listen to music, right? Honestly, most of us love it. Narrowgate is just the same---- “Honestly, God just put this insatiable love for music in me, so I guess I’ve always been interested in music. How could you not like music? It’s got melodies, beats, poetry, harmony, and bass lines. What more could you ask for?”
It’s really inspiring to see musicians/singer-songwriters growing in their art and I have always thought it was a fun watching them grow as artists, especially when they are as passionate as Narrowgate is. That kind of passion comes through in their art, and it definitely comes through in Stuart’s! PartDeux is one of the best albums of 2018 so far and I highly recommend it to any rap (or just music) enthusiasts. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!