INNOVATIVE GRIME/METAL RISING STAR NATIVE JAMES
REVEALS LIVE VIDEO FOR TRACK MUGEN TRAIN –
PLAYS BIGGEST EVER SOLD OUT HEADLINE SHOW THIS MONTH
ALSO NOMINATED FOR HIS FIRST EVER FOR A MOBO AWARD!
Credit: Cameron Dickson
Innovative grime/metal rising star, Native James has revealed a special live performance video of his track, Mugen Train (watch here). Working with long-time collaborator, producer/director Reece Selvadorai (Craig David, AJ Tracey, Mahalia and more), the video was shot in Chelmsford’s Hot Box. 21st February will see this very venue packed to the rafters with rabid fans for Native’s biggest headline show, which is also sold out! The Ipswich-based artist will also play shows supporting the likes of Pengshui, DeadWax and more over the next few months. See full dates and details below.
Showing no signs of slowing down, Native has been nominated for his first ever MOBO, at this year’s awards!! Having previously been a finalist in the MOBO UnSung Top 20, he joins Hak Baker, ALT BLK ERA and more in the Best Alternative Music Act category, at this month’s ceremony at Newcastle’s Utilita area.
Last September saw Native release his debut EP, Rebirth via Saviour Music. Spanning 5 tracks, featuring previously released singles Field, Power, which was featured in a Co Op advert and also received its first radio spin on Alyx Holcombe’s BBC Introducing Rock show, and his debut punch-to-the-gut single, Hammer. Hammer received its first radio plays on BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show with Daniel P Carter, and Future Alternative show with Nels Hylton on the night of release. Since then, it has received plays on BBC Introducing and BBC Radio 1’s Introducing Rock, and has racked up almost half a million streams on Spotify alone.
Native James rounded off a busy year last year playing a slew of live shows, including supporting Welsh titans, Skindred in his hometown of Ipswich, festival slots at Nice As Pie Fest in Leeds, Attitude Festival in Bristol, Sounds Good Festival in Chelmsford, Wild Walls Festival’s closing party in Ipswich, and a show supporting DeadWax featuring Benji Wild (formerly Astroid Boys), in Leeds.
Native played a packed out show at Brighton’s Great Escape Festival last May. He performed as part of Escape From The Escape at The Pipeline, a free showcase curated by his label home Saviour Music. See Native play his debut live show, on the BBC Introducing stage at Reading Festival in 2023.
Most of Native’s songs were born freestyle raps – 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…
See Native live:
21.2 – Hotbox, Chelmsford (headline) SOLD OUT
28.2 – Strongroom Bar, London (supporting DeadWax)
1.3 – The Cavern, Exeter (supporting Pengshui)
2.3 – Moor Beer Co, Bristol (supporting DeadWax)
17.4 – Rebellion Bar, Manchester (Punk Fest warm-up)
18.4 – The Six Six Bar, Cambridge (supporting Pengshui)
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