You would have definitely heard about Roc Nation, the entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Many renowned artistes are and have been part of it, such as Rihanna, Lil Uzi Vert, Jay Park and many more. It is a proud moment for us to know that Indian pop musician Natania Lalwani has now officially joined that club. We talk to the Mumbai-born singer-songwriter, who shifted to Los Angeles at the age of 18. She lets us in joining Roc Nation, her collaboration with King and Nick Jonas, her friendship with Armaan Malik and much more. Excerpts from the interview:
Tell us about how your interest in music began.
I’ve always loved music; you would always find me with headphones in! I started playing piano when I was really young, but it wasn’t until I picked up the guitar and wrote my first song that it became something I wanted to do forever.
You moved to the US at the age of 18. Did you always want to study music there?
Yes! I wanted to learn as much as I could and wanted to be in the heart of the music industry, which is without a doubt, Los Angeles! It was so incredible getting to study music here and watching how there were opportunities lurking at every corner in this city. It’s really something coming to a place where so many people have the same dreams as you.
How difficult was it to adapt to life in the US when you first moved there?
It was pretty easy since I had first moved here for college, and it was a natural shift. I think if I moved here and dived straight into working it would have definitely had more challenges but through college, I created a community of people, so the shift felt really effortless.
Joining Jay-Z's Roc Nation is no small feat. Tell us about how you felt when you joined them.
I am still processing it; it all feels like a dream! We had a signing celebration at the office, and it was so incredible to see all the support and excitement! They had even made a skyline of Mumbai on their wall for me, so when I walked in it truly felt like home. It was a super emotional moment for me. I’m beyond excited to have a team filled with such visionaries and be a part of this legendary company for this new chapter.
Your debut collaboration with Nick Jonas and KING, is titled Maan Meri Jaan: Afterlife. Tell us about the idea of the song and how the idea came about.
I fell in love with Maan Meri Jaan the first time I heard it. It is a song about loving someone till eternity and beyond. I think it’s an emotion everyone can relate to so when we were writing it, the whole thing came together in such an effortless way. Working on this record with King and Nick has been an absolute dream. I’m so proud of this song.
One of your tracks titled Show Me, was part of the Netflix film Wedding Season. How did that take place?
I loved working on that project, it was such an amazing South Asian moment globally. Willa Yudell, the music supervisor of the film had asked me to work on the title track. I wrote it with Alana Da Fonseca and Jordan Yaeger, and it was my first time writing in Hindi. It was so incredible watching Pallavi, Suraj and the rest of the cast dance to it in the film!
You and Armaan Malik are good friends. How is it working with him?
Armaan and me always have so much fun making music together. He is so creative and whenever we get in the room, we’re both always bubbling with excitement and ideas for what we’re going to make next, it always feels like magic.
Tell us about your upcoming projects.
There’s so much music coming that I’m so excited about! A few upcoming songwriting collaborations this year include artistes like Armaan Malik, King, Jay Sean, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Kah Lo, Shenseea and more.