Today we’d like to introduce you to Nate Wins.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I fell in love with hip hop music when I moved to North Carolina from Michigan in 5th grade. I heard “Ridin'” by Chamillionaire on the radio and that was it, haha. After rapping by myself in my room for years, I released my first official song in high school with my best friend. He was way better than me back then so he got most of the attention from the song. I remember getting teased by classmates for my high voice at the time; I was a late bloomer. Anyways, I made a few more songs on my own and got better with each release, as these things tend to go.
In college, I had been putting most of my creative energy into my YouTube gaming channel, but rap crept its way into that as well when I started making parody rap songs about video games. My fanbase on YouTube was showing love for the songs, so I started realizing I was onto something with the music. Riding the momentum of my YouTube channel, I started releasing more personal music under the stage name “Nate Wins” (Fun Fact: “Wins” is a fun & braggadocious abbreviation for my last name, Winskunas). I’ve been releasing songs under that name ever since.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wouldn’t say it’s been a super smooth road for me, musically. I’ve always had a lot of fun making songs, but I’ve also struggled with self-doubt and maintaining motivation. The hip hop genre is super competitive, both in terms of the culture and the sheer amount of rappers trying to come up nowadays, so it’s easy to get discouraged when you don’t see results right away. I try to tap into those negative emotions when I’m writing though since sorrow is a great place to find gems, artistically speaking. I think a lot of people can relate to those negative emotions too, so the hardships are an essential piece of the craft in a way.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
One way I try to set myself apart from the rest of the rap genre is by not taking myself too seriously. I like to inject a fun tone into my music with jokes and self-deprecation, sometimes even performing little skits in the middle of a song. Gotta innovate a bit, ya know? This fun tone is reflected in my branding as well; all of my cover art and marketing materials are created in a very cartoony style. I majored in graphic design in college so I make all of my own cover art illustrations and handle all visual aspects of the music independently. This is definitely something I take pride in and I think it helps the work feel cohesive since a large portion of it is coming from a single source. Once I start making my own beats, it’s over for everybody, haha.
What does success mean to you?
I think I’d define success as being able to look back on my life years from now and be satisfied with my efforts to become what I wanted to be. I don’t really feel the need to become the greatest rapper of all time or anything. I just want to have fun making music, entertain and inspire as many people as I can, and not lose myself along the way. Creativity is such a beautiful thing because it’s contagious. I’ve had people reach out to me before and say they saw me doing my thing online and felt inspired to make something of their own. I haven’t felt much more fulfilled in my life than in those moments.
Of course, making a living through music would be awesome too. That’s definitely a goal of mine. Right now, I’m juggling a lot of work so I find time to make music in between putting food on the table. I’d love to be fortunate enough to make a living doing what I love, only answering to myself.
Contact Info:
- Email: natewinskunas@gmail.com
- Website: natewins.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nate_wins/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nate_wins
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5UYzMrt4Sm3B6ebBXNXvZw
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/natewins
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/07xVytVUcAULwnmRQd4kbB
