Dropping the Beat

Nate Drop’s love of music comes from the excitement of creating art, and now the Houston native is hoping his art can inspire others. 

“Art is going to give everyone something a little different, but the most important thing for me is that it’s giving,” he says. “I love creating something new and surprising myself. My favorite part is continuing to have fun with it and making songs with other talented artists.”

Drop, whose real name is Jonathan Harris, became interested in music through the gospel, funk and jazz music his mother would play. It’s the influences in his teen years, such as Erykah Badu and Missy Elliot, that inspired his music, including his most recent album titled True Air. 

“Erykah Badu taught me to be authentic about whatever I made,” he says. “Missy Elliott said be weird. Lil Wayne showed me you could be raw and unserious. Sade sang with her heart, so I put my heart in it.” 

Drop believes that, like any art form, music has the ability to bring groups together and offer escapism for anyone going through hardship. 

“Maybe someone will get a melody stuck in their head, or a lyric will make a great caption online,” he says. “The message of my music is to have fun with whatever you’re doing. A state of play is good for our brains, especially in a world that requires so much work.” 

Excited to try new things, Drop likes to experiment and evolve with his material, with the goal to write songs that sound different from anything else he’s made previously. 

“I love continually leaning into that unknown,” he confides. “If Twilight Zone taught us anything, it’s that there’s usually something wild beyond that unknown and possibly a lesson or two. That can be scary, too. In the essence of being authentic, we have to honor wherever we are. I’m excited for the future. There’s more laughs to be had in the studio, more vibes and connections to be made and more taking up space in the name of music and community.”

Though it’s difficult to make it in the music business, Drop says that you can succeed if you put your heart into it and work hard. 

“Tell your story,” he urges. “Give us a reason to listen. Study the greats who came before you. Work with the people around you. Never forget where you came from.” 

For more information, go to linktr.ee/natedrop.