Anyone who pays attention to local talent knows there’s no shortage of great rap and R&B acts in Nashville. That's even though Lower Broadway’s celebrity-owned honky-tonks, a not-insignificant part of the city's public image, offer a safe haven for bros and bachelorettes eager for basic country vibes. But even with the diverse scene, it can still be hard for an artist outside the country, folk or bluegrass genres to meet the right people or find the resources they need.
One organization, Nashville Is Not Just Country Music, is out to help artists of other genres — especially rap and R&B — navigate the music industry, with a focus on networking, collaboration and business knowledge. Thalia Ewing, a Nashville native who works in rights management at BMG, founded the organization one year ago. Ewing, also known as Muziqueen, moved to New York in 2005, where she worked at Sony and later EMI. When she returned to Nashville in 2010, she noticed some changes in the local music scene.
“Venues were being more open to have hip-hop shows versus in the past when I wanted to do them. And so with that I've felt there was a need to kind of help the urban music community and people who didn't do country music to kind of have a gathering place.”
The organization emphasizes networking by hosting quarterly mixers, and its website even includes an urban music directory that spans from beat makers to web designers to publicists.
But perhaps the organization’s most visible event is built on a Nashville tradition: writers' rounds. While billed as a monthly “Urban Writers Round,” the events aren’t just limited to rap and R&B. They may feature gospel, punk or other acts not usually seen at similar performances. “I wanted to keep with that same tradition and honor of Nashville, but just switch it up with the different genres of music,” says Ewing. Taking place on the first Monday of each month, the rounds have also featured local hip-hop heavy hitters like Daisha McBride and Tim Gent and rising R&B talent Jamiah. (All three artists performed at The Underflow, a showcase concert held in August at Marathon Music Works.)
“You know, you get to see a little bit of gospel in the writers' round … you will hear some R&B, and some hip-hop, and some different things there,” says Morgan Bosman, a local R&B artist with a soulful and jazzy style. Bosman has taken part in a past writers' round with Nashville Is Not Just Country Music and has known Ewing for about three years.
Bosman recently dropped a new single called “Vibin’ on Replay,” a bouncy roller-disco throwback with a fun music video. She knows how important networking is to a rising musician. “You kind of build your tribe, which is necessary,” she says. “And it's so important to have these resources where it makes it a little easier to meet others that you end up finding out you work really well with.”
You've got an opportunity coming up soon to witness this endeavor in action. Nashville Is Not Just Country Music will be celebrating its one-year anniversary with a writers' round at True Music Room and Bar at Cambria Hotel on Oct. 7.
“Nashville is Not Just Country [Music] is opening a whole new gateway for these artists, and these writers, and these producers and A&Rs that are connected in that world,” says Tahne, a pop and R&B singer who will perform at the anniversary.
Tahne emphasizes the importance of collaboration by noting she’s worked with visual artists, dancers and performers for her past shows, with similar plans for an upcoming solo set on Nov. 16. She says groups like Ewing’s have helped her meet “people who are just really trying to connect with one another to help, you know, put the dots together for each other so that everybody can grow.”
Writers' rounds and mixers have helped introduce creative folks and businesspeople, but Ewing hopes those efforts scale up as her organization enters its second year.
“I really want this to grow to where it's comparable to being on the stage at Bluebird Cafe,” says Ewing. “I want people and executives to look at it as a way they can come and scout talent.”
It may also help retain some local talent. Atlanta is still a major player when it comes to Southern hip-hop, but Ewing notes many in the region still see Nashville as a hub for rappers and singers on the rise.
“Creatively, right now, Nashville is one of the strongest as far as talent is concerned," she says. "That talent just needs the infrastructure.”
Nashville Is Not Just Country Music’s one-year anniversary show starts at 5 p.m. Monday evening. The lineup includes 2LiveBre, Aaron Dews, Cannon, Drew Castle, Krysten Simone, Robin Raynelle, Tahne and Tryon. For more info, check out the Facebook event page.
