We recently connected with Natalie Kalei and have shared our conversation below.

Natalie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

When it comes to learning how to write, sing, record etc. I feel like I always mention it runs in my family. My father was a musician and my Aunt is a musician as well. I learned a lot by always being around it. Growing up I also went to magnet schools for the arts, so I was always surrounded by creativity. A huge turning point in my artistry was when I lost my Father. I depended on his guidance heavily when it came to music. Losing him meant I had to find my own way and discover who I was as an artist without the comfort of my Pops.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a singer/ songwriter. Music has always been a part of my life. When I really decided I wanted to pursue music was in high school. I had a YouTube channel where I would post acoustic covers of my favorite songs. Through YouTube I won a competition to travel to Austin Texas to perform with Justin Young. That was the first sold out audience I sang in front of. After that I wanted to do it again and again. Some people may not know that I first started out in the Hawaiian Reggae music scene. My Dad was a big part of that scene so I automatically wanted to go that direction. Later I decided that I loved singing and writing r&b music so I followed my heart to switch my direction. Although I consider myself an r&b artist you can expect meshing of genres when it comes to my music. I never want to put myself in a box. I love all sorts of music, so I love finding ways to incorporate different sounds and styles but still have the final product sound like me. I can honestly say that I am proud of myself for finding my own way through this journey. I promised my Dad that I would and I did and I’m still going. I know he’s be proud of that too.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the most rewarding parts of being an artist, specifically a writer is when someone connects to the story. Even if my lyrics make one person feel seen and validated I did my job. Being transparent and relatable makes listeners feel like they’re not alone in their feelings and experiences. I love when listeners let me know their favorite lines that they connect to. It’s so fulfilling.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I mentioned that I first started in the Hawaiian reggae scene and later changed my direction. Right out of high school I was performing reggae gigs. I opened for big names in Hawaiian reggae and played big Hawaiian festivals. I loved it and still love it to this day. That said I had always felt like I was longing for more or something different. Deciding to completely start new and switch up my sound and genre was terrifying. I didn’t want to lose my connections I already had but I also knew I needed to make new ones. I wanted to sing R&B and I wanted to surround myself with like minded people. I’m so happy I made that decision and pushed myself to be the artist I wanted to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://koji.to/nataliekalei
• Instagram: @nataliekalei
• Facebook: Facebook.com/nataliekalei
• Twitter: @lovelynatkalei
• Other: Tiktok: @nataliekalei

Image Credits
@r.j.odd