Nando the Native is an emerging Nicaraguan-born, Berlin-based R&B/indie pop artist, whose career started in earnest as a member of acclaimed, award-winning R&B outfit A Song For You, led by Noah Slee. And as member of A Song For You, the Nicaraguan-born artist has shared stages with the likes of JOVM mainstay Nick Hakim, Kelvyn Colt and Annahstasia while collaborating with Carhatt, Dr. Martens, and Levi’s.
The Nicaraguan-born, Berlin-based artist stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist. His music as a solo artist serves as a genuine reflection of his innermost thoughts and emotions, inviting listeners into his world with raw honesty and vulnerability. Although he cites Frank Ocean, Miguel and a list of other artists as influences on his overall sound and approach, having grown up straddling two contrasting cultures have informed his vocal and musical versatility while being a testament to wholly embracing one’s own identity.
Rejecting the confines of traditional labels and genre boundaries, the Nicaraguan-born, Berlin-based artist has forged his own path, creating music that draws from his heritage and the cosmopolitan energy of Berlin’s rich creative scene.
In a relatively short period of time, Nando the Native has made a name for himself in the Berlin R&B scene through collaborations with a collection of local and international artists and producers including Jonny Wood and Axel Benamar.
Released last month, his six-song solo debut EP Nothing But A Lesson thematically touches upon the complexities of heartache, toxic relationship, love, fetishization and more. The effort sees Nando the Native pairing poignant, lived-in lyricism with velvety-smooth production while showcasing an old-school inspired vocal prowess and attention to craft. “Nothing But A Lesson is a collection of songs I wrote during a time I was still learning how to set boundaries in relationships,” the Berlin-based artist explains. “This EP is a little reminder for me not to fall into something toxic again.”
Nothing But A Lesson‘s latest single “Honest” is a vibey bit of R&B anchored around a production featuring skittering beats and a looping arpeggiated acoustic gutter sample serving as a lush, satiny bed for the Berlin-based artist’s soulful, heartbroken croon. Written from the lived-in perspective of someone who has been fetishized for being of color, the song addresses the fetishization of BIPOC folks from whites and others, who fixate on the seeming exoticness of someone’s ethnicity or skin color — and not on who they actually are as a person. And throughout the song’s narrator expresses a sense of betrayal, hurt and confusion, as well as the sense of foolishly taking part in their own fetishization.
The accompanying video as Nando the Native explains portrays the situations described in the song: The love interest in the video seems to get off on having Nando speak Spanish all the time, but for the rising artist, there’s a sense that he feels a bit like an accessory. Later, we see the same girl at a party full of BIPOC folks, flirting with another guy. Towards the ends of the night, she’s calling Nando but little does she know he knows she’s up to no good.
