(By: Ykigs for Youknowigotsoul.com)
Having worked on this project for well over a year, June 30, 2017 finally marked the release day for A-natural’s long awaited debut R&B project, The Chronicles of an Over-Ambitious Fat-Boy. This marks the first full-length project for A-natural since his gospel music days, but boasts the same intricate vocal and production styling that he’s become known for.
After spending time working on the bulk of actor/singer/rapper Mack Wilds latest release After Hours, as well as assisting Mack during his press tour for the project as a backing pianist and vocalist, A-naturalgleamed as much as he could from the process and began investing his own dollars from his full-time day job to fund the production of the album, the photography, promotional materials, videos, and more.
The album itself, A-natural says, is a tribute to the under-represented black male artists who don’t fit the typical mold of today’s six pack abs having crooners or bad boys. While employing the current trap-soul sound on the airwaves, A-natural made sure that lyrically and vocally he could still remind listeners of the true talent that R&B used to be known for from the likes of Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass, The Isleys, and more.
Chronicles features 12 tracks centering on self-love, heartbreak, vulnerability, relationships trials, and the celebration of blackness. Assisting him are Ali Caldwell (The Voice, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus), and Natalie Imani (John Legend, Nicki Minaj, Jazmine Sullivan), who each feature on fan favorites “Generous” and “A Mess of Things”, respectively, while world renown guitarist Jules Drucker (Adrian Marcel, Cory Henry, Jaheim) adds his amazing licks to “Similar Sh!T” and “Real Tomorrow”. All of the songs were written and produced by A-natural, with the exception of “Strange Love” which was produced by childhood friend Vertical Jones. In addition, the lead single “Get Back” has created a steady buzz about the album and its music video, shot by longtime collaborator Lenny Harold, continues to gain views.
A-natural has mentioned that this is his best work yet and looks forward to what’s to come next from his Natural City Music imprint. Not one to rest on his laurels, there will be much more to come from Chronicles in the form of music videos, events and performances, as well as a documentary detailing the album’s intriguing concept and some behind the scenes footage.
The Chronicles of an Over-Ambitious Fat-Boy is available now on all digital formats in both explicit and clean versions. Recently verified on genius.com, all of the lyrics for the album are now available there with full histories and annotations to gain more insight into the creation of this album. For more information, please visit: www.anatural4ever.com.
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