Nantes

Nantes Cullins is an American rapper, writer, poet, and guitarist from Los Angeles. An independent artist, Nantes has been active since 2011, maintaining a presence on Soundcloud and YouTube. He operates his own label, Sphinx Sound, which release all of his works. He released his debut studio album, Darker Than Black, in 2020. His works have received a small amount of praise from his audience.

Biography
Nantes Cullins was born February 13, 1996 in the West Adams district of Los Angeles to African-American parents with Geechee ancestry. His parents separated shortly after his birth which resulted in Nantes and three siblings being raised primarily by their grandmother, who was a former schoolteacher. Duties alternated between Nantes' mother and grandmother resulting in him growing up between Los Angeles and Long Beach. The absence of his father fueled Nantes' interest in poetry and other arts, alongside his elder brother. Throughout his youth, Nantes remained adjacent to gang culture, due to members of his immediate family being both Crips and Bloods. He grew up with county assistance and "moved around a lot" after his grandmother relocated to her native Tennessee. As a child, he attended Douglas MacArthur Elementary and Warren Lane Elementary in the Long Beach Unified School District and Inglewood Unified School District, respectively. As a teenager, he was forced to stay with his grandmother in Tennessee where he attended high school and struggled with a lengthy bout of depression.

Nantes and his brother initially developed a serious interest in music after discovering Nujabes and J Dilla, attempting to emulate the latter by remixing audio files in Audacity. Originally intending to be a producer only, in 2010, Nantes began to consider rapping after listening to his brother produce music in FL Studio. Using a Compaq Presario given to him and brother by their mother, the two collaborated on music, producing tracks and uploading them to NewGrounds. After their relocation to live their grandmother, music became an outlet for the two, with Nantes borrowing a Turtle Beach headset from a friend to record his tracks as he could not afford a real microphone. Recording became a problem in his home as his grandmother did not see rapping as a feasible career. In 2012, Nantes' brother left Tennessee and he struggled with his music as well as finding a place to live, citing tensions with his grandmother. He continued to record music during this time and returned to LA after the release of his second mixtape in 2015.

Influences
Nantes has cited the band Līve, Jimi Hendrix, DJ Quik, Nujabes, and OutKast as his biggest influences. However, his music is inspired mostly by jazz and soul, due to the range of emotions one feels when listening to the genres. He has also cited Jerry Goldsmith, Stevie Wonder, Gorillaz, Ryo Fukui, Kendrick Lamar, the band A Perfect Circle, and 2Pac as influences, stating he truly admires the music of DJ Quik and Jerry Goldsmith as he grew up on it.

Musical Style
Nantes' projects are usually concept albums, whether loose or thematic with his lyrics often referencing his mental health, past troubles, or failed relationships. His delivery is often akin to and mostly inspired by spoken word poetry. His projects often take on characteristics of the specific genres with Nuts & Kids II: Streetlights heavily influenced by modal jazz and East Coast hip-hop while Nuts & Kids III: Good Noon contains elements of West Coast hip-hop and neo soul. His debut album Darker Than Black prominently takes influence from film score and alternative rock.

Personal Life
Nantes is a Muslim and has one son, whom he references frequently in his music. He is also a writer and comic book fan, also writing and creating his own characters. He also produces music under the pseudonym Eko.

Discography

 * Nuts & Kids (2014)
 * Nuts & Kids II: Streetlights (2015)
 * Slauson Roses (2017)
 * Nuts & Kids III: Good Noon (2018)
 * Darker Than Black (2020)