Today we’d like to introduce you to Noah Powell.
Hi Noah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Before I get into my story, I want to give a special shoutout to my grandmother Angela who passed in 2017, my older brother Michael who passed in 2020, and my father William who passed in January of this year.
I have always been involved in music from the moment I was born, as my family on both sides are connected musically. I first started rapping and writing songs when I was 9 years old when I heard my older brother recording rhymes on the cassette tapes. Once I started rapping with him, eventually, my parents got me a small keyboard and a singular drum which were the first tools that I used to start making beats in any way, shape, or form around 9 or 10 years old. From those initial moments, I fell in love with everything musically, from practicing performing my favorite songs, to writing my own songs, to producing, to engineering, and more. I started playing my first electric guitar when I was 11 years old and taught myself how to play songs and how to use many different techniques while playing.
Growing up, my childhood was definitely traumatic and played a great factor in my drive and determination to succeed in everything that I do. At the time, my father had a lot of battles and struggles and because of certain things, my parents would often argue with each other night and day. I’ve witnessed a lot of messed up things that I don’t want to get into as a child in my own household, watching my dad Get cuffed on his way to jail, spent time in abandoned apartments in East Cleveland, among other things that I again don’t really want to disclose. Because I never knew how to express what I felt as a child seeing and experiencing all of these things, I would write music or create beats as my way to express myself and would always keep it to myself. I still to this day have my notebooks from when I was 13, 14, 15 years old.
As time went on, I knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life, and I told my father exactly that when I was 11 years old. From that moment on, I was dead set on what I wanted to do to succeed in life and had enough of a chip on my shoulder enough to tune out anything anyone would say that tried to convince me that I should do something else. I continued to write music all throughout my childhood and would decide to start recording music when I turned 17. Around that time, I met my 3 good friends Rico, Wanzo, and Fluke, who were rapping as a group at that time (RMG) and were noticed heavily around school and in the city. I eventually would get to the point where I was going over to Rico’s house frequently to record in his home studio and eventually started to make beats using FL Studio for the first time. I dropped my first single “Villain” in April of 2015 and have been recording and releasing music ever since. After one year of college at Capital University, I left to achieve everything I want to do and embark on my journey through life. On my 19th birthday, I released my first EP titled “Between The Lines.” In October of 2016, I released my first album “Evil Intentions” followed by EPs “Between the Lines: Volume 2” (December 31st, 2017), and Between The Lines 3: Enter The Martian (June 2021). In the time between, I produced multiple albums, songs, and EPs for artists in Cleveland including Wanzo, Tray Milly, E The Monstar, etc. I also have released many singles including “Roll Me Up A Plane,” “Rerock,” “Digits,” “Hunting Season,” “Swang Doors,” “Rolling Up Pressure,” “The New Chronic,” “30 Hours,” and more. I am currently working on my next project “Martian Mode.”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth ride in the slightest. As an independent artist, it can get demoralizing dealing with all of the lessons you will learn along the way dealing with scammers, fake people, jealous/envious people, etc. My hardest struggles along the way has been dealing with the losses of the people that were of the most importance to me. My Grandmother, older brother, and father were without a doubt most of the most important people in my life, and all of them have passed in a matter of 5 years. I also have other friends that have passed, as well as friends and family members that have gotten locked up. Dealing with things like this will do a lot to your mind and your drive, but I know that I have to continue staying strong for all of them because they would’ve wanted to see the end result of what I do.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a musician, producer, engineer, and CEO. My main genre of music is rap/hip hop, but I also look to release music down the road more into the rock genre, and more. I play the electric guitar, piano, produce, and engineer, and taught myself how to do it all. Finally, I along with my cousin and co-CEO Mecca Lewis, own our company “Grind Like A Boss” which specializes in all different aspect from promotion, to events, to music and entertainment. I am most proud of all of these things because in order to succeed, you need to work 24/7 at your craft. What sets me apart from others is that I put my all into everything I do, accepting nothing less than excellence and that I have learned how to do so many things. I want to be the person that knows how to do any and everything.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson that I’ve learned over time is to stay disciplined and to always keep your mind ahead of the game. My father always taught me from an early age to be 10 steps ahead of the game at all times, and this mindset has helped me along the whole journey.
Contact Info:
- Email: officialkingndp@yahoo.com
- Website: https://www.grindlikebosses.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glb_bagg/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/glb_bagg
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK57vuTYHuXAaqvE3JOGqUg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/king_ndp
