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Artist
Chief.
12+ albums
beatsinstrumentalLo-Fiinstrumental hip-hopamerican
about
Chief. (Nathan Martinez) is a lo-fi beats producer from Salt Lake City, Utah. Hailing from an ethnically diverse background, with Native and Mexican heritage, Nathan's friends gave him the nickname "Chief Low-Eye" during high school, because of how low his eyes went when he smoked. His music career began around 2012, but a significant change occurred in 2019 when he left his day job to focus entirely on music production. This transition brought challenges as he found himself constantly making music, neglecting personal time, and feeling stressed about meeting new demands. He now claims to have a better work-life balance. Nathan found inspiration for beat production by listening to Joey Badass and bsd.u. Nathan learned how to use the SP-404 drum machine and relied heavily on sampling, but he has since evolved his approach. Nathan's song-making process varies for each track, starting with morning sessions on his Nord keyboard and then refining compositions in Ableton, adding drums, textures, and occasionally utilizing field recordings and electric guitar. He aims to create tracks with immediate appeal and avoids producing what he calls "filler material". Throughout his career, Nathan has collaborated with various vocalists, rappers, and beat producers, including Joe Nora, SwuM., Shrimpnose, Flavors, and Floridomi. Among his personal favorites is the popular song "Sorry," born from a difficult period during a fight with his girlfriend. He also holds "Be Here Now" in high re
