I was introduced to
James “StickNasty” Small through the best sources possible: other Friends of Drums & Ammo Fantastic Negrito and Kelly Finnigan of "The World's premier psychedelic soul band, Monophonics". I spent NYE 2022 at home watching the live stream of the Monophonics with Fantastic Negrito Show at The Guild Theatre located in Menlo Park, CA (The Bay Area). This being one of the rainiest New Year's Eve's I could remember, making it home after visiting with friends to watch the Homies rock in the comfort of my living room was cool as hell. Fantastic Negrito is always on point when it comes to the live stage show (catch him if you can), I happened to zero into StickNasty who held down the Drums with his own funk that enhanced the show's overall energy. I reached out to StickNasty and made sure to keep an eye out for his next movements. I'm honored to blast this off and give some more insight on him and his upcoming project "A Universal Love Language". #DNA
Name/background: James “StickNasty” Small / Grammy nominated drummer who has played with Fantastic Negrito, Rexx Life Raj, Taj Mahl, Lyrics Born, Train, Arian Afsar, Lyrics Born and more /
Influences: Robert Glasper, Kirk Franklin, Kanye, Drake, Calvin Rodgers, Miles Davis, Anderson.Paak, D’Angelo, Hiatus Kaiyote, Dirty Loops, Dj Khaled, Beyoncé, and so many more
What's next?: I will definitely book some shows after the album drops and I will go back on Tour with Fantastic Negrito in August 4.
Story behind "Gratitude": Gratitude features Ian Kelley( rapper) and Jonah Levine (trombone) / It’s a personal Letter to inspiration. It serves as a reminder to stay humble and always express gratitude, no matter the situation. / It is the second song off of my up coming album “A Universal Love Language” dropping May 3rd
"Gratitude"Song/Video:
James “StickNasty” Small: production, arranger, writer, performer
Ian Kelly: writer, rapper
Jonah Levine: writer, trombone
Julian Le: mixed and master engineer
Nino Fernandez: shot and edited video
Hannah Lee: 2nd camera
Follow: IG: @j_sticknasty / TikTok @j_sticknasty Twitter: @J_Sticknasty / YouTube: JamesStickNastySmall / FaceBook: James.l.small Website: www.sticknasty.co