Natalie Lauren, a singer-songwriter and hip-hop artist who has co-wrote for Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashii, KB, Iggy Azalea and Keke Palmer, among others, may have landed her most prestigious songwriting credit to date.
On Monday, Lauren revealed on Instagram that she had worked on Grammy Award-winning, platinum-selling artist Chris Brown’s new album that drops on Dec. 18, Royalty, the tracklisting of which had been revealed earlier that day.
“Just got an early Christmas gift,” Lauren said. “So grateful for the opportunity to write on this project and still stay true to my core values. Working on a Chris record was a bucket list item, and I’m super thankful. I love my team for making this happen.”
Brown’s previous album, X, sold 146,000 copies in its first week in Sept. 2014.
Lauren later shared more about the collaboration on Facebook.
“The music industry is competitive and political to say the least,” she said. “It takes tough skin to handle the consistent no’s from artists and inevitable disappointment you feel from unmet expectations. It’s a marathon occupation that requires practice and stamina to endure the trends and business.
“It takes prayer and community to stay true to my convictions and focused on eternal values. I wouldn’t trade this occupation for anything (except missions). The odds of placements these days are steep. One artist and hundreds of submissions.
“Two months ago, I was one of the underdogs amongst the industries best artists in a room writing 3-4 songs a day, unsure if any would get placed. I’m excited to say it’s nothing but God’s sovereign grace and a bunch of practice that got me a placement on Chris Brown’s latest album Royalty.
“Perfect your craft because you’re grateful for it, and leave the results up to God because you know he has your best interest at heart…”
Download Lauren’s free songwriting EP Cliff Notes that she dropped last November on Rapzilla.
