Nato Caliph

Background

Nato Caliph, born Shedrick Remon Kelley on August 9, 1980, is a rapper from St. Louis, Missouri. He is known for socially conscious, profanity-free lyrics, which set him apart from the city's commercial rap stars of the 2000s. He came up in the St. Louis underground in the early 2000s. His early releases include appearances on local compilations such as St. Louis Underdog Freestyle Sessions v3 (2003) and Soul Tyde's Hip-Hop & Soulful...Ish (2003), and his own Homework Series mixtapes on Narrowpath (2003–2004).

F5 Records and Cipher Music Group

In 2004 he self-released his debut album, 1080°, through his own Cipher Music Group. His second album, Cipher Inside (2007), came out on F5 Records, a collective he was associated with. It reached a wider audience than his debut. He worked closely with the producer Tech Supreme and the rapper Lyfestile and was a member of the group Plan B. Later releases include Power (2009), Knowledge Cipher (2010, F5 Records and Cipher Music Group) and Reach (2010).

In March 2011 St. Louis Public Radio profiled him while he was balancing music with a full-time job and preparing to play South by Southwest in Austin. The profile noted that his music had reached listeners as far away as Norway and Spain. He appeared at SXSW regularly during this period.

Understanding Understood and Later Work

Nato Caliph's 2014 album Understanding Understood drew guests from St. Louis and beyond. They included Prince Ea and Sadat X on "Identity Crisis," Rockwell Knuckles on "Holding On," Lyfestile, Family Affair, Ali of the St. Lunatics, GLC, and members of Illphonics. He followed it with A Prequel to God (2015) and God (2016) on Cipher Music Group. He has also appeared on projects by other St. Louis independent artists, including Black Spade and Tech Supreme.

His catalog is independent from start to finish, released through his own imprint and local collectives rather than major labels. Critics have highlighted his focus on literacy, social issues and thoughtful lyrics.