It was music that helped Clifton rapper Nathaniel Shaw turn his life around. He grew up in care, suffered family tragedy and was regularly in trouble with the police. Emily Hodgkin discovered how the 24-year-old, who has just released his first single, hopes his story will inspire other disillusioned youngsters
Nathaniel Shaw was just nine months old when, despite protests from his mum, he was taken into care. Social services had deemed his mother incapable of looking after him. His father wasn't around. Nathaniel has never known him. "My mum wanted me back," said the 24-year-old. "She was young at the time and going through a lot herself so I was fostered. My foster mum wanted to adopt me but mum fought against it." By the age of three, the youngster was back with his birth family, living with his granddad, who became his "father figure." But granddad died when Nathaniel was just nine and, once again, he tried to live with his mum. "It just didn't work out so I went back into care," he said. "I lived in about eight different care homes all over the county. There was Eastwood, Wollaton, Basford, Arnold, Lenton, Sherwood, and Heathfield." By the time he was a teenager, he was in regular trouble with the law. He fell in with the wrong crowd and was eventually arrested eight times, mostly for criminal damage. He says carrying a weapon was a necessity because of the lifestyle he was living. "I was an angry kid," said Nathaniel, who now lives in Clifton. "I just used to smash stuff up. But music showed me a new direction. At 16 it helped me turn my life around – not rap, classical music. "People used to ask: 'Why are you playing this? They never expected me to like classical music. And they never expected me to be an opera singer, but that's what helped me the most." His talent for singing had been noted years before while he was at Old Basford Primary School, when he was spotted by a teacher. He joined the school choir and was then invited to train as an opera singer with Magdala, the Nottingham music school which runs courses to encourage youngsters to use opera and performance as a means of personal development. Nathaniel had free singing lessons with Magdala founder Michelle Wegwart, who started the school in 1989. He said: "Magdala opened my eyes to a different world. I was still on the streets when I joined but they got me away from it. I was walking around with knives and they showed me a different way of life. They taught me about the nice, positive side to life and to channel my anger through music." Neal Allen, 55, from Mapperley, who also trained with Magdala, remembers him. "When Nathaniel first joined the group he was quite shy, but he was really dedicated and he started to blossom," said Neal, who is a bricklayer by trade. "He took his lessons very seriously. Everybody liked him." The pair now plan to collaborate on a track together, incorporating rap and opera. "He's a great guy and he's very creative," says Neal. "I think he's going to be a star of the future. He's had a really tough upbringing and a lot of people have tried to put him down. I've got a lot of admiration for him." When he was 16, Nathaniel won Magdala's Hidden Voices competition, which led to performances at Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham Theatre Royal and Newstead Abbey. He also had a brief brush with stardom when he met celebrity chef Nigella Lawson at BBC Radio Nottingham, where he was talking about his success in Hidden Voices. "I ended up sitting next to her but I had no idea who she was at first. She was really nice though. I got an autograph and she asked me about performing in front of lots of people because she was only used to doing it in front of cameras from her home." Adversity struck when Nathaniel became homeless at the age of 18. At the time, when young people in care reached legal adulthood they lost council funding for their placements. In some cases they moved into council housing but in others, where the council could not make arrangements, they would have to move in to hostels or become homeless. "I ended up living in a youth hostel," he said. No longer able to afford the bus fare to rehearsals at Magdala and too embarrassed to admit that he was struggling, Nathaniel was forced to leave his passion behind. He moved into Corporation Oaks in Mapperley, which provides accommodation to homeless people between the aged of 16 and 25. "I saw someone shooting up heroin in the phone box in broad daylight with kids coming home from school. It was driving me insane! I had to get out. I didn't really have much to live for." This was 2010 and that year Nathaniel's mother Sandra, was in a near fatal accident when a gas leak caused an explosion at her home in Stockwell Hill. She lost a leg, part of her arm and her eyesight – and was in a coma for two months. She now lives in Clifton with a live-in carer. "Having to battle with all these things I was on the verge of breaking," Nathaniel said. "That's when I started writing music. For me it was a way out; a release." Nathaniel who also suffers with ADHD, has an NVQ in nursery nursing and completed a business course with the Prince's Trust. He has worked in factories, at the Ark Day Nursery in Mapperley and as a sales assistant. He considered setting up his own clothing company, before he set his sights on becoming a rapper, inspired by friends who were also experimenting with the music He found that he was able to use the lyrics to talk about his life. "Singing is probably what I'm best at," he said. "But rapping is good for me. It helps me to get my message across." He recently released his debut single Bright Lights Camera Action, on iTunes, in the hope of inspiring disillusioned youngsters growing up care. "I want to show kids who are in a similarly difficult position that no matter what, there is always hope and anything is possible. You just have to stay strong and have self-belief."Find out more about him at nathanielshawsmusic.co.uk.