Above is a photo of Rick Ross with a 12 year-old boy.As a single artifact, this is beautiful if only for the distinct pairing: a goofy-grinned young kid bedecked head to toe in Maybach Music Group gear, with Rick Ross. The weird thing is the 12 year-old doesnât look uncomfortable or really even starstruck. Thatâs because this is the day-to-day in the life of Nathan Schwartz, AKA @natedoggschwartz, current middle-schooler, aspiring rap mogul, and Rap Instagram Game Zelig.Anyways, here are two pictures of him with Lil Wayne:And hereâs one of him with Kendrick Lamar.And oh, why not? Hereâs one with Kanye.Nathan is the Secret King of Rap Instagram. Heâs managed to get shitty Instagram photos of himself with everyone from Meek Mill to Snoop Lion to Nicki Minaj to DJ Khaled. The list goes on and on, like his own personal Top 40, and it is fascinating. This future human meme is the Internetâs number-one rap superfan, building his own Instagram autograph book empire, one backstage photo-op at a time.On the surface, heâs just a kid with new Lebrons who likes the Baltimore Ravens and plays drums in school because âit was the only good elective.â Deep down, Nathan is pursuing the American dream through apparently just heart and effort. He doesnât have a social media team. He doesnât have a marketing strategy. Iâm not even sure if he has armpit hair. But he does have a bodyguard and a rolodex with tons of rappersâ phone numbers in it because he probably just texted DMX to go play mini golf.It was batted about on some undernet forums that heâs the son of Peter Schwartz, a vice president at a bigwig talent representation company called The Agency Group. But the Schwartzesâboth Nathan and Peterâconfirmed to me this is untrue. âWho? No.â was all Peterâwho reps people like Juicy J, Big Boi, Method Man, Trinidad Jame$, Wiz Khalifa and many othersâwrote to me. The two are, by all accounts, not related. âErryone asks bout Peter idk him,â Nathan wrote to me.Hereâs an abridged version of a weeks-long conversation I had with Nathan over Kikâr, which is a chat program for smartphones I didnât know about until I wanted to talk to him. He said he was chill with me quoting him.Even after all this time, Iâm still trying to solve the mystery of how young Nathan makes his dreams come true.Noisey: Where do you live?
Nathan Schwartz, Secret King of Rap Instagram: Miami.Have you ever met Will Smith down there?
Yeah. He wasnât in the movie but he was at the premiere of Takers. I was there with T.I.Have you ever smoked down with Wiz Khalifa?
Dude Iâm 12 years old! Iâve been with him while he smoked. But I ainât smoke.Why do you have a bodyguard?
Better be safe. Iâve gotten a lot of threats so itâs better to be on the safe side.What kind of threats?
Like, âif you donât get me to meet Wayne imma fuk u upâ and stuff like that. Itâs a cold world out there.Do people leave mean comments on your posts?
All the time, but you gotta respect the haters.What do you mean?
You gotta have the haters to get to the top. Iâm just trynna make a name for myself in this music business.Do you want to be a rapper?
No. A record executive.Do you have a revenue stream?
No.Are you super popular at your school because of this?
Yeah.Do you have a ton of girls chasing you?
Yeah.Have you seen Head of State?
No, whatâs that?Itâs a movie where Chris Rock becomes president and Nate Dogg does these sick interludes wearing American flag patchwork overalls.
No, but Iâve definitely heard the soundtrack.Whatâs the best show you ever saw?
Probably the last T.I. show before he went to jail. It was just the crowdâs reaction to every song and how hype he was and it was just the real moment that people officially called him the king.Whatâs the worst show you ever saw?
Trinidad Jame$ in Tampa. Heâs just a boring performer. And the crowd is made up of all swag and YOLO types of people.Whatâs wrong with YOLO and swag?
Nothingâs wrong with the words, just people who say it a lot are annoying.Is it like a subculture all itself now?
Yeah. Itâs stupid AF.Whatâs the weirdest thing youâve ever done with a rapper?
I went to Six Flags with Drake.Which Six Flags? Does Drake like roller coasters?
The one in Atlanta. Yeah, he does.Whatâs your first rap memory?
Being at a Lilâ Wayne concert when I was six.Whatâs your favorite rap record?
Right now: Dreams and Nightmares by Meek Mill. All time: Straight Outta Compton, just because itâs such a classic.What else is cool about your rap life?
I donât know weâve covered mostly errythang.Except: How do you make this happen?
I got connects.But youâre 12.
Letâs just put it as if youâre a big rap fan who goes to lots of concerts since you were six years old people see you. Itâs easy.Why were you at a rap concert when you were six? You didnât take yourself there.
My dad took me. And I was not just at one show I was at like 50 in that same year.Is your dad like a sound guy or something?
My dad isnât under control of anything itâs not through him. He bought tickets and took me. He didnât like just get free tickets. Itâs all recognition. When youâre at shows and youâre young and you have been at shows before and you were close and you know all the words their clique will remember you next time. Did you post the thing bout French and Trina breaking up? That bullshit was a lie.No. Are you close to Trina?
Yeah just because of French. She gave me a shoutout too.Do people think youâre a little young to know all the words to, say, a Trina song?Iâm not necessarily a huge Trina fan just because I know her. Trina ainât in my top 20.Sure. But doesnât a lot of rap have mature themes?
Iâm very mature for my age.Find Dale Eisinger on Twitter - @daleweisingerDo you like Instagram? Read more here:Musicians With Sports StarsDJ Khaled In A Bathtub
Annons
Annons
Nathan Schwartz, Secret King of Rap Instagram: Miami.Have you ever met Will Smith down there?
Yeah. He wasnât in the movie but he was at the premiere of Takers. I was there with T.I.Have you ever smoked down with Wiz Khalifa?
Dude Iâm 12 years old! Iâve been with him while he smoked. But I ainât smoke.Why do you have a bodyguard?
Better be safe. Iâve gotten a lot of threats so itâs better to be on the safe side.What kind of threats?
Like, âif you donât get me to meet Wayne imma fuk u upâ and stuff like that. Itâs a cold world out there.Do people leave mean comments on your posts?
All the time, but you gotta respect the haters.What do you mean?
You gotta have the haters to get to the top. Iâm just trynna make a name for myself in this music business.Do you want to be a rapper?
No. A record executive.Do you have a revenue stream?
No.Are you super popular at your school because of this?
Yeah.Do you have a ton of girls chasing you?
Yeah.Have you seen Head of State?
No, whatâs that?Itâs a movie where Chris Rock becomes president and Nate Dogg does these sick interludes wearing American flag patchwork overalls.
No, but Iâve definitely heard the soundtrack.
Annons
Probably the last T.I. show before he went to jail. It was just the crowdâs reaction to every song and how hype he was and it was just the real moment that people officially called him the king.Whatâs the worst show you ever saw?
Trinidad Jame$ in Tampa. Heâs just a boring performer. And the crowd is made up of all swag and YOLO types of people.Whatâs wrong with YOLO and swag?
Nothingâs wrong with the words, just people who say it a lot are annoying.Is it like a subculture all itself now?
Yeah. Itâs stupid AF.Whatâs the weirdest thing youâve ever done with a rapper?
I went to Six Flags with Drake.Which Six Flags? Does Drake like roller coasters?
The one in Atlanta. Yeah, he does.Whatâs your first rap memory?
Being at a Lilâ Wayne concert when I was six.Whatâs your favorite rap record?
Right now: Dreams and Nightmares by Meek Mill. All time: Straight Outta Compton, just because itâs such a classic.What else is cool about your rap life?
I donât know weâve covered mostly errythang.Except: How do you make this happen?
I got connects.But youâre 12.
Letâs just put it as if youâre a big rap fan who goes to lots of concerts since you were six years old people see you. Itâs easy.Why were you at a rap concert when you were six? You didnât take yourself there.
My dad took me. And I was not just at one show I was at like 50 in that same year.Is your dad like a sound guy or something?
My dad isnât under control of anything itâs not through him. He bought tickets and took me. He didnât like just get free tickets. Itâs all recognition. When youâre at shows and youâre young and you have been at shows before and you were close and you know all the words their clique will remember you next time. Did you post the thing bout French and Trina breaking up? That bullshit was a lie.
Annons
Yeah just because of French. She gave me a shoutout too.
Iâm very mature for my age.Find Dale Eisinger on Twitter - @daleweisingerDo you like Instagram? Read more here:Musicians With Sports StarsDJ Khaled In A Bathtub