Photo/David Bagdon
By David Bagdon, Publisher
Shrewsbury- You might think you know Alex Napoleon. Many people would recognize him through his day job as the manager of Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough. On a casual basis, he appears conservative and reserved; one would hardly suspect his insatiable passion for music, a passion so deep it consumes him. Napoleon is a rapper, a white, buttoned-up, suburban rapper…and he is very, very good.
Like many young people today, Napoleon was first exposed to hip hop music in grammar school. Something about its powerful beats and raw messages caught his attention. As a person who sometimes had difficulty expressing his inner thoughts, he found it liberating to put his emotions down as lyrics, but the prospect of actually performing the music was never a consideration.
For years, Napoleon used his music primarily as an outlet to express himself and the life lessons he was learning along the way. Unlike many of today’s most successful rappers, whose writing focuses on themes of wealth, sex and fame, Napoleon chooses to write about real life experiences and observations. His material is generally constructive and focuses on self-discovery and personal growth.
Although he has sometimes written about situations other than his own, he is cautious to remain honest and not embellish his life’s experiences.
“So many rappers today focus on their image at the expense of the music. I’m not willing to
put on a fake image so people will listen. I want them to listen because my music is solid and I’m being true to myself.”
When Napoleon went off to attend Westfield State College he began to discover a wider audience for his music. There, he was exposed to a creative, open environment complete with musical house parties and a coffeehouse scene where he could test his skills.
After years of compiling and refining his own material, he heard of an open mic event at the school’s coffeehouse and he knew it was time to finally step on stage and perform his music.
“I was incredibly nervous but I told myself it was now or never. When I look back on it, I realize that it was a turning point for me. The audience loved what I did and I got such a thrill out of connecting with people through my music.”
Following his graduation, Napoleon continued to hone his skills as a rap writer and performer. While he learned a great deal about the technical aspects of recording and producing electronic music, he also learned about the dark underbelly of the rap music scene.
Eager to perform his music, he ran into a long list of unethical promoters and uncommitted collaborators; it was enough to drive him away from performing. It soon became clear that many were in the business only for the money and not for a passion for the music.
“I was so eager to get my music out there that I ended up connecting with some of the wrong people. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve had producers steal from me and promoters take advantage of me. Now, I’m much more careful about who I trust.”
To date, Napoleon has recorded some 100 songs representing well over 2,000 hours at a computer keyboard refining tracks and obsessing over every nuance.
“I guess I’m a little compulsive when it comes to recording. I feel like a song is never good enough…like it’s never done. I have spent as few as 10 hours on a song and over 50 on others. Sometimes I just need to push myself away from the keyboard and say it’s good enough.”
So where does one go when they have a huge backlog of music that has yet to be exposed to the public? In today’s digital world the answer is the Internet. Napoleon has been focusing on organizing and exposing his music so the public can discover it.
His greatest satisfaction, he said, is catching people off guard with his hidden talent.
“I love to hear people’s positive reactions when they hear my stuff for the first time…because I’m a quiet guy who doesn’t fit the stereotype, they just don’t expect it.
Going by the screen name “Mr. Napoleon,” his work can be located on YouTube by typing in “Mr. Napoleon Can’t Stop Now “and then click on “Alex Napo” to hear more clips. He can also be heard on the music sharing service SoundCloud, https://soundcloud.com/mr-napoleon.
