Norman Sann's latest album "I Miss Mixtapes" took two weeks to make.
No, that's not a typo. The artist, a Houston native, writes, mixes and engineers his own songs, a rarity in the music industry. But the speed of production also has something to do with the unique way Sann collaborates with his fans.
It's caught the eye of some big brands — Procter & Gamble and Amazon.com, to name a couple — but also Louisville investors Justin Delaney and Brook Smith of Wabi Capital.
The local firm, which has been backing consumer-facing brands since last year, recently invested in Sann and moved him to Louisville to foster his creative growth.
A 'live' performance
In an interview, Sann told me he didn't get into music until later in life, but always knew he'd be an entertainer.
"My mom wanted me to be an actor, so when I was a kid, I had an Oreo commercial and an Oscar Meyer weiner commercial," he said.
Sann's creative direction changed course, however, shortly after the coronavirus pandemic began. In 2020, one of Sann's TikTok videos garnered nearly two million views in just two days.
In the clip, the rapper was dressed in a hospital gown and filmed lying down next to a half-eaten birthday cake that reads "Hi my name is Norman!!" It was certainly quirky, but people loved the original lyrics and beat of the song, according to the comments on TikTok.
The viral clip led to 300,000 new TikTok followers in a single week, 20,000 subscribers on YouTube and 8,000 followers on Instagram. Sann also has nearly 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
"Brand deals just start pouring in because everybody saw how fun it was," Sann said, noting brands also liked his safe, positive aesthetic.
And now, it's engagement with those fans on social media that's influencing Sann's songs. He makes music live, on TikTok, letting his more than 500,000 followers help shape his music as it's being created.
"When I watch that, I'm like, 'This is magical,'" Delaney said. "You're always trying to break down those walls between your consumers and your brand. Norman's doing that in a way that I think a lot of brands would have a hard time doing it."
It's also a different way to pursue a career in music, as many artists that have this level of success would consider signing with a label. Sann said the dynamic relationship he has with his fans reflects how today's audiences consume new music.
"It's going to be the future, in my opinion," he said. "People aren't into being force-fed things because back in the day, you had to just wait for albums to come out. Now I can go talk to my favorite artist. ... We may have stumbled on the model."
Nathan Bella, one of Sann's managers, added one of the biggest challenges that musicians face is that they have to work with a large team to bring an album to completion.
"Norman doesn't need anybody — he writes, mixes, masters, produces, performs, sings, all of it," he said. "That's the biggest positive: We wait for no one. ... It's pretty spectacular at the rate he creates, but also the quality."
A roadmap for success
Delaney, who previously served as CEO of Buff City Soap, moved his family to Louisville about six years ago. He loves it here, he said, highlighting the city's appreciation for the arts.
That's why he believes it's a fertile environment for Sann's music career.
"I actually think the best places for artists are places that are large enough to cultivate a following that have an appreciation for the arts," Delaney said. "So there's like an accessibility factor there. ... When you see the success of artists like Jack Harlow, who's fantastic, and some of the people who come out of Louisville, they're really leaving a roadmap and showing what's possible out of a place that's truly authentic like Louisville."
Full disclosure: Sann is also Delaney's brother-in-law, but that's has little to do with why Wabi Capital invested, Delaney said.
"We have this formula that hard work plus talent equals results," he said, adding that he sees similar strengths between Buff City Soap and Sann's brand. "The reason Buff City Soap works is because they can see the product being made so they trusted it more and there was more of a relationship there.
"Norman creates his art in such a public forum that there's more trust, the relationship is deeper."
Wabi Capital, whose portfolio includes local companies such as Louisville Vegan Jerky, Cartainers and Party Horses, declined to share investment figures. Delaney said in exchange for supporting Sann's work as an artist, the firm gets rights to certain royalties.
While Sann may be new to town, Kentucky is already making an appearance in his songs, specifically, "Mildred." Part of it goes:
"This is for the women named Mildred out here in Kentucky/With a plate of fried chicken, I'm swervin' to the Derby/On my way to make a million"
