Hailing from Jackson, Tennessee, Warlick’s southern roots have played as a fundamental influence to his overall sound. However, he’s currently gaining attention because of the way he fuses his country base with heavy Hip-Hop and Gospel influences.
Through social media – Warlick has gained more than 1M followers on TikTok and more than 85,000 on Instagram— all by creating videos of himself on his iPhone in his truck. His niche started with using radio hit’s by popular artists such as Cardi B and DaBaby, and adding his own message and lyrics to the beats. His videos caught the attention of Granger Smith, who asked Warlick to add a rap verse to his song, creating a remix of “That’s What I Love About Dirt Roads.”
“What I would do is take the most common song popping right now at the time, then I’ll put that on garage band, and I take an instrumental from YouTube and I just connect those two together,” says Warlick to CS Country. “That’s exactly how I got started with TikTok and that’s how I started getting into this music.”
His new EP — titled My Way — is as attention-grabbing as his social media posts. In addition to making music from his heart, Warlick says his goal is to bring people of all different backgrounds and colors together. Through his singles such as “My Way,” “Over Yonder,” and “Roots,” listeners can hear his positivity-driven message, while he explains his identity and mission as a Christ-follower. “I’m just a vessel being used, that’s it.” says Warlick, “…this could easily be anybody, but it’s this me being obedient to what God is telling me to do. It’s what led me to this spot right here.”
Warlick says his opportunity to collaborate with other musicians and industry leaders is what has helped to confirm that this is the lane he wants to stay in. He’s had the chance to write and record with artists like Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard (who also serves as Executive Producer on the upcoming EP), RaeLynn, Dustin Lynch, Lauren Alaina, Matt Stell.
In addition to his new, Warlick tells Celeb Secrets Country that he also has a new single coming out on May 7 called “It’s Okay to Cry.”
Keep scrolling to read our full Q&A and don’t forget to let us know what you think of Lathan’s new EP by Go listen to Lathan Warlick’s New EP “My Way” and Let us know your fav by dropping a comment below or by tweeting us at @CS_Country. You can keep up with Lathan by giving him a follow on Instagram + Facebook + Spotify.
Celeb Secrets Country: Who is Lathan Warlick, could you tell us about yourself?
Lathan Warlick: “Who is Lathan? Well, Lathan is somebody who is trying to push his vision of God, love, and unity through music. I want to bring so much stuff together. For instance, mixing the hip hop sound with the country.”
Celeb Secrets Country: You are known for adding rap verses to mainstream tracks – Could you tell us about this secret talent/ passion of yours?
Lathan Warlick: “I wanted to throw my own little flavor on those beats. What I would do is, take the most common song that is poppin’ right now and I would put it on GarageBand and take the instrumentals from YouTube, and I would just connect those two together – and that is exactly how I got started. TikTok is how I got into the music group, as country artists and managers started to get in contact with me.They helped me get signed to a label… just through TikTok.
TikTok is a different ballgame. I am blessed to be on there, first off. I did not know it was going to go this far and I didn’t think I would make it to one million followers…that wasn’t even my goal. My goal was just to uplift and encourage people.”
CSC: Your “My Way” EP is finally here – how are you feeling?
LW: “I’m feeling good! It’s called “My Way” and we also have a song called “My Way” with Tyler Hubbard. I’m feeling good about the whole thing because it’s different. It’s allowing me to push my vision of unity. I have all these country people that I collaborated with on this project – my first project. So it’s different, but I love it! It’s almost like God was showing me that I had to get out of my comfort zone.”
CSC: Your sound is gospel, country, and hip-hop – was that a lane that you originally wanted to start in, or was it something that just ended up happening creatively?
LW: “No, that’s definitely not the lane I wanted to start in. I was on the hip-hop side and I started doing hip hop because of my neighborhood. I grew up in a rough part of town in Jackson, Tennessee on the East Side. So, I wanted to show them and teach people like ‘ Hey, listen just because we grew up here, doesn’t mean that we got to live like this or just because we grew up here, we don’t need to die right here in this spot.’ So, I started making music to encourage them. It was after a tragic event took place in my life, that led me into doing all of this stuff and I wanted to be even more connected to god. Now, all this stuff came hand-in-hand. Now look, in 2021 I’m right here and it’s crazy.”
CSC: Your EP is star-studded – Tyler Hubbard, RaeLynn, Lauren Alaina, Russell Dickerson, Matt Stell, Dustin Lynch, and High Valley – what was it like to collaborate with several leading names in the industry.
LW: “It blew my mind because I wasn’t doing this thing for like six or seven months. When I signed my music deal, it was like I’m already connecting with these people. But, it was part of how God was lining everything up and it was just a snowball effect.
I made “Over Yonder” with Matt Stell! When I made that song, that’s when RaeLynn reached out to me and was like ‘I love this song ‘Over Yonder,’ and she was like ‘would you mind doing a song with me?’ and I was like ‘yeah! Let’s do it.’ When we did that, she sent the song to Tyler Hubbard because they are on the same label. He got in contact with her and was like ‘man, connect us…can we get into the studio?’ So, from then on, Tyler was sending it over to Lauren Alaina and it was just a snowball effect from there and it was just amazing.
Especially as an upcoming new artist, it’s just a blessing that these folks even wanted to connect and collab.”
CSC: Out of all 8 songs, which one should us fans listen to first and why?
LW: “I can give you one that is just real and sensitive to me – and that’s “Gotta Be God” one with Russell Dickerson. It just talks about my testimony on why I talk about God so much, why I want unity to be in the world, why it’s different for me, now that I’m on this side of the fence and doing music.”
CSC: What do you hope people get out of your music?
LW: “I just hope that if we come together, we can tackle anything in the world. We just got out of a pandemic and we are still going through the phases to get out of a pandemic. So with me, I just want to have a good time, let’s have some good vibes, all positive and nothing negative. Let’s just put this on, let’s listen to this, just tune in, and let’s just ride to the music. There’s enough negativity going on in the world right now! So, I just want to through something out there that strikes the world on something different and make stuff good.”
CSC: How does it feel to be a powerful and influential black artist? How do you believe you are inspiring the younger generation?
LW: “First off, I give God all the credit! I’m just a vessel being used…this could easily be anybody. It’s me being obedient to what God is telling me to do and that is what led me to this sport right here. That’s why I got to keep him in everything that I do. So for everyone out there watching and listening, put God first. I kept doing that, even when people were saying ‘it not going to work.’ I mean, I have heard it a thousand times that it wasn’t going to work out. But, I just kept going…it’s something that you have in your heart and something that you know. You have to pray hard about it and if it’s your passion, you not stopping!”
CSC: Since we are Celeb Secrets Country – Do you have any secrets about your EP “My Way,” that might surprise our readers?
LW: “Maybe not about the EP, but I do have something after the EP. On May 7, I am dropping another song called “It’s Okay To Cry.” This is after the EP and that’s what a lot of people don’t know. But, I love the EP! It’s a thing to bring unity and to bring people together. I hope everyone listens to it because it’s a great EP.”
@lathanwarlickSomebody needed to hear this🥺.. had to do this freestyle to @mpbeatzprod beat. It is ok to cry!! #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #foryourpage
♬ original sound – Lathan Warlick
CSC: What could expect from your new song “It’s Okay To Cry”?
LW: “It’s just an emotional song! In fact, I post the first part of it on TikTok, and OH MY GOD…it already has 1.5 million views on it. It’s just saying ‘Hey listen, you’re going to cry and you’re going to go through these emotions.’ Sometimes crying is going to help you get through all of this junk. It’s okay to cry and basically, that’s what the song is talking about. People started to hit me up and I was like ‘okay, May 7– let’s do this.”
LISTEN TO “MY WAY” BELOW:
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