Natalie Lauren Sims (born June 25, 1984), also known by her stage name Natalie Lauren and former stage name Suzy Rock, is a musician, songwriter, graphic designer and visual artist, writer, and music executive from Tulsa, Oklahoma. As a solo artist she performs within the Christian hip hop and R&B genres, having released a studio album, eight singles, three extended plays, and a mixtape as well as being featured on numerous songs by other artists. She also is a member of High Society Collective – along with Sho Baraka, Swoope, and J.R. – which released a studio album, Circa MMXI: The Collective, in 2012. She released her first studio album, Handle with Care, in 2020 through Rostrum Records. Five singles were released for the album: "Meditate" in 2019, and "Something Something", "Just Breathe", "Back to Love", and "Bra Off" in 2020.
As a songwriter, Sims' credits include the Iggy Azalea singles "Work", "Change Your Life", and "Bounce", and "I'll Find You" by Lecrae featuring Tori Kelly. She has written and performed extensively with her friend KB, with whom she also has partnered as an A&R executive. Other song-writing credits include compositions for Lecrae, Chris Brown, Sho Baraka, Christon Gray, Da' T.R.U.T.H., Tedashii, Casey J, Keke Palmer, and Jackie Hill-Perry, among others. Sims' visual art and graphic design credits include albums by Deitrick Haddon, Juanita Bynum, and Casey J.
Biography
Birth–2009
Natalie Lauren Sims was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma during 1984, and raised there as the daughter of Charles Sims, Jr. She started writing hip hop music, when she was 11, while she became a Christian at age 14. She began her hip-hop career in 2002. Sims relocated from Tampa to Atlanta, Georgia in 2007. In 2009, she met Iggy Azalea — who was still working under her birth name, Amethyst Kelly – and the two shared studio space with the producers FKi and Jon Jon Traxx. However, Sims and Azalea subsequently lost touch when Azalea moved to Los Angeles in 2010. In 2009, Sims, under the moniker Suzy Rock, released a mixtape entitled So What. She also featured on the song "Runaway Train" by Rachel, from the album Nothing W/O You.
2010–11
In 2010, Sims collaborated on the Lecrae album Rehab, featuring on the song "High", also featuring Sho Baraka, and co-wrote and provided backing vocals to the song "Killa." That same year, she designed the cover to Deitrick Haddon's soundtrack album Blessed & Cursed - Voices of Unity, which included her song "So What". Sims also provided art direction for Juanita Bynum's album More Passion and creative design for Thankful by Myron Williams. In 2011, Sims wrote for and contributed vocals to Blacklight by Tedashii and The Good Life (2012) by Trip Lee, and featured on the song "Fantasy" from the latter album. She also featured on the single "Hello" from KB's forthcoming album Weight & Glory (2012), an album to which she also contributed some song-writing. She also featured on two songs by Pro, "Get In" from PSA Vol. 2 and "Drink from His Cup" from Dying to Live, the song "Survivor" by Da' T.R.U.T.H. from his album The Whole Truth, the "Battle Song" by Lecrae from his album Rehab: The Overdose, and Canon's song "Poppin' Off" from the album Blind World. Additionally, that year Sims co-founded the hip hop group High Society, along with Sho Baraka, J.R., and Swoope. The group released its first single, "One Moment", on June 20, and a second single, "Devil", on October 31, 2011.
2012–13
In 2012, Sims released a music and teaching series called Dirty Little Secrets, and featured on Lecrae's mixtape Church Clothes and contributed song-writing to his album Gravity, and provided graphic design for the Deitrick Haddon soundtrack from A Beautiful Soul. High Society released its debut album, Circa MMXI – The Collective, on January 17, and a third, non-album single, "Young Again", on February 14.
While scheduled to tour with Tedashii and KB, Sims was contacted by Shawna Peezy, the manager for Iggy Azalea, requesting that she fly to Wales to help Azalea write The New Classic (2014). Sims was initially hesitant to take the offer, as she would have to cut her tour short, and felt uncomfortable with the risqué content put out by Azalea. However, she then received a call from Sarah Stennett from the London-based management team Turn First Artists. Stennett explained that her company was trying to commercialize Azalea's image. Sims understood this to mean a less provocative and explicit approach, and, hoping to be a more positive influence on Azalea's content, abandoned the last four stops on her tour and flew over to Wales in December.