Emerging from the backdrop

Christian Gates is elated. The local artist, who goes by the moniker The Philharmonik, traveled in March to South by Southwest in Austin, where he got to perform, attend conferences and, most important, meet Chicago rapper Noname, an idol of his.

The experience was eye-opening. Now he’s ready to make his mark on Sacramento and beyond. He’s already turned some heads in the year or so he’s been performing as The Philharmonik. This year, among other things, he’ll be releasing his debut full-length, Underdawg, which he says will be a “best of” collection of his tunes from the multiple genres he plays (hip-hop, R&B, electronic). It’s tentatively scheduled for release in September. He’s hoping it’ll take his music to the next level.

“I’m going to be doing this for the rest of my life. This is the first chapter in my legacy,” Gates says. “I know if take my foot off the pedal now, I’ll be doing myself a disservice.”

When Gates started, he came onto the scene seemingly fully formed. On stage, he plays the piano, accompanied by backing tracks he records himself. He can sing on par with Anderson .Paak and has the rapping skills of a young Chance the Rapper. He’s like a one-man-band playing numerous instruments (hence the moniker). Even as he jumps among styles, he gives his music a cool, low-key, feel-good vibe that will catch you off-guard with its intense passion.

Still, the artist is a little surprised at how quickly he’s developed a fan base. When he played the Basement Sessions at Ruhstaller this past February, just before South by Southwest, 200 people came out to see him, the sole artist that night.

Music has always been part of Gates’ life. Since high school, he’s been producing tracks for other artists. The past several years, he’s turned it into a profession, making tracks for Christian artists.

But a few years ago he felt that his personal ambitions conflicted with his Christian sense of community. Then, after considering contradictions in the Bible and watching atheist videos that made sense to him, he lost his faith and now considers himself an agnostic. That loss of faith liberated him to pursue his dreams of performing his own music.

“I never really had a vision of my own. I’ve always worked for other people. But I’ve always had these creative ideas,” Gates says. “Now I can use them in a way that’s not restricted by faith ’cause I’m scared of expressing myself in this way because I might go to hell.”

His music has really blossomed. The Philharmonik freely hops around in style from song to song. Even within songs, he blends disparate sections—so different that they could easily be separate tracks—with the grace of a lifelong songwriter.

“I’ve had so many people tell me, ’If you’re going to do hip-hop, you can only have hip-hop on that album. You can’t be multigenre.’ I’m like, I’m inspired by too many genres, too many artists, too much music to just place myself in a box of one genre,” Gates says.

As Gates lets go of pressure from the church and dogmatic musicians, he’s finding his true voice. He sees his music as a way to speak to the struggles people face but can’t always admit. His song “Good Day,” for instance, is about his battle with depression.

“My aim is to uplift anyone who has been an underdog,” Gates says.