By Williamena Kwapo | OBSERVER Staff Writer
Sacramento native Christian Gates, better known by his stage name “The Philharmonik,” decided to give his music career one last shot after years of feeling stagnant. That decision has propelled him to the national stage after winning NPR’s prestigious Tiny Desk Contest. For The Philharmonik, this victory is more than just a career milestone; it’s a testament to perseverance and the transformative power of music.
The NPR Tiny Desk Contest, launched in 2015, is an annual competition aimed at discovering and showcasing talented independent musicians from across the United States. Contestants submit videos performing an original song at a desk, paying homage to the series. Winners are chosen by a panel of NPR Music judges and receive the opportunity to perform their own Tiny Desk Concert.
With almost 7,000 entries in this year’s contest, The Philharmonik rose as the winner with his song “What Does It All Mean.”
The journey to becoming a successful musician has been anything but easy and the song is a representation of some of his most difficult days striving to continue doing what he loves.
Philharmonik recalls writing the song back in 2019 when he felt his musical career and life were not going as anticipated.
“I was going through an existential crisis,” he says. “Nothing really made sense. I just wrote a song that tapped into that feeling, and that’s what came out.”
Interestingly, this wasn’t Philharmonik’s first attempt at the Tiny Desk Contest. He entered in 2019 with a different song, “Good Day,” but wasn’t selected.
“The hardest part is keeping the faith when nothing is working and not quitting when things get hard,” he said. “You keep sowing the seeds, you keep watering the plant and see nothing growing. It gets very discouraging at times.”
True to his word, Philharmonik re-entered the contest in 2024, this time with “What Does It All Mean?”
“I said, ‘If this doesn’t work, I’m dropping music. I’m gonna find something else to do,'” he admits. “But the most rewarding thing is waiting it out and keeping working. It’s the one last move to say, ‘Hey, this is all I have left in my chamber. And I’m going to give it my best shot.'”
Philharmonik started making music full-time in 2015 after quitting his job at a laundromat but it has always been a huge part of his life.
His musical journey started at six years old when his mother enrolled him in classical piano lessons after he replicated concert melodies without any prior experience. Financial constraints forced the lessons to end at 12, but his mother encouraged him to join an orchestra, initially for discipline rather than passion. It wasn’t until a high school music class at 16 that his interest in creating his own music ignited. This led him to rapping, producing, and singing, honing his skills as an artist, lyricist, and performer over time.
His multifaceted musical talent is the inspiration behind his stage name “The Philharmonik.”
“I produce, write, sing, and engineer absolutely everything by myself when it comes to the songs,” he explains. “It kind of gave me this persona of a one-man orchestra. Because I played all these instruments. I did all these parts. And later down the road, I looked at Webster’s definition of it. And it said ‘devoted to music,’ and my life has literally been a testament to that. I have been devoted to music.”
The Philharmonik draws musical inspiration from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Prince, and Kendrick Lamar. He hopes to one day collaborate with Lamar and Taylor Swift.
Following his NPR Tiny Desk win, he is currently set for a 10-city US tour to perform his winning song, “What Does It All Mean.”
When asked about the impact Sacramento has had on his musical trajectory, The Philharmonik told The OBSERVER, “If I wasn’t in Sacramento, you would never hear of The Philharmonik.”