For Jacksonville rapper and entrepreneur Natalac, Sherwood is more than a neighborhood it is home, history, and the foundation of a journey that has stretched from childhood dreams to music, business, and community presence.
Pictured on the Northside of Jacksonville in the Sherwood neighborhood where he was born and raised, Natalac stands in front of a place that represents far more than a backdrop. According to Natalac, Sherwood is where his life began, where his earliest ambitions developed, and where he would eventually establish Natalac Records and build his trucking business, Natalac Express.
Even after years in entertainment and entrepreneurship, Sherwood remains part of his everyday identity. His story is not simply about leaving a neighborhood in pursuit of success. It is about building from that neighborhood while continuing to represent it.
Where It All Began: Natalac at Nine
Long before the records, businesses, performances, and public appearances, there was Sheldon Martinez Davis, the young boy who would become known professionally as Natalac.
A childhood photograph captures him at approximately nine years old—the age Natalac says he first began rapping. Even then, one detail immediately stood out: his brightly colored hair, an early glimpse of the individuality that would later become part of his recognizable image.
At nine, there was no way to know exactly where music would take him. But the creative instinct was already there.
Those early years in Jacksonville became the starting point for an identity that would eventually develop into Natalac, an independent artist associated with the style he calls “Pimp Hop.”
What began as a childhood interest gradually became something much larger: a career, a brand, and eventually a business platform of his own.
Sherwood Roots, an Independent Vision
As Natalac grew from a young aspiring rapper into an independent artist and entrepreneur, the neighborhood where he started remained central to his story.
Rather than separating his business identity from his roots, he built important parts of that identity around them.
Through Natalac Records, he developed his own platform in the music industry, giving himself greater control over his artistic direction and the business surrounding his work. His entrepreneurial ambitions later extended outside music through Natalac Express, his trucking company.
The two ventures represent different industries, but they share a common principle: ownership.
For Natalac, independence has meant more than releasing music without depending entirely on traditional industry structures. It has also meant creating businesses, developing a recognizable brand, and turning years of experience into something he could control himself.
And at the center of that journey remains Jacksonville.
Still at Home in the Community
One of the most revealing photographs in Natalac’s collection is not from a concert, awards event, or celebrity gathering.
Instead, it captures an everyday moment outside Natalac Records.
According to Natalac, City of Jacksonville employees were working on a busted pipe in the area when he stepped outside—still wearing his bathrobe—to take a photograph with members of the crew. Jacksonville comedian Set It Off, also known as Andre Ennis Sr., was also present.
The image is casual, but that is precisely what gives it character.
Behind the artist, businessman, stage performances, and carefully built public image is someone whose connection to his neighborhood remains immediate enough for an ordinary morning to become part of the story.
It also creates a striking contrast with the childhood photograph.
The young boy who began rapping at nine grew into an artist and entrepreneur who would establish businesses in the same broader community that helped shape him.
More Than Music
Natalac’s evolution illustrates how an artist’s career can expand when music becomes the foundation rather than the final destination.
His journey has moved between recording, performing, independent business, branding, transportation, entertainment, and community relationships.
That evolution is particularly important to the larger Natalac story.
Music introduced the identity, but entrepreneurship helped expand it.
Natalac Records gave the artist a business platform. Natalac Express extended his entrepreneurial identity into another industry. Meanwhile, his continued connection to Jacksonville has provided a consistent geographical and cultural foundation.
Through each stage, the name Natalac has developed into more than a stage identity—it has become part of a wider independent brand.
From Sherwood to Bigga Rankin Day
Another significant chapter arrived on August 2, 2026, during the first Bigga Rankin Day in Jacksonville.
Natalac took the stage as part of the celebration alongside figures including Adrian McClendon and Comedian Set It Off, with members of the wider Duval County community gathered for the occasion.
For Natalac, the moment carried particular meaning.
The journey that began with a nine-year-old boy discovering rap had grown into decades of music, entrepreneurship, relationships, and involvement in Jacksonville’s entertainment culture.
Standing on a Jacksonville stage for an event celebrating Bigga Rankin created another connection between Natalac’s past and present—between the neighborhood where he developed his identity and the larger city whose name he has continued to carry throughout his career.
A Career Built on Ownership
There is a consistent theme running through Natalac’s journey: independence.
The decision to build Natalac Records reflected a desire for greater ownership in music. Building Natalac Express demonstrated that the same entrepreneurial thinking could extend beyond entertainment.
For independent artists, longevity often depends on understanding that talent and business must eventually work together.
Natalac’s path reflects that philosophy.
Instead of allowing his identity to exist only through individual songs or performances, he developed businesses around the name he had spent years building.
That transformation—from performer to owner and entrepreneur—is an important part of what separates a temporary moment in music from a longer-term legacy.
The Neighborhood That Never Left the Story
Perhaps the clearest way to understand Natalac’s journey is to place two photographs side by side.
In one stands nine-year-old Sheldon Martinez Davis, at the beginning of his relationship with rap.
In another stands Natalac in Sherwood decades later, carrying the identity, businesses, experiences, and history accumulated along the way.
Between those two photographs lies the larger story.
There are records and performances. There is Natalac Records. There is Natalac Express. There are friendships, community moments, stages, setbacks, opportunities, and years spent developing an independent identity.
But Sherwood remains present at both ends.
That continuity gives Natalac’s story its strongest message.
Success did not require erasing where the journey began. Instead, the neighborhood became part of the brand, the memory, and the legacy.
From a Nine-Year-Old Dream to a Jacksonville Legacy
Natalac’s story is ultimately one of progression without disconnection.
The nine-year-old who discovered an interest in rapping became an independent Jacksonville artist. The artist became a record-label owner and entrepreneur. The entrepreneur continued building while remaining connected to the neighborhood that shaped his earliest years.
From Sherwood to Natalac Records, from Natalac Express to Jacksonville stages, each chapter adds another layer to a career built through persistence, ownership, and identity.
And while the journey has grown far beyond the childhood photograph where it began, one thing has remained remarkably consistent:
Jacksonville is not simply where Natalac came from. It remains part of who he is—and part of the legacy he continues to build.