"Pen Up Girls" (twitter.com/penupgirls)

Whats a "Pen Up Girls"??? Hummmm... The kinda Girls that make other writers wanna Hang their Pens Up...Get it ...Lol... PEN UP GIRLSAsk the “Pen Up Girls” what makes their writing team so strong in a male dominated industry? Natalie and Fendi respond with one voice: “Forget about emotions and only focus on the bigger picture…which is writing songs that the listener connects to and making the “Pen Up Girls” a brand as well as a movement.” The reason that the ladies call themselves Pen Up Girls is because they don’t write anything down. “We pretty much get creative in the studio. Sometimes, we might have a concept and we’ll call each other up just so we can remember it in case we receive a track that may work well for a particular concept. But other than that, we leave it up to the energy in the recording studio and God,” says Natalie. As far as musical style, Natalie and Fendi write songs in all genres. “We hate being put in a box. You have to be well rounded in the music industry because almost every year, the trend changes on what’s HOT at the top of the charts.”Of course, in a crowded music marketplace, it takes more than music and lyrics to succeed. It takes sheer determination and owning your destiny, which the “Pen Up Girls” clearly possess. Given the enthusiasm of Sony ATV (Natalie’s Publisher) and Hitco/Bug Music (Fendi’s publisher), the “Pen Up Girls” are off to a flying start. You can check out their myspace page at www.myspace.com/thepenupgirls. The “Pen Up Girls” have been writing together for over a year and in this short time, the ladies have been hard at work, traveling to work with some of the top producers in the game. These producers include Rodney Jerkins, Dre & Vidal, Matrax and L.O.S., to name a few.For the Pen Up Girls, working in music professionally has been a lifelong dream. “I’ve been singing and writing all my life,” says Fendi the Brooklyn born native. “I would always sing in church, middle school, and even in a few plays as an undergrad at Hunter College. I actually had a year left to graduate before I decided to leave. Obviously, my mom wanted me to finish, but I couldn’t remedy myself from the music bug. Everything changed one day when I was hanging out with a friend in Times Square in New York. I bumped into a songwriter by the name of Jay-O Ferrari (back then he called himself Hennessy). At first I thought he was just trying to talk to me but he quickly informed me that he’s a songwriter and he played a song I was familiar with. I called him the next day and that same day, I was in the studio with him and L.O.S working on a song called ‘Hot And Tipsy.’ That was in December 2001 and a few months from then, LA Reid offered me a publishing deal with Hitco and I received a recording contract with Clive Davis' J Records as one of the members of the female R&B group LYRIC. It was in that chapter of my life I met Natalie. We had the same vocal coach and we both were mutual friends with L.O.S. After Lyric broke up a few years later L.O.S set up a blind writing session where it was the first time Nat and I actually wrote together. Our writing chemistry came naturally, but we still didn’t make it official because I was still part of a girl group. It wasn’t until the end of 2007 where I parted ways with the group, and decided focusing on writing was the way to go.”As for Natalie, her story begins in NJ, born to Annette and Grant Lee Walker. At a very young age, Natalie showed signs of being an artistic creature. “My first recording was on an answering machine at age six. At age seven, I began taking professional singing, dancing, acting, and juggling lessons (just kidding, she chuckles)” . Natalie attended private schools, so singing was a major part of her curriculum. Having put together girl groups as a pre teen, she discovered that finding girls with the same amount of dedication was hard to come by. So at the age of sixteen, she became a solo artist. The next task was finding good material, which was more difficult to do. Having always excelled in English academically, she was encouraged by her mother to give writing a try. Soon after, she found writing to be her true passion. Natalie worked with many local producers to get in shape for her big chance. At Seventeen, she began training with vocal coach extraordinaire, Troy Randall. This is where she crossed paths with Fendi. Strangely enough, the stars weren’t aligned for this business union quite yet.In the years to follow, Natalie collaborated with Production Duo “Urban Legendz,” which consisted of L.O.S. and Jay O Ferrari. With this magical combination, Natalie found herself relocating to Atlanta, GA. It was the journey to ATL that changed her life. Natalie worked feverishly, day and night, on records for a label called Music Line/Capitol. Much of the focus was on a then new group “Dear Jayne.” This segment of her life revealed both the demands and pressures of being in the music industry. “This is when I got a clear understanding of what it took to be a fierce competitor in the game.” After returning home to the east coast, Natalie had the opportunity to work alongside the production team “Soul Diggaz,” With “Soul Diggaz” Natalie was fortunate to work with a host of new artists. These artists include Melody (Pussy Cat Dolls) and Donnie Klang of Bad Boy Records.In December 2007, Natalie and Fendi co-wrote a song titled “Can’t Find the Words.” This song was immediately recorded by Def Jam artist “Karina”. This occasion was a sure sign that they were on to something. Two weeks later, the “Pen Up Girls” were born. Natalie concludes “The Pen Up Girls are living proof that in life there are truly only “Six Degrees of Separation”.