Lana Del Rey's Dad Rob Grant Says He Loves Being Called 'Nepo Daddy' as He Launches into Music (Exclusive)

"I thought, 'Oh, s—, that's fabulous," Grant, 69, who worked with Del Rey on his debut album 'Lost at Sea,' tells PEOPLE

You've heard of "Nepo Babies." Now, meet "Nepo Daddy" — Rob Grant.

After watching his daughter, Elizabeth Grant — better known as Lana Del Rey — rise to superstardom as a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter for more than a decade, Grant is ready for his turn in the spotlight with his debut album Lost at Sea, out Friday.

Musicianship marks the latest professional venture for Grant, 69, who's previously worked as an advertising copywriter, owned a restaurant, a boat-building company and a furniture store and collected domain names as a lucrative hobby. Since his childhood in Rhode Island, however, his passion has been spending time on the ocean — which inspired Lost at Sea, a 14-track body of piano music that features nearly no vocals, aside from a couple of collaborations with Del Rey.

“When I play the piano, I'll often drift off into almost a hypnotic state,” Grant, who’s had a penchant for sailing and fishing since his childhood on Rhode Island, tells PEOPLE. “I can remember and envision many, many times when I was out on the ocean, and it all flows through me right into the music.”

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He began setting sail on his own around 15 years old and developed an immense love for spending time on water and letting the waves wash away his worries. Around the same time, he tried his hand at playing the piano and discovered his musical talent — without any professional training, which he’s still never had.

“We had a beautiful Steinway baby grand, and I would look out over Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. It's just a beautiful vista, and I would just improvise and play,” recalls Grant. “I'll hear chords, I'll hear notes, and I'll begin to put the song together organically. I do it in a very intuitive way.”

He didn’t immediately pursue musicianship, but during his time as a copywriter at Grey Group advertising company about 25 years ago, Grant felt the itch to write a song and met with his cousin and friend, country songwriter Phil Madeira, in Nashville. Together, they wrote “a bunch of country songs” including a comedic track called “Big Bubba,” which featured the lyrics, “Hubba bubba, big bubba.”

The pair pitched the song to a publishing company on Music Row, and Grant received one direction from Madeira before the meeting: “Don’t say anything bad about country music.” He agreed, but after playing the song for an executive, “I got the sense that he was offended. He thought we were making fun of southern culture,” he says.

“Then, of course, I step out of bounds. I say to him, ‘You know what? Let me give you an example of why country music sucks,’ and I named this song,” he explains. “He jumps up, goes over to the corner of his office and hauls out this giant freaking plaque that he’d just been awarded for that very song. It was ‘Daddy’s Money’ [by Ricochet].”

“Big Bubba” was rejected, and Grant returned to his day job. Over a decade later, Del Rey launched her music career, and her father watched from the sidelines. “I’m very, very proud,” he says of the “Born to Die” performer. He’s had a first-hand look at the ups and downs of the music industry, as she’s endured many controversies throughout her career, leading him to take on a protective role.

“Despite all of that resistance out there, she persevered and kept making music. She stuck straight to her own unique aesthetic,” says Grant. “She’s finally being recognized for the extraordinary songwriter that she is. She’s really a poet — and then couple that with that angelic voice.”

His musicianship really kicked into gear while Del Rey, 37, was in the midst of creating her 2021 album Blue Banisters, and she overheard her father improvising a tune on the piano. “She began to sing lyrics to the song, and within 30 or 40 minutes, we had written ‘Sweet Carolina,’ the final track,” he says.

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As they continued working together, Grant learned that Del Rey showing up to the studio “a couple of hours late” would be a common occurrence, so he began creating the songs that would end up on Lost at Sea. “I learned to sneak in in the morning, because all the guys were there — engineers, producers, and they're all twiddling their thumbs. So, I said, 'Guys, just hit record, I'll go in and play,’” he says. “I would go in and play for 40 minutes, 50 minutes, and out of that block of music, we were able to pull five gorgeous songs.”

Over the past couple years, Grant and Del Rey written a total of “four or five beautiful songs” together — one of which was meant to be on her latest album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, but Grant wanted it for his own project. In the end, it didn’t make either project but helped develop their collaborative relationship. “Gorgeous song, by the way. It was called ‘Sunshine,’” he explains. “I think that song is going to reappear on the next project. It’s so beautiful.”

After “Sunshine” was shelved, Grant was determined to make a song of the same quality with his daughter. He sat down to improvise at the piano once again and came across a “beautiful chord progression” that he knew she would like. Upon hearing it, she wrote the lyrics, and it became the closing track of his album, “Hollywood Bowl”  — which features Del Rey comparing her father’s piano skills to those of Billy Joel.

“Now, mind you, she doesn’t necessarily think that I play as good as Billy Joel, but it rhymes with ‘Hollywood Bowl.’ We wanted to get that straight because poor Billy Joel, right? He's gonna read this and go, 'What the f—?'” he quips with a laugh. “He's an extraordinary musician. I would like to feel that I could aspire to play as well as Billy Joel. I think my style is very different.”

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Upon announcing his album in February, fans online quickly began referring to Grant as “Nepo Daddy,” given his daughter’s musical success predating his own. “I thought, 'Oh, s—, that's fabulous. I've got to go get that domain.' I want to do merch. I want to create a brand around this thing,” he says. “I leaned right into it, embraced it and really loved it. Then, of course, it blew up. Now, I'm the Nepo Daddy, and that's fine. They call me a lot of things — Robster, Daddy Del Rey, Papa Del Rey, Robster Lobster and now, Nepo Daddy.”

Soon after adopting the label for himself, another famous musician’s parent took notice — Kesha’s mom, singer-songwriter Pebe Sebert. “Is he single,” she tweeted in jest. “God bless her. Of course, I'm married. I have a wife, so we want to make that clear, but I thank her for her support,” says Grant, noting that he’s open to the idea of getting in the studio with Sebert, Del Rey and Kesha. “Maybe we’ll do ‘Big Bubba’ together.”

As pre-release singles have rolled out from Lost at Sea (including its title track featuring Del Rey), Grant’s began amassing hundreds of thousands of streams per day, which he didn’t expect. “To be honest, I kind of kept my expectations grounded because I'm so new to the whole music industry thing,” he says. “Obviously, I've been with my daughter and seeing her evolution. But now, for me to enter the fray, it's a very unique experience.”

Now that the music is gaining traction, he’s ready to steer the ship of his career to success. He’d like to tour the project, perhaps with Del Rey — if it’s the right fit. “I want to be careful not to intrude into her space,” he says. “The question is, would that mesh with her sound? Where would I fall into that sequence? Would I open? Would I close? Would they bring me out as a little surprise? Maybe. We've been talking about it. But again, you know, I've never performed in public.”

Overall, Grant simply feels grateful for the ability to create music — and the fact that it’s finding a fanbase. “I feel I’m very fortunate,” he says. “I’m a lucky guy, at 69, to have suddenly been given a chance to bloom musically.”

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