Getting to know Brissy's NERVE
Off the back of the huge news that he'll be supporting Triple One at their sold out tour across the country, Brisbane rapper NERVE's back with more. He's had quite a musical journey this past year, saying that earlier in the year, he was contemplating taking a hiatus from music.
Since that moment, he's gone on to perform at some of the country's biggest festivals, sold out his own Australian east coast tour earlier in the year and with his new track 'BIG SWITCH', he's letting us know that he's not only here to stay, but also warning us to not pigeon-hole him into any one sound.
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'BIG SWITCH' showcases his inimitable flow, his heavy-hitting vocals sitting passionately atop various chopped and skewed samples to create a warning track of sorts.
With the big support slot coming up and this huge new track to celebrate, we threw a few questions over to NERVE to get to know him a bit better, and our taking? Label him if you dare, because just when you think you've got NERVE all figured out, he'll continue to switch it up. Take a read below.
Who are you?
I’ve been writing producing, mixing and mastering music out of Brisbane for the past 3 or so years and collaborating with artists all across the country in every respect and across various sub-genres of hip-hop. I grew up surrounded by an eclectic mix of music and developed a love for rhythm and sound early on which eventually took its form in production and sound design.
'Big Switch' as a project signifies me bringing together multiple genres that I’ve been working with over the past few years and forming my own sound with it. It represents a switch-up from my old direction with music and how I plan to carry out the next stage of my journey through music.
How did Nerve come to be?
It was never a conscious decision, it just happened, which is the beauty of it I guess. I didn’t wake up one morning and think, “I’m trying to be a rapper now!” I discovered hip-hop and thought it didn’t seem like too much of a stretch to give it a go myself.
I think my favourite thing about music is that I can wake up one morning, have a coffee, and a random thought will pop into my head that leads to an entire song being created start to finish in 2 hours. After days like that I’m on a massive high and I think that’s what I live for at the moment.
People often see me at shows or online and think I’m off my head on uppers or drunk but generally I’m just hyped on the things I’m doing in day to day life, and my reason for that is the music I make and listen to.
What are we talking, vibe-wise?
I never want to be put in a box, but it’s definitely hip-hop. I’ve always had this concept of this magic “funk” that happens in some genres of music. Some artists have it and some artists don’t, it doesn’t mean they’re good or bad it’s just funk. I grew up on lots of New Orleans Funk and Blues so I think that’s where I got that concept from.
I like to think everything I drop for the rest of this year has that funk. And if it doesn’t then I’m not satisfied.
Tell us a bit about your new track, ‘Big Switch’.
I guess if you had to describe it production-wise its almost a mix between southern trap, soul and jazz. But I still try to keep things simple.
In terms of the lyrics? It’s me speaking my mind and talking my shit. I’m known for that already, but I feel like this one really hits home. I see a lot of facades in the music industry and a lot of people getting into it for the wrong reasons so I like to express that I guess.
What can we expect from you moving forward?
I’m planning to take the rest of 2019 by the balls and drop content more frequently than I ever have before. I want to put smiles on faces and change what hip-hop in Australia is perceived as. I also want to build up my city and my crew: NO1NETWORK.
Where can we hear more of your work?
YouTube, Spotify, Apple music, Triple J… All that goodness.
Words by CAITLIN MEDCALF
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