Introducing Nerve and his warning-shot new single, Big Switch

Last week, for our 7th B'Day, we had the pleasure of hosting Triple One's first headline show on the west coast, and it's safe to say it went off. The Sydney rap collective share an energy almost unmatched in Australian hip-hop, turning a sweaty, tightly-packed Jack Rabbit Slim's into mayhem - a repeat of what they did at Falls Festival Fremantle a few months prior, but perhaps more intimate and closely-knit. It's something sure to highlight their forthcoming headline shows on the east coast next month, with dates in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne quickly selling out, forcing the group to add extra dates and increase venue capacities across the whole tour. In the meantime, though, we want you to meet Nerve - the underground, Brisbane rapper touring the east coast with Triple One - who just dropped a new warning shot of a single, titled Big Switch.

It's a single that arises as the rapper moves from an underground, over-looked favourite to a name on the edge of national break-out, building off a 2018 mixtape Sober - which saw the rapper link up with names including Chillinit - and returning earlier this year with a new track, A Bomb. It's quick-paced and self-assured, with the rapper using a shaking production to glide over the top with ease. Lyrically, it's about how much his "musical, social and mental environment has changed over the past year," with Nerve saying that it doubles-down on his love for music, and why he's stuck with it this whole time. "I was a straight-A nerd in high-school and everyone knew that. When I see people from school now they all think I’ve switched up but I’m the exact same I’ve always been, I just love making music."

He's bound for a big year ahead, bordering on the edge of a full national break-out, that with plenty more to come in the year ahead, is almost sure to happen. Introduce yourself to the rapper-on-the-rise in the meantime, while you stream his new track below:

Tell us about yourself?

I’m just gonna go ahead and quote Adrian Eagle:

“I’m a young Aussie boy and I got my head screwed on.”

I produce, write, record, mix and master music (mostly hip-hop) and I’m based out of Brisbane with my crew NO1NETWORK. I’ve been running around the east coast like a headless chook for the last three years or so collaborating with a large portion of the Australian Hip-Hop and Grime scene and also trying to finish my Degree in Electrical Engineering. I think I’m starting to figure out that my goal with music is to help inspire and motivate young Australians (and others around the world) to get out and follow their passion and work hard at it. I’ve had a pretty up and down experience of the music industry and being a creative and I think the one thing that’s kept me going is simply the fact that making music has and always will be my passion and past-time.

As cliché as it sounds, I don’t see myself as just a “rapper”, I love producing and writing all kinds of music, but that’s what I’m known for. I’ve been working on my own music as well as producing, mixing and mastering for my peers in the industry. The last full-length project I finished was ChillinIT’s debut album that dropped last October. But yeah, in terms of my own projects, I’m trying to do me and not jump on some wave from the USA or the UK. This year, I’m trying to release tracks that will put a cheesy ass grin on your face. You’ll see I guess.

What’s the vibe music-wise?

I think lately I’ve just been mashing genres up and seeing what comes out. I’ve got a background in 90s hip hop but lately, I’ve experimented in grime, funk, R&B, trap and jazz. But at the end of the day, I’m just trying to keep things funky with both production and lyrics. I think I’m known for a lot of aggressive punch-line style rapping in the past but this year is definitely gonna be a big switch up, and I’m looking forward to it.

What are your production and writing processes like?

Here’s the general process:

Triple shot long black
Start writing an instrumental
Get distracted by trying to write lyrics at the same time
Lose concentration and start making a new instrumental
Write more lyrics
Go toilet
Wait until some magic happens

I don’t really have a set process for making music but I trust my gut. When it's good, it's good - and you just know.

For lyrics, I get a lot of inspiration from where I grew up, went to school, dumb shit I did in my teens and what I plan to do in the future.

Can you tell us about your latest single, Big Switch?

Big Switch is exactly what it sounds like. I dropped a single A-Bomb in Feb and It really shook things up for a lot of people because of how jarring and confronting it was audio-visually. I toned back the rapid-fire technical lyricism that I’m known for and decided to just blast the listener with some concepts that’d really make them think. But with Big Switch, I’m trying to take it right back to what I’m known for. For me, it signifies the start of the next level for me in music in a lot of ways. I want to show fans and new listeners exactly what I’m about and after this single, my plan is to open a flood-gate of new music for the rest of the year.

Any tour dates coming up?

I’m playing Groovin The Moo in early May in Townsville alongside my man UV boi. I’m also doing an east-coast tour with Triple One in June, we sold it out pretty much straight away but we’ve added a second run of shows for anyone that missed out but they’re running out fast!

What does 2019 have in store for you?

A huge amount of music, work and growth with my team and a lot less sleep.

Where can we find more of your music?

You can find my music on any good digital streaming platform and you’ll definitely catch me on triple j on the regular.

Follow Nerve: FACEBOOK