We had a moment to chat with Louisville, KY native Nimrod, Member of Trash Colony. Check out his full interview below and be sure to follow us on instagram.
When and how did you start making music?
I began making music in the Spring of 2016. A few of my friends from school, who are now my closest emcees and a part of the collective I’m in, “Trash Colony”, decided to start rapping. They seemed like they were having a pretty good time doing so, so I said fuck it, lemme try to rap. I was easily trash for like the first 6 months, but around fall of that year I finally wrote a decent song and that was when the collective was formed.
How would you describe your music for someone who hasn’t heard you before?
My music is definitely a culmination of all the emotions and turmoil that I experienced growing up with a little added sauce and steez for flavor. I tend to gravitate towards boom bap beats and pure lyricism, but I’ll be damned if I won’t jump on a banging ass trap beat from time to time. Serenade ’em with all kinds of flows, versatility is my main goal with this shit while at the same time maintaining a solid and unique sound that accurately describes my vibe as a rapper, and a human being.
At what point did you start taking music more seriously?
From the jump I knew I wanted to go somewhere with this shit, but I think it was my first show in the December of 2016 at what used to be Downtown Spinellis that really sealed the deal. We advertised the show all around school and social media and we hit up local rappers to open for us (most of which we are still very close with today) hoping that we’d get a decent turnout. To our shock the place was packed. I had never performed live in front of anyone before aside from reciting rap songs I loved at my summer camps, so I was sure I was gonna fumble my words or fall off the beat or something. But nah, we killed that shit. Audience went crazy after our set and that’s when I really knew that I had a knack for this art form.
Q: What was your first song that really did numbers?
My song “Crumbs” which was posted on our Collective’s soundcloud around November of 2016 was the first joint I dropped that did really well. It’s sitting at about 3,000 views. In retrospect that song is mediocre compared to the music I make now, as I was 15 whereas now I’m 19 but a lot of people I knew really liked it. The beat was raw and I was stepping with my high-pitched squeaky voice talking my shit. But If someone were to ask me to show them some of my music, that’d be the last song I’d show them just simply based upon how dated it is.
Q: What artists inspired you the most and who do you currently listen to?
I like to consider my music taste to be very eclectic. When I first started rapping my main influences were MF DOOM, Aesop Rock, and Earl Sweatshirt. All three of those rappers are incredibly underground but the way they all rap and articulate their words is so inspiring to me. The goofy yet immaculate lyricism of MF DOOM is definitely what inspires me the most lyrically. Earl Sweatshirt’s flow is something I’ve studied for years now and it still never ceases to amaze me, and only grows more complex and creative with time. I also really love a lot of modernized rap as well. In the last year or so artists like Playboi Carti, D Savage, Baby Keem, as well as Sahbabii and Duwap Kaine have really inspired/influenced my sound. I do music with that sorta twang on it, and I also still stick to my Old School Beats as well. A lot of people tell me that even though I’m rapping or singing a trap beat they can still hear that Old School lyrical flavor and flow, which is exactly what I want.
Who’s your favorite Artist? Mainstream and underground
I listen to literally every genre of music so If we’re talking mainstream Hip-Hop, it’d probably be D Savage. Dude’s voice is heavenly. Underground-wise, it’s DOOM ALL CAPS till I drop, baby.
How did you come up with your name?
Before I went by Nimrod, my name was probably the corniest name imaginable. I went by M.Ad, short for Maniacal Adolescent. Comedy, I know. One day in my Freshman year of highschool me and my friend Matthew went to Floyds Fork and took a bunch of photos, and I started climbing on some really unstable structure along the path, which led to Matthew saying “Aw come on, don’t be a Nimrod”. It was like I had an existential epiphany upon hearing that, and ever since then it’s sorta just stuck. Very glad I did away with M.Ad.
What kind of support do you get from your hometown?
This is a good question, because sometimes it’s hard to tell. All my fellow rappers in the city always got my back with the support as well as simply knowing I’m hot, but as far as the average listener goes, I think it’s safe to say that I’m pretty underestimated. Just haven’t gotten the chance to properly break out and expose my music to a wider scale locally. I know my city would fuck with me If i got put on though, my sound screams Louisville, mixed with a lil bit of New York as well. I think more people here say “oh, word” than in the entire state of NY. I’m definitely trying to build something new that no one in my city has heard before and I’m on the right path to doing so. I’ve been researching promotion and marketing just tryna widen my knowledge of the industry, so once I have all of that knowledge circulated, it’s game over.
How are you different from other artists? I’m different from other artists in my city because nobody can ride a boom bap like I can. Personally, I don’t think you can call yourself a rapper till you can adequately eat an old school beat, because that’s where all this modern music originated from. That pure and raw lyricism is the Father of all of what we hear in hip-hop today. In no way am I dissing on modern Hip-Hop, as I love and make it all the time, but I don’t think I know anyone who can jump on a 95 BPM beat and absolutely vaporize it, and then right after hop on a 150 BPM beat and start singing and rapping in a completely different tone and manner. My range is vast and versatile, and that’s what sets me aside from other artists. Alot of people find one lane and stick to it for the rest of their career, but that’s just boring to me. I make all types of rap, while still maintaining a consistent sound.
What’s your biggest goal in the music industry?
Right now, I just want a quarter Mil streams on a song. Eventually I’d love to expand and have my music heard by the whole world.I wanna be able to use the money I earn from this shit to help fight the opioid crisis. in 2018 my father passed away from a Fentanyl overdose, and as someone who has battled his own demons revolving around substance abuse, it’s a topic that is very personal and meaningful to me, and is definitely something I wanna be able to contribute towards helping with whatever fame I do manage to muster. I just wanna be able to make music, and have a steady income which I can provide for myself, my family, and people out on the streets who are struggling to stay sober. I firmly believe that all Drug Addiction stems from trauma and mental illness in some form or manner, so I hope to spread awareness to that with my music. One of my favorite songs I’ve ever written is about cocaine addiction. there’s a music video up for it on the Trash Colony youtube. It’s called “Sellin It”, so if you want a glimpse into this side of my music then I’d definitely check that one out.
If you could collaborate with one single artist who would it be and why?
I really want to collaborate with The Alchemist. Dudes production is godly, and he’s one of the most well-known and seasoned producers hip hop has ever seen. Dudes a legend. I’d go crazy for a beat from him that was made specifically for me.
Where can we find your music / socials?
My collective’s name is “Trash Colony” so whatever your desired streaming platform is, just look that up on there and you’ll find my music. Im going to open up my own account soon so eventually, I hope that you can just look up “nimrod” and you’ll be able to find me, but for right now there’s too many accounts with that name, so just to make it easier to find I post all of my music under the collective’s name. On social media every account that is mine is gonna be under the handle @nimrodtc, so just look that up and you’ll be sure to find me.
