"Although I didn't write this song, it spoke to me in a way that made me feel as if it was my own story,” Brandon said. “I found myself playing it over and over again in my bedroom, remembering situations that I've been through.”
Check out the video for yourself below.
The release of “peppermint” is accompanied by a video directed and edited by Tommy herself. Which sees Tommy decked out in corsets and mesh in the desert, with her signature blonde locks, draped atop a white Lamborghini as she proclaims, “I’m the bitch that’s born again, In my bag, on the cover of magazines, / no flex cause I'm underground and mainstream..."
Check out our exclusive interview with Tommy below.
First things first, we're (obviously) in a global pandemic. How has it been for you in lockdown? What have you been doing with your time?
Making this album. Honestly it gave me a chance to really sit with the music and get really deep, dark and dirty with myself. I also got a puppy and that’s brought me pure joy, his name is Rumi, after the poet.
So I saw that you directed and edited the video for “peppermint." What was that process like and did you like having full creative control?
I need creative control. I can’t sleep at night if I don’t have creative control. For me, the process begins with the idea, which turns into the treatment, hiring a team, showing up, executing everything as genuinely as you can. Then directing it — but then going home and shifting through hours of footage to make it. I couldn’t imagine just showing up and leaving the rest to someone else, I'm not a model, I’m an artist. So, for me it’s important to control the idea from the conceptual stage all the way until something real is born and delivered to my fans. Honestly it’s one of the only things that will keep me up at night, not having creative control. I just refuse to live that way.
The music video for peppermint beautifully represents the aura of your lyrics - could you talk us through the production of this video?
So peppermint is really like “I’m the bitch that’s born again” and it’s like, if I’m gonna come back, I mind as well come back. For me, I feel like there’s a lot in the song that I feel like I just claimed you know? I just say some weird shit after that. I feel like I’m still playing but I’m kind of like yeah, ‘I know I’m underground’ but I’m here now. I feel like this whole album is me standing up a little bit and being like, well, no ones gonna claim this for me, so I might as well just claim my spot because I really feel like I haven’t really tried to before. I feel like in peppermint I have, even though I’m still subtle with it, I still have a bit more that I wanna come for.
This is your first single in two years, could I ask you why you took such a long break and did covid have anything to do with prolonging any of your projects?
It was honestly a label situation, I was with two labels that broke apart and then the label that I stayed with wasn’t really there for me for 2 years. So I’ve always been making music but I’m finally in a good place with them and they’ve been really great with this last project and everythings working again. So I’m able to put it out and it’s my last album with them. So yeah, that kind of attributed to it all but of course when Covid hit it’s just been a whole year of not really being able to put anything out, like you can, but people would advise you to wait on it because they didn’t know the future. Everyone was so afraid and for me, I was like "I’m not gonna push anything, I’m just gonna keep making shit." And I ended up finishing the album, so it all worked out.
So how is your writing process? Do you go to the studio and sit and write, or is it kind of happening as part of your day I guess? Is there a border or not really?
So for this album I really wrote most of it in the studio but not with any intention. Some of the songs like the Charlie Heat songs, we had sessions at his studios and those were just some songs that we made in a few sessions. We literally made those songs in like two days, which is crazy. Like, for peppermint I wrote it right away and never touched it again. Like, a lot of the songs that I’ve made one time in the studio, once you have the song you go in again, like, even though my lyrics or my vocals are recorded once, I still go back into the song and see if we need to any more instruments, do we need to take something away, you know and then you have to mix it and then you have to master it.
Correct me if I’m wrong but Identity, power, and rebirth seem to be the core elements of this song. Why are these elements important for you to explore?
I think rebirth for sure and then I think every person has their own power, you know? Everyone has a power and it’s just like 'how much of it do you want to claim? Like what do you want it to look like and who do you wanna be?' For me as an artist, I always play with taking the driver's seat back. I always play with being in control and being super dominant and being really submissive, and even with the hook in peppermint where it’s like “I’m the type to take your money, take your soul, I leave no fingerprint.” Like, for me that’s not about fucking over somebdoy, it’s about, “I know you can’t touch me” and really just feeling myself, like I can go here, i can go there, and I can decide when I wanna leave and so it’s definitely about power. It’s also about saying whatever the fuck I want, like, I didn’t really plan it, I just sat down and wrote it.
I love that your music and videos have this very “f*ck you, I’m gonna do me” attitude, where does that stem from and how do you attain a bad bitch aura?
Honestly, I don’t even think about it. Like, when I’m in my video doing that there are a lot of shots of me laughing and smiling, I just don’t use them. So it’s almost like yeah, that’s part of it, being that way and feeling myself and doing that. Which is why for me editing is so important because I literally control the mood with the editing. I’m such an energy person that I just choose the bad bitch energy. I’m drawn to it, I like to feel that way, I like to feel powerful and not so much bad bitch, but like, I’m here and why be soft? It’s still really vulnerable for me though, like, I still feel vulnerable. But yeah, it’s not really a front, it’s a part of me.
I’m very curious about the lyric, “I’m next but not part of the hypocrisy,” what does this mean to you?
I was just thinking about how a lot of rappers don’t write their own music. It’s about “I’m next” but I’m not a part of this system or a creation from someone else. I’m just myself and I write my own songs.
What kind of feeling dominates when you listen to your music or what do you want your listeners to feel when they listen to your music?
First of all, I just love my fans and I love my listeners! I want them to feel empowered, I want them to feel like whoever they are, that’s good enough. They don’t need to be anyone else and I want them to feel fucking empowered. Like, they could be that bitch on a car if they wanted to be. It’s not all about me — like it is, it’s how I channel, my music is through me. It’s through my perspective, but I keep making music because I meet people who have gotten me through this or you know "This helped me when I wasn’t feeling myself and then now I feel so much more confident." Or "you inspired me to make music" or just like "I like to play your shit when I’m going out." like, anything like that. It just makes it so worth it because then otherwise I’m just sitting here listening to my own music. Like for me, I don’t really listen to my music like that, for me it’s like I need to make the song because I’m going through it and I need to make it. And then I’ll listen to it a few times afterwards and then I’m good.
Lastly, imagine covid ends tomorrow, what’s the first thing that you would do?
I haven’t seen my family in Canada for a year, so I would definitely go and visit my family.
So how did you get started with music? Have you always had the gene in your family?
Yeah. I always had a musical gene in the family. My dad was a musician, but I always assumed he didn't want to do that professionaly. But when I got older, I kind of realized that he really did. And that that was his goal. He just kind of pushed it down a little bit. So it was cool to do something like that for my dad, not that he's the reason why I made music or stuck with making actual music, but I would say he built fundamentals in me to be musically skilled in the future.
Was it always your goal?
I was always playing instruments, but I wasn't making songs, you know? And then I got super into skateboarding and I thought I was going to be like a professional paintball player for a bit. I just had so many different interests that I thought, yeah, these will all be things I'll do professionally. But music was the one constant thing. And then I started really gravitating towards it. In eighth grade I started recording myself and it just started from there. And then my friends were like, "Oh, this is pretty good." I used to hang out at this older guy's house. He was like 25. I was like 16. And he used to have people in and out of the house often. I had just made my first song and he would have me play it for everyone who came in the house. And then all these adults were like telling me like "Oh, you're like actually pretty good." So then that's when I was like 'maybe I should start doing this a little bit more seriously.'
In those early stages, were you still trying to figure out your own sound?
Yeah. I started by just completely aping and copying other artists. Figuring out how to dissect the styles of other people so that I could make my own unique style. And it was a big problem when I first started. Cause I would just straight, blatantly copy people. I wouldn't even try to make it mine. I was really into making Chief Keef type drill music for a little while. And then I had a buddy pull me aside at a party and he was like, "Dude, why do you do this? That's just not who you are as a human and who you are as a human is pretty interesting. Focus on making music that really resonates with you and shows who you are, it'll be a whole lot more interesting and authentic." And that was a big turning point in late high school where I stopped doing that. And I started focusing on just being myself. Cause that's the one advantage you have is that you're yourself and that's different than everyone else. So you can always make up your own authentic cool thing.
Who inspires you musically?
The Cure is probably at the top. Top favorite band ever. I listened to a lot of bands, but it's gotta be — number one and number two musicians, Robert Smith and Young thug. So it's a pretty drastic difference between the two, but at the same time, they're both really good at melodies and like you feel sad or making you feel happy.
What was it like collaborating with Travis Barker on your new single? Did he have an influence on the alternative rock sound of it?
Well I've just always been that way. And that was the idea before we met Travis, to take it to an alternative sort of realm. Cause that's more just me. I always was into that stuff. You know, when I was a kid, I didn't even listen to rap music really. Like until I was in high school, I was wearing eyeliner to school in elementary school. So this is just more like a true form of me. And then getting to meet Travis has really amplified that out of me, like times 10. So I've gotten to really express myself because he has the production to where I can make songs that I dreamed about making, but I didn't like know how to make the production behind, you know?
How did you guys link up?
He DM'd me on Instagram and he heard one of my songs and really liked it. We just talked for a little bit about music and stuff and you know, I was like "Oh, I'll try not to fanboy out or nothing." Cause I am a really big Blink [182] fan. And like we just kept in contact, kept close since then I've done some more sessions with him and every time we do it, it's so easy. We get in the studio and it's like ridiculously easy, and I have a hard time making songs most of the time. So it's like when I step in there with him, we can bang a song out in like a few hours.
I really like the video. Tell me about the process behind it.
I mean the process is super interesting because the guys Richard Quintero and Kheyber Jones who shot it used to go to the same skate park that I went to when I was eight years old. And like, we all know the same skaters. They're older than me, they were the teenagers when I was like eight. They filmed a bunch of skate videos and stuff like that for people in the New York, New Jersey area. And then they had never done a music video before and we just really liked their skate film stuff. So we thought they'dl kill it. And so they gave it a shot and they did it, you know, they hit it out of the park.
This single is ahead of an EP down the line. Is there anything you'd say to the reader about what to look forward to?
It's gonna be a good EP! I'm really just so proud of the work that everyone's put into this project. And like, the time we waited to put it out, you know, I feel like the timing is perfect and, I don't know man...I'm just excited to finally put out music that I'm really, really proud of. And I think that other people will enjoy, I feel like it'll be music that's somewhat familiar, like in a weird, nostalgic sense, but also something that is a new and different. A good, weird thing you've never heard before, like a treat you've never tasted before or something. You'll like it, even though it's different.
The rapper answered my Facetime Call as he puffed weed smoke into the camera, grinning. "Nice to meet you!" he exclaimed. Nudy rapid fire answered my questions with a bold and contagious eruption of laughter after each answer. The guy is smiley and extremely friendly despite his dark and brooding bars from his latest release.
Young Nudy is only going up from here. The lower profile artist commands our attention and has a supremely unique sound. Painting a picture of an urban underworld where Chucky is his mini me and DR. EV4L is his final form, Nudy takes us through the gates of hell and on a journey you certainly don’t want to miss.
Check out our conversation below and be sure to stream DR. EV4L.
Tell me about DR. EV4L - What directions have you moved in sonically since last year’s Anyways mixtape and 2019’s Sli’merre?
To another dimension. The underworld.
Where did you record DR. EV4L?
In hell.
What was your creative process like during the writing and recording of this album?
I thought I was in Gotham City with the Joker.
You’ve said you like to rap on “weird beats.” Why do unorthodox beats stand out to you?
I don’t know. My mind be crazy, I be thinkin’ bout weird shit. Like how a lightbulb will pop on top of somebody head. It might be a bird or somethin’ pop up on top mine or somethin’.
I like that image. How has the reception been of your single and video for “2 FACE”?
They love it. There’s 2 sides to me. Cool, then you see the other side, you know… two face.
Like the character in the Dark Knight?
MMMHMMM.
Why is Chucky a repeated image in your cover art?
Cause we’ve been right since Day 1. Ain’t no reason for switchin’.
So you just resonate with him.
Yeah that’s my dog.
What’s your favorite song off the album?
Mini Me.
Is Chucky your mini me?
Chucky in my lap, that’s like me. I progressed it into DR. EV4L. All my other albums was me as Chucky. Chucky in my lap ‘cause that’s my mini me. He progressed. That’s the finishing touch. Chucky grown now. Ain’t no more child play, progressed to one person, that’s how I became DR. EV4L. You feel me? I like the mini me, he come out sometime.
The song titles on DR. EV4L definitely have a kind of dark tone, “Revenge,” “Roughneck,” “Soul Keeper,” “Walking Dead,” to name a few… What kind of picture are you painting here?
I don’t know. You ever seen a horror or gangster movie?
I have.
You have?
Yeah.
That’s the type of shit there.
That’s what inspired you?
Yeah, with a gangster in this motherfucker. I can walk through this typa shit. I blend right in with it. I just relate to it. I love it.
Coming up out of Atlanta, how do you honor the legacies of Atlanta rap legends who have come before you?
Um, I don’t know. Keep this shit goin’ I guess. As good I can, and hope they like my music. The old people be trippin’ bout the younger generation bout the music, but I hope they like my music. If they don’t, you know, fuck ‘em.
How is your life different now than it was when you put out Sli’merre?
Shit! I live my life regular. Regardless no matter how much money I got. I’m outside! I’m in the hood! Ain’t really shit.
Same ol’ Same ol’?
Yeah, same ol’. I mean, I gained more fans, more people that fuck with me and shit, I’m thankful for it, shoutout to big God.
Shoutout to who?
Big God, you know, the man upstairs, ain’t nothin goin’ on without him, so we gotta thank him for everything.
What would your perfect day entail?
Gettin’ some money. That’s it.
What does success look like to you?
When I get my family straight, I put a lot of people around me with money, everybody livin’ life, shit like that. My name gon’ live on, just like my bank roll. That’s how I want.
The song titles on DR. EV4L definitely have a kind of dark tone, “Revenge,” “Roughneck,” “Soul Keeper,” “Walking Dead,” to name a few… What kind of picture are you painting here?
I don’t know. You ever seen a horror or gangster movie?
I have.
You have?
Yeah.
That’s the typa shit there.
That’s what inspired you?
Yeah, with a gangster in this motherfucker. I can walk through this typa shit. I blend right in with it. I just relate to it. I love it.
Coming up out of Atlanta, how do you honor the legacies of Atlanta rap legends who have come before you?
Um, I don’t know. Keep this shit goin’ I guess. As good I can, and hope they like my music. The old people be trippin’ bout the younger generation bout the music, but I hope they like my music. If they don’t, you know, fuck ‘em.
How is your life different now than it was when you put out Sli’merre?
Shit! I live my life regular. Regardless no matter how much money I got. I’m outside! I’m in the hood! Ain’t really shit.
Same ol’ Same ol’?
Yeah, same ol’. I mean, I gained more fans, more people that fuck with me and shit, I’m thankful for it, shoutout to big God.
Shoutout to who?
Big God, you know, the man upstairs, ain’t nothin goin’ on without him, so we gotta thank him for everything.
What would your perfect day entail?
Gettin’ some money. That’s it.
What does success look like to you?
When I get my family straight, I put a lot of people around me with money, everybody livin’ life, shit like that. My name gon’ live on, just like my bank roll. That’s how I want.
