Post by Adam B on Jul 19, 2005 10:06:45 GMT -5
Nervous System Interview
by Adam Bernard
Imagine if Nas, Big Daddy Kane and Bahamadia formed a group. The lyricism of Nas, the intensity of Kane and the depth of Bahamadia all rolled into one package. It would be incredible sound to hear. While those three may never get together, the children of their influence have in the form of Nervous System.
Nervous System is one of the more racially diverse acts in Hip-Hop today, consisting of two Puerto Rican MC's (Eclipse and Sol Storm), an African American MC (Polarity Plus), and three Caucasian band members. Storm feels their racial diversity is a huge plus, both for the group and for Hip-Hop, saying "there's the person who sees their race on stage with us because they're practically all there and they like that their culture can be a part of Hip-Hop because Hip-Hop is so black based." Plus agrees, adding "I think the fact that we have a mix of people just brings people to us."
The "us" of Nervous System, Eclipse, Polarity Plus and Sol Storm, and their band, all took different paths to finding their place in Hip-Hop. Eclipse was originally a poet, he explains, and "from poetry one day I was just walkin around and my boy started beatboxin and I started freestylin off of it and I realized, hey, I'm pretty good at this, so I just started listening to other artists, Canibus, Eminem, Rakim, Nas and Busta Rhymes. I heard them and all of them have their own distinct style and their delivery was all sick, so from then I just decided to put words together and try to make my own music."
Plus' route to finding Hip-Hop was accelerated by an older sister who weaned him on rap records from an early age. "My sister was always playing RUN-DMC, Whodini, and everybody like that, Fat Boys, all the old school cats," he reminisces, "I always used to listen to 'em, like my sister always used to have me checkin out the records, especially like 'Raisin Hell' and I just loved it so much that it just adapted to me. When I really started paying attention to it it was like Big Daddy Kane, Special Ed, Public Enemy."
Storm had a bit of a harder time find a voice to relate to in the Hip-Hop world. Being female her options were limited but certain artists still caught both her ear and mind. She notes "when I heard Bahamadia I was like 'what, I can keep my depth from my poetry and still be spittin music and somebody's gonna listen to it because I found this then I'm doing it.'"
While Plus and Storm were recording as a part of a different group Storm met Eclipse. Storm then introduced Eclipse to Plus. Eclipse remembers that day, saying "I heard some of his production and his lyrics and I think 'yo, the kid's pretty tight,'" A few months after that first meeting with Eclipse the group Plus and Storm were in fell through and Plus remembers his first thought was "call Eclipse." The trio started recording together immediately.
Recording and performing went well, but there was one situation they wanted to take care of before it could rear it's head, the Lauryn Hill / Claudette Ortiz possibility of Storm always being in the front. Storm feels "we've been together long enough that I think that we're past it. I think we've discussed it enough, it's very out in the open." Plus agrees but is realistic about the possibility saying "yes I see it happenin, no I don't see any problems. The female is always gonna get the attention, plus Storm, cuz she's a singer, she's an MC...." "And she has boobs," adds Eclipse jokingly "if I had boobs I would get a lot of attention."
Boobs aside, another aspect of the group that gets a lot of attention is the live band. Back in college Storm had a vision of being in a trip-hop band and while this isn't trip-hop it's certainly attention getting. Eclipse explains having a drummer, bass player and guitarist "gives everything so much more of a feeling when you see our live performances."
That feeling Eclipse is referring to is something the officers in South Norwalk, Connecticut won't be forgetting anytime soon. While Nervous System were on stage performing their song "Police Brutality" local authorities were visibly shook, even going as far as walking away from the stage to try to get out of earshot of the lyrics. "I thought it was cool that we had that effect on a police officer," notes Plus, who continued "it seems like he was just moseyin on in the crowd like 'hmm, what's that,' and all of a sudden he was like 'OH!' Just as long as he doesn't come back in riot gear with a bunch of his friends it's all good." Eclipse added that he felt the officer leaving was a sign that the group was definitely doing something right. "Sometimes I can hear somebody on stage spittin but it's goin in one ear and out the other," he explains "and by being able to spit a rhyme about police officers and actually see their reaction towards it, that only means that the lyrics were piercing their ears sharp enough that they were paying attention to what we gotta say."
What Nervous System has to say comes together on "Controlled Substance," their debut album. In an attempt to keep the vibe of their live performances the album's production consists mostly of live instrumentation and even includes a live version of the song "Eternal War." "Controlled Substance," according to the group, can be viewed as an open book. It's the goup telling the listener about their habits and addictions. Storm also notes that the album title has another meaning, saying "our perspective on the music industry right now is if it's a controlled substance. They feed you what they know is going to sell and then you get bored of it and finally, hopefully somebody breaks out and something new happens but it takes like decades for that to happen."
Grace Slick once sang "one pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small, and the ones that mother gives you don't do anything at all." Tired of the pills the industry's been feeding them, the members of Nervous System have come up with an alternative, a "Controlled Substance" of their own, and although they're MC's, not MD's, on October 12th Sol Storm, Polarity Plus and Eclipse will personally begin writing prescriptions for their own "Controlled Substance."
by Adam Bernard
Imagine if Nas, Big Daddy Kane and Bahamadia formed a group. The lyricism of Nas, the intensity of Kane and the depth of Bahamadia all rolled into one package. It would be incredible sound to hear. While those three may never get together, the children of their influence have in the form of Nervous System.
Nervous System is one of the more racially diverse acts in Hip-Hop today, consisting of two Puerto Rican MC's (Eclipse and Sol Storm), an African American MC (Polarity Plus), and three Caucasian band members. Storm feels their racial diversity is a huge plus, both for the group and for Hip-Hop, saying "there's the person who sees their race on stage with us because they're practically all there and they like that their culture can be a part of Hip-Hop because Hip-Hop is so black based." Plus agrees, adding "I think the fact that we have a mix of people just brings people to us."
The "us" of Nervous System, Eclipse, Polarity Plus and Sol Storm, and their band, all took different paths to finding their place in Hip-Hop. Eclipse was originally a poet, he explains, and "from poetry one day I was just walkin around and my boy started beatboxin and I started freestylin off of it and I realized, hey, I'm pretty good at this, so I just started listening to other artists, Canibus, Eminem, Rakim, Nas and Busta Rhymes. I heard them and all of them have their own distinct style and their delivery was all sick, so from then I just decided to put words together and try to make my own music."
Plus' route to finding Hip-Hop was accelerated by an older sister who weaned him on rap records from an early age. "My sister was always playing RUN-DMC, Whodini, and everybody like that, Fat Boys, all the old school cats," he reminisces, "I always used to listen to 'em, like my sister always used to have me checkin out the records, especially like 'Raisin Hell' and I just loved it so much that it just adapted to me. When I really started paying attention to it it was like Big Daddy Kane, Special Ed, Public Enemy."
Storm had a bit of a harder time find a voice to relate to in the Hip-Hop world. Being female her options were limited but certain artists still caught both her ear and mind. She notes "when I heard Bahamadia I was like 'what, I can keep my depth from my poetry and still be spittin music and somebody's gonna listen to it because I found this then I'm doing it.'"
While Plus and Storm were recording as a part of a different group Storm met Eclipse. Storm then introduced Eclipse to Plus. Eclipse remembers that day, saying "I heard some of his production and his lyrics and I think 'yo, the kid's pretty tight,'" A few months after that first meeting with Eclipse the group Plus and Storm were in fell through and Plus remembers his first thought was "call Eclipse." The trio started recording together immediately.
Recording and performing went well, but there was one situation they wanted to take care of before it could rear it's head, the Lauryn Hill / Claudette Ortiz possibility of Storm always being in the front. Storm feels "we've been together long enough that I think that we're past it. I think we've discussed it enough, it's very out in the open." Plus agrees but is realistic about the possibility saying "yes I see it happenin, no I don't see any problems. The female is always gonna get the attention, plus Storm, cuz she's a singer, she's an MC...." "And she has boobs," adds Eclipse jokingly "if I had boobs I would get a lot of attention."
Boobs aside, another aspect of the group that gets a lot of attention is the live band. Back in college Storm had a vision of being in a trip-hop band and while this isn't trip-hop it's certainly attention getting. Eclipse explains having a drummer, bass player and guitarist "gives everything so much more of a feeling when you see our live performances."
That feeling Eclipse is referring to is something the officers in South Norwalk, Connecticut won't be forgetting anytime soon. While Nervous System were on stage performing their song "Police Brutality" local authorities were visibly shook, even going as far as walking away from the stage to try to get out of earshot of the lyrics. "I thought it was cool that we had that effect on a police officer," notes Plus, who continued "it seems like he was just moseyin on in the crowd like 'hmm, what's that,' and all of a sudden he was like 'OH!' Just as long as he doesn't come back in riot gear with a bunch of his friends it's all good." Eclipse added that he felt the officer leaving was a sign that the group was definitely doing something right. "Sometimes I can hear somebody on stage spittin but it's goin in one ear and out the other," he explains "and by being able to spit a rhyme about police officers and actually see their reaction towards it, that only means that the lyrics were piercing their ears sharp enough that they were paying attention to what we gotta say."
What Nervous System has to say comes together on "Controlled Substance," their debut album. In an attempt to keep the vibe of their live performances the album's production consists mostly of live instrumentation and even includes a live version of the song "Eternal War." "Controlled Substance," according to the group, can be viewed as an open book. It's the goup telling the listener about their habits and addictions. Storm also notes that the album title has another meaning, saying "our perspective on the music industry right now is if it's a controlled substance. They feed you what they know is going to sell and then you get bored of it and finally, hopefully somebody breaks out and something new happens but it takes like decades for that to happen."
Grace Slick once sang "one pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small, and the ones that mother gives you don't do anything at all." Tired of the pills the industry's been feeding them, the members of Nervous System have come up with an alternative, a "Controlled Substance" of their own, and although they're MC's, not MD's, on October 12th Sol Storm, Polarity Plus and Eclipse will personally begin writing prescriptions for their own "Controlled Substance."