Q&A: With ‘Chunkadelic,’ Nur-D doubles down on joy and resistance

NUR-D: (RAPPING) Bring the funk with it

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Hey, hey

Hey, y'all

I'm from the land where doves cry

It rains down in purple eyes

Seep into my skin and turn the light to--

NINA MOINI: Nur-D, it's a Minnesota rapper who's been active since 2018, known for music filled with pop culture references. He recently stopped with his collaborator, DJ Hayes, to perform the song Purple in the Sky, along with several others from his latest album, Chunkadelic. Nur-D spoke with arts reporter Jacob Aloi about the project, which takes its name from a mean comment he once saw online.

NUR-D: A while, a while, a while back ago, we finally had a video go, like, semi-viral on Reddit, right? Me and the rest of the friendly neighborhood spider-man. We're all in tie dye. We're all having a good time, loving ourselves, enjoying the music we're making, because the internet can't have any of that.

So this dude, somebody on the internet, typed in the comments section, this looks like Chunkadelic. [LAUGHS] And I remember seeing that comment. I saw-- DJ Hayes was with me. And I pointed it out to him. And I was like, honestly, this is the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. Like--

JACOB ALOI: I can't even be mad!

NUR-D: It was supposed to be mean. But this is right on brand. This is exactly who I am!

(RAPPING) Sorry not sorry that I'm looking this good

No stunting is a habit

Yeah

Imma fly without God

Imma [INAUDIBLE]

Middle finger to a fascist

I'm too happy

You can't have it

I'm walking my own way

But we sat on it, for years. That comment was forever ago. And then as we were getting together, making this record, and I said to myself, Chunkadelic.

(RAPPING) This beat, plus size

Chunkadelic

I just want to give you something you can feel

I am chunkadelic

It kind of just exploded into what it is now.

JACOB ALOI: Is this the ninth full length album?

NUR-D: This is the 10th full length Nur-D project since 2018.

JACOB ALOI: Wow. So I mean, I'm thinking about, since 2018, it's kind of like a project a year, and then--

NUR-D: Been a couple of extras in there.

JACOB ALOI: --and a little handful of extras.

NUR-D: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

JACOB ALOI: I mean, how do you turn around and keep producing at that level, and producing original, really strong work--

NUR-D: Thank you.

JACOB ALOI: --on each of those projects?

NUR-D: Honestly, sometimes I don't know. I think I just have to get the music out so it makes sense to me in my head. A lot of these songs that you're hearing are things that have been just kind of repeating in my head silently. [LAUGHS] That's why, if you see me spacing out, I might be doing something like that.

But 10, I will say, I got a little bit of a break because there was a couple years out there where no one was allowed to do anything or go anywhere. So all I had to do was write. But like, even still, I just love making music. It's my favorite thing to do. So when it hits me, when it moves, I just go.

JACOB ALOI: What are you exploring in this album, in this record?

NUR-D: So it is a lot about finding joy in the face of adversity, like radical creativity under societal pressure to conform. I think at this point in my career, one of the things that people ask me all the time, like, oh, hey, why haven't you popped off? Or why aren't you here?

And it's like, there is an entire complex of people who get paid to make sure that only certain types of people get into the positions of musical-- what's the word I'm looking for? Acceptance. People get to go to the show once they pay their dues and shave off the weird parts of themselves that make them unmarketable.

And so for me, this record was kind of just my rejection of that as a concept. The industry works great for some people. And that's awesome. For me, what I found is, the more I just hang out with the people that rock with me, the people who just want their music a little bit different, who are cool-- who are cool with me saying the things that I believe in out loud and unapologetically. They're going to rock with me.

So this record is kind of like, I don't know, like a butterfly moment out of a cocoon of, like, what do I do? Like, how far do I go into the industry? How far do I just lean into just making art for art's sake?

And the butterfly that came out of it was Chunkadelic, which is just like, I'm going do me. I'm just going to do me. I'm going to be weird! If I've decided that that's what I'm going to do, if that is no longer in vogue, cool. Like, whatever. [LAUGHS]

JACOB ALOI: Yeah, well, I just love that you're playing so much with pop culture and using that as a way to express how you feel or as a touchstone. Are there any touchstones that you specifically were like, I'm so proud that we were able to sneak this into the album, or I'm really happy that this was the way that I decided to express myself on this particular track?

NUR-D: We did, in Windows Down.

(SINGING) I used to have black and white dreams

I used to want monochrome things

I thought love was something I could never see

But then I met you

There is, if you are the connoisseur, the pop culture connoisseur, might hear a line from an episode of Rick and Morty that snuck in here, which is Just-- it's just one of my favorite little long diatribes that I've heard on the show. And it just makes me laugh every time. So we snuck it in there.

(RAPPING) I want to do what it takes to please you

That's the job I want

I want to be good at it, bad at it

I want to be fired, promoted, corner office

You know what I'm saying

I just want to make you happy

JACOB ALOI: I think one thing that maybe gets mistaken for your performances is comedic. But really, it's fun.

NUR-D: Yeah.

JACOB ALOI: Like, you're having a really good time. And I think people look at that and are like, oh, he's a funny guy. And he's very-- he's just a super nice guy that you want to know. But I think sometimes maybe, I even caught myself, where I was like, oh, it's kind of comedic. And I was like, actually, he's just having a great time up there.

NUR-D: Yes! Being unapologetically happy about what you're doing is one of the biggest forms of resistance that I personally feel. Comedy and laughter and joy cuts through the fear that often is used to keep people in particular spaces. And so what I try to bring to my thing, the thing that I do, this Nur-D thing, is, like, I am entertainment.

I am not a distraction. You know what I mean? I'm the fiddler in the trenches. I am just as much a part of the war and the fight for what we need to do as you guys are, the people who are listening. But my job is to keep you motivated, to keep you having fun, thinking that tomorrow is worth it.

And therefore, we will fight. So yeah, like, it's comedy. It's fun. I make jokes. I'm going to make a lot of them. But it's because, I don't know. Being sad is what they want. And I don't want to do that anymore. I want to just be happy. I want to be myself.

JACOB ALOI: When you say, that's what they want, do you mean-- what do you mean by that?

NUR-D: I mean the powers that be. I mean the Wolfram and Hart group, the sequel. Like, not to get too conspiracy theory about it. But there are people out there who have a vested interest in you buying what they're selling. And a lot of the times, they manufacture scarcity. They manufacture hurt, so that you will buy the joy that they are selling, the temporary joy that they are selling.

I think of a video, a weird video of a raccoon who was bringing some cotton candy to water to wash it off. And then he puts it in the water. It disappears. That's the kind of joy that they're hoping to sell you, and that you keep going back and getting it from them so they can stay in the positions that they're staying in.

And for me, I'm like, no, let's bring some real joy, joy that comes from within, joy that can't be taken from you, and love for yourself, love for the things that make you happy. If you can operate in that, there is no force, business, political or otherwise, that can stop you. And then getting linked up with people that also agree with you? Ah! Now we're a super team. Now we can't be stopped. It's like Power Rangers up in here. We're morphing.

JACOB ALOI: Is there anything else you want to say about the record, about the project that we haven't touched on?

NUR-D: What do I want to say? I'd want to say, listen to it 1,000 times a day, every day, for the rest of your life to help me pay rent. Outside of that-- [LAUGHS] outside of that-- and also, use it for commercials and stuff like that, all you people who want to give me thousands and millions of dollars.

But what I really want to say about the record is thank you to the Minnesota music community for giving me proof of concept, of sticking with me throughout all of these records, all of these projects. 10 projects within the seven-year span that I've been out, to have them all be so well-received is so awesome. I'm very lucky. I understand how blessed I am in that capacity. So with this 10th record, it is really a thank you to the scene.

Like, I want to express that, how happy I am to be here, how excited I am for the music that we're making, and for the future of our music industry. Like, I want to be a part of shaping that. There are so many awesome voices here. And I just want to be like, this is my spot. I'm going to be the weird guy over here. Thank you for letting me be that.

(RAPPING) Hey! Hey! Chunkadelic.

NINA MOINI: That was musician Nur-D, speaking with arts reporter Jacob Aloi about his latest album, Chunkadelic, which comes out tomorrow! You can read more of their conversation at mprnews.org.