Tag: Single Review: Stuck

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: 17 Year-Old Nevi Outlyr Shares Deceptively Breezy “Stuck”

17 year-old, emerging artist Nevi Outlyr started rapping in church when he turned 15. Originally, he didn’t take either seriously. But that changed after he started college and a particularly difficult breakup. “I was hitting open mics everywhere, partly trying to get her attention, mostly trying to prove to myself I was worth listening to,” the young artist explains.

As for his name, there’s a story behind that: “I ask my mom to give me an artist name. She says, ‘Inevitable.’ Long, but it felt like,” he recalls. “After a few versions, I landed on Nevi. That Outlyr part came from, believe it or not, a math class. I learned about how one number way off from the rest can shift the whole average, an ‘outlier.'” He says, “It stuck. Never thought I’d relate to numbers, but somehow that felt like me.”

Gradually for the young artist, his efforts became less about being heard and more about being honest. “Every track I make is just me trying to make sense of whatever’s going on in m head,” he says, “Anxiety, joy, the awkwardness of being all — it’s al in there.” He goes on to describe his sound as “ambivalent, experimental hip-hop with a hint of toxic positivity. Think ‘Hey Ya,’ by OutKast for reference. People tell me that I give Chance the Rapper, Andre 3000, Smino, sometimes even Mac Miller, depending on the track.”

“But most of the time,” he adds, “I feel like a character stuck in an episode of Seinfeld. At the end of the day I make music for people like me, the overthinkers, the soft-spoken loud minds, people trying to laugh through the heavy stuff. My songs might not save the world, but they might make you feel like you’re not alone in it.”

His latest single “Stuck” is a deceptively upbeat and breezy track that features the young artist’s remarkably Andre 3000-meets-Mac Miller-meets-Chance the Rapper-like flow darting around carnival ride in hell-inspired production featuring an eerily twinkling synth melody, a breakneck and propulsive synth bass line and a lysergic break and guitar solo. But underneath upbeat and breezy vibes, the song describes a familiar sensation for anyone who’s a go-getter — the feeling that you’re somehow stuck in place while everyone else around you is racing past you.

Honestly, even in my 40s I’ve felt this! And I’d bet that many of you readers have felt the same at various times, including now. But with age, there’s occasional moments of wisdom that reminds you that it’s usually just perception, ego and your stupid brain.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Formed last year, the Los Angeles-based indie rock act Cynister features Cynnie Jane (vocals) and two mysterious members, who wear black and white masks respectively.  The act’s debut single “Stuck” reveals a band, whose sound is centered around elements of arena friendly, power chord-based heavy rock, thumping trap beats and enormous, rousing hooks paired with Cynnie Jane’s powerhouse, pop belter vocals — and while bearing a resemblance to Paramore and Garbage, the song as the band’s Cynnie Jane explains in press notes “is about anxiety and sadness can feel like a trap, like prison walls closing in on you. Whether triggered by heartbreak or otherwise, racing thoughts and self-deprecating attitudes can be really difficult to control once they take ahold of you. This can be very destructive, and it’s something that many of us struggle with. With this song, our hope is for people to understand that they’re not alone in dealing with these emotions. We all go through it.”