Drawing from a wide pool of musical influences – including 90’s ska-punk, emo pop, and modern trap – Retro Nicotine stands at the threshold between alternative rock and hip hop. The midwestern artist’s sound juxtaposes bright, melodic instrumentation with depressingly bleak lyricism. The result is a brand-new subgenre, one that is quickly becoming underground rap’s next big thing.

After dropping out of college, it didn’t take long for Retro Nicotine to carve out a new lane for
himself in the music industry. He started out by making music videos and cover art for other
local artists, and soon moved on to working in management and distribution. His passion for
music and business-savvy mindset helped him build major followings for his clients, which would
eventually encourage him to start publishing his own music as well.

Retro Nicotine’s first official release, the R&B-infused alt-rock single “Fell N Luv”, arrived in late
January 2020. The track was a sleeper hit in underground hip hop circles, generating upwards
of a thousand streams in its first 90 days online. That March, Retro dropped a follow-up single
featuring BIGBABYGUCCI, titled “Weirdo”.

Over the next few months, Retro put out three more tracks online: “hearteyedshawty” with
SickSkum; “rosesonmygrave” featuring Duskhead; and “allmyfriendswantmedead!” with Sleep333. All three songs were written, recorded, and mixed over the course of three days, during one of the darkest periods in his life – a period which now defines his entire musical identity.

“I Just Let The Pen Bleed!”

For more music and info, follow Retro Nicotine on Instagram and Soundcloud.