Making Inroads Into Hip-Hop, Nghtmre Brings Tour to South Florida

Nghtmre and Gunna released their single "Cash Cow" on November 15 and it's a devastating track that highlights the best of Nghtmre's production and the relentless lyrics of Gunna. The song comes almost nine months after Nghtmre collaborated with ASAP Ferg for the single "Redlight," and with the Portal Tour underway, making a stop at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, it would appear he is only getting started.

Nghtmre first came into existence back in 2014 with the single "Walking on Sunshine," coproduced by Richard Vission and featuring Jackie Boyz. The song has a pulsating dance beat with the textbook style of vocals that ring of the dance music culture at large. It wasn’t long before Nghtmre started to make a name for himself as a producer and DJ, and in 2015, Skrillex played an unreleased single by Nghtmre entitled "Street" during his Ultra Music Festival set, and as a result, the world began to pay attention to Nghtmre.

Not long after, Diplo signed Nghtmre to his Mad Decent label, long an oasis for dance and electronic producers looking to stretch their legs and tour. And soon Nghtmre began a world tour with fellow artist and collaborator Slander. The pair's EP Nuclear Bonds was released on Mad Decent and was the debut record release for Nghtmre.

Nuclear Bonds gives a chaotic take on dance music that takes an abrupt turn on its way to outer space. If you are looking for a record that advances the fist-pumping and dance-until-you-collapse agenda, Nuclear Bonds was a major advocate. The track "Power" is a hypnotizing and intense build-up that toggles between dark and light sounds. Then to follow up you have a track like "Gud Vibrations" that feels more like a feel-good summer jam than an electronic beat that sludges it's way out of the darkness.

Fast-forward to Nghtmre's self-titled EP, released in 2016, which earned him critical acclaim, made it to number 17 on Billboard's Dance charts and helped pave the way for Nghtmre to collaborate with more high-profile artists. Nghtmre opens with a very light and airy piano track that sets the tone for the project. It’s beautiful moments like "Prelude" that lead us into the greatness that is found in the track "Burn Out," building off of the simplicity of the opening track and teasing an intensity that doesn’t hit until midway through. From there it’s an out-of-control, heart-throbbing fight between the listener's senses and the uncontrollable nature of one's body when classic EDM is dropped.

After the release of Nghtmre, the producer/DJ delivered a slew of collaborative singles between 2016 and 2018 with artists like Krewella, Loudpvck, Afro, Wiz Khalifa, Alex Wiley, Passport, and Dillon Francis, to name a few. Each track bouncing from pure electronic disco to EDM beats fused with trap and hip-hop. Tracks like "Stronger," featuring underground rapper Afro lead by example when it comes to electronic and hip-hop collaboration. Nghtmre was quickly becoming a producer sought out for eclectic production that rappers and vocalists could spread their wings on.

Last year, Nghtmre released a two-track EP titled Magic Hour that continued Nghtmre’s foray into hip-hop with the soulful, New Orleans-born rapper and songwriter Pell. The work Nghtmre does with Southern rappers has allowed him to work with the tempo that raised him. Nghtmre may have been born in Connecticut, but he was raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. The next question may be: When will we see a DaBaby record in Nghtmre’s discography?

This year after collaborations with Lil Jon and Shaquille O’Neal on the single "Bang," ASAP Ferg on the single "Redlight," Kidd Keem on "Man’s First Inhibition," and now Gunna on "Cash Cow," we can expect to see even more hip-hop records from Nghtmre. Will a hip-hop LP ever happen? Who knows? Until then, the new single featuring Gunna should do.

Nghtmre. With Saymyname, Effin, and Black A.M. 7 p.m. Saturday, December 7, at Revolution Live, 100 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-449-1025; jointherevolution.net. Tickets cost $32.50 via ticketmaster.com.

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