Flint, MI — Ten years after his debut record was shelved by eOne Music in 2009, Nicholas “Shemy” Shemes emerged ready to take on the world with his new album, Before I Turn 30 in October of 2019. The album that brought him out of retirement showcases his range by mixing hip hop, trap, R&B, and pop flavors. Now he’s keeping up the momentum with his new single, “Cobra Kai” with more tracks on the way.
“There were a lot of hands on deck, I spent a lot of time making it, and being so young, I had a lot of expectations that were probably unrealistic,” says Shemes of his first record, Look At What I Came From. “When everything transpired with eOne I was really unmotivated and thinking, ‘What am I gonna do next?’ I stopped doing shows. People who were interested in the record—I didn’t return any of their calls.”
Feeling burned by the industry and needing a serious change, Shemes put his music career on hold, moved to Kalamazoo and decided to play it safe by focusing on school, finding a new career, and starting a family. When he moved back to the Flint area living in his late great grandfather’s house, he started to feel inspired again. In 2015 he released a track, “Home” on the Flint Water Crisis compilation, Not Safe To Drink and it made him realize he can take music seriously while still keeping his corporate job.
“It was my first track where I put any, like, significant action into getting it out there to the masses—-like, really make it count,” says Shemes. “I had Bernard Terry help out and a lot of post-production on it. I used to handle a lot of it myself, but I wanted to stay as relevant as possible.”
As his creative fire was reignited, Shemes decided it was time to stop feeling guilty for lacking consistency and start being confident again. That’s where his latest track, “Cobra Kai” comes into place.
“You know, everyone in rap is doing what they’re supposed to do, geeking themselves up. God’s gift to man, best rapper, whatever,” says Shemes. “You see a lot of local rappers do it and I love it, because that’s what they’re supposed to be doing. It makes me hungry and makes me want to try out that style. It was me showcasing that I’m a super talented lyricist, but I can also make records that have a dope vibe.”
On April 9th, Shemy will release his next single, “Could Be Worse” which couldn’t be hitting at a more relevant time.
“I was just sitting in the studio with my wife, drinking coffee on a Sunday morning,” says Shemes. “I was talking about how the weekend is so short and there’s never enough time to get anything done. Then my wife said, ‘You’re always talking about how bad things are gonna be in the future, you need to be in the moment. Everything is okay right now.’ I’m a really anxious person and she keeps me level-headed at times. It’s all about positivity for sure.”
Stay updated with Shemy’s music and follow him on all social media platforms by visiting his site www.shemymusic.com and check out the Not Safe To Drink compilation by clicking here.