Gunner Shepardson (born March 18, 2007[1]), professionally known as Nettspend, is an American rapper and songwriter. He gained popularity after a snippet of his song, "Drankdrankdrank", went viral on Twitter in late 2023.
Growing up surrounded by music, Nettspend began rapping while in fifth grade. After releasing multiple singles, Nettspend released his debut mixtape, Bad Ass F*cking Kid, on December 6, 2024.
Nettspend's musical style stems from trap and jerk, which are subgenres of hip hop. He commonly employs "distorted808s", "loose piano riffs", and "glimmering synths" in his music, according to The Fader.
Early life
Gunner Shepardson was born on March 18, 2007 in Richmond, Virginia.[2] He has three siblings,[3] and his father was a country singer.[4] Growing up, Shepardson listened to Michael Jackson, Katy Perry, and Justin Bieber,[3][4] and was heavily interested in skateboarding.[4] He first tried out rapping while in fifth grade.[3][4] Shepardson felt isolated in school,[3] and dropped out in ninth grade, citing the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns.[3][4]
Career
Shepardson began releasing music to SoundCloud under the name Nettspend in December 2022.[3][5] After steadily gaining popularity for a few months, a snippet of his song "Drankdrankdrank" went viral on Twitter, exposing him to a wider audience.[3][6] His song "Shine N Peace" was listed among the best songs of 2023 by The Fader and The New York Times.[7][8]
On January 11, 2024, Nettspend was featured alongside rapper Xaviersobased on producer Evilgiane's song titled "40".[9][10] The song was listed as one of the best songs of 2024 by The New York Times[11] and Pitchfork.[12] Nettspend performed at Rolling Loud on March 16, marking his first festival performance.[13][14]
In June2024, Nettspend collaborated with rapper OsamaSon on the single "Withdrawals".[15] That month, he also made a cameo in the music video for "Devil Is a Lie" by fellow Richmond rapper Tommy Richman.[6] After teasing it at multiple shows, Nettspend released "That One Song", a song sampling "Entombed" by Deftones, in July.[16] In the weeks that followed, "That One Song", along with the majority of Nettspend's other popular songs, was removed from streaming platforms.[4] Most of these songs have since been reuploaded.
On October 3, 2024, Nettspend released the track "F*ck Swag" alongside a music video directed by Cole Bennett.[17][18] Two months later, on December 6, 2024, Nettspend released his debut mixtape, Bad Ass F*cking Kid.[2][19] He embarked on a promotional tour of the same name, bringing out English singer PinkPantheress at his Los Angeles show.[20]
Musical style and influences
Nettspend's musical style stems from trap, a subgenre of hip-hop.[6] His music has also been characterized as jerk,[21][22] a hip-hop subgenre which consists of "pitched-up, layered vocals and bass that will make your speakers sound broken," according to Pitchfork.[22] Most of Nettspend's songs are under two minutes long.[23][24] According to The Fader, he commonly employs "distorted808s", "loose piano riffs", and "glimmering synths" in his music.[2] Nettspend's music has been described as "a symphony of stimuli" by i-D,[4] and "post-post-rage" by The New York Times.[25]
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