Nitty Scott, MC Breaks Down Her EP "The Boombox Diaries Vol.1"

The Brooklyn rapper tells the stories behind her debut project.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Nitty Scott, MC has been keeping busy. Fresh off a trip to Switzerland where she shared the stage with the likes of Ice Cube and Yassin Bey for the Royal Arena Festival, she’s looking forward to her next endeavor. Nitty’s debut project,The Boombox Diaries Vol. 1, dropped last night, and she hopes it will show listeners how much she's grown as an artist.

“I didn’t want it to be a compilation of tracks that I just slapped onto a project,” she said. “I wanted it to be a good, fluid listen where you can roll your blunt, hop in your car, and drive down the highway and never have to skip a track. I wanted it to be a real experience.”

We got a preview of the EP when she released “Flower Child” with Kendrick Lamar last week. Shortly after, we sat down with Nitty Scott at her favorite Japanese restaurant in Brooklyn to discuss The Boombox Diaries Vol. 1. Read on for her words on the EP’s concepts and how the project came together.

As told to Eric Diep (@E_Diep)

1. “ Concrete Roses”

Not Available Interstitial

2. “H.O.T.”

Not Available Interstitial

Nitty Scott, MC:“Illmind just brought it. He has this crazy ability to have this boom bap kind of sound that’s very true to this classic hip-hop sound, but it’s very coupled with a modern sound as well. That’s everything that I wanted because I didn’t want people to think: ‘Oh, you are going for the gusto.’ And have this crazy first single that is commercially different. I didn’t want to do that. I still wanted to stay true to what people expected from me but just turn it up a little bit.


 

“H.O.T.” can mean whatever you want it to mean. “Hoes On Tap.” You know? Whatever you want to do. Just keep it hot.”


 

“It has a futuristic sound to it, it has a club-y feel to it, but it still has this boom bap knock. It was just the perfect marriage to everything that I needed. I got Missy on the sample so it’s just like a huge salute to her. Under Construction was one of my favorite albums; it really helped to shape me as an artist in high school. And then the dubstep breakdown at the end, it’s just fucking crazy. I love doing it at shows. I love wylin’ out. I’m glad that it’s out now so my fans can wylin’ out with me. [Laughs.]

“It’s fun especially when you are kind of blending genres a little bit there because I haven’t really had the opportunity to be experimental in that way just yet. It was always about this ‘I am Hip-hop message,’ but now that I know that you get it. I want to express to the people that I love all different types of music. As a hip-hop artist, I don’t even listen to as much hip-hop as many people think I do. Just throwing in and sprinkling a little bit of something else, that’s also a reflection of me. I am appreciative of all different types of genres.”

““H.O.T.” stands for “Hard Over Tracks.” We played with it for a long time. We just liked how “H.O.T.” sounds over “Hot.” Or I am keep it hot. We were forever looking for an acronym and we finally settled on “Hard Over Tracks.” “H.O.T.” can mean whatever you want it to mean. “Hoes On Tap.” You know? Whatever you want to do. Just keep it hot.”

3. “Is This Thing On?” f/ Outasight

Not Available Interstitial

4. “Planes, Trains, & Automobiles"

Not Available Interstitial

Nitty Scott, MC: "“Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” We call it P.T.A. for short. It is one of my favorite records on the EP. I really get lost in that record. The sound once again is super refreshing, super new for Nitty Scott, MC. Even writing to it was a bit of challenge for me cause I wanted my vocals to blend with the music. I have so much respect for music if I put my voice on it, it has to blend with the respect to it. It was kind of a welcome challenge for me.

"The concept itself, I have been waiting to find the perfect instrumental to write about this travel concept that I had. Which was a little deeper than all around the world or whatever. [Laughs.] It’s more like describing my own personal experience with being on the road and sharing my music with people. Also to de-glamourize the situation. A lot of people hear about artists traveling all over the world to perform and there’s a part to it that is glamorous and there is part of it being luxurious but for the most part, it’s not.

"For the most part, there’s lot of jetlag and being tired and traveling for hours upon hours just so you get on stage and make an impact for like 20 minutes. When I thought of the irony of it where it’s like you could travel for 24 hours straight and it’s all just so you can get in front of these people and say what you want to say. And hopefully affect them to the point where it was worth all of this travel and all of this stress.


 

It could be a soundtrack to gotta get up. Go to work. Make this money. Get on the F train. Deal with whoever. You could definitely just bump it and allow it to move you through your day.


 

"I wanted to give the day to day of a working class artist. An artist who has to legitimately be on the road and tour and be seen and continue to sell themselves to crowds. To stay afloat. That’s the type of artist that I am. I wanted to touch on it and then we use all forms of transportation. We are so hungry to be on the road and be active in this industry that I don’t mind taking a train. I don’t mind renting a car. I don’t mind taking a plane. I don’t mind taking a cruise ship. Whatever we need to do to fucking get there. I’ll take a fucking scooter to where I gotta go. That’s where “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” the actual title, came from where its like, ‘Yo, we’ll do whatever we got to do to get to our destination.’

"It’s actually a pretty mellow sound. It’s mellow, but it’s still got this gotta go feel. It’s mellow, yet upbeat. It could be a soundtrack to your day. It could be a soundtrack to gotta get up. Go to work. Make this money. Get on the F train. Deal with whoever. You could definitely just bump it and allow it to move you through your day. I feel like it carries the spirit of travel. It’s an awesome record and I just really love it." [Laughs.]

5. “Flower Child” f/ Kendrick Lamar

Not Available Interstitial

6. “No Standing Here”

Not Available Interstitial

7. “IllumiNITTY”

Not Available Interstitial

8. “Dear Diary” f/ Meagan McNeal

Not Available Interstitial

10. “You're My Favorite” f/ Tiara Wiles

Not Available Interstitial

10. “Auntie Maria's Crib (Remix)” f/ Action Bronson And The Kid Daytona

Not Available Interstitial

11. “Skippin' Clouds”

Not Available Interstitial

12. “A Beautiful Struggle” f/ Soul Khan And Akie Bermiss

Not Available Interstitial

Nitty Scott, MC:"“A Beautiful Struggle” is definitely the last song for a reason. It represents this entire journey and it really helps bring the experience of the EP full circle. We got Soul Khan on there who just spits a very heartfelt verse about his experience as an artist. From the minute I heard it I just related to it so much.


 

"Anybody who is in this industry and anyone who is chasing their dreams in general can relate to what we are talking about. It’s essentially saying it’s a struggle. You are going to get dirty. It’s an upward climb. It’s an uphill battle. A lot of it isn’t fair. You might not always get back what you put out. But its beautiful all at the same time. Its still an amazing experience.


 

"Anybody who is in this industry and anyone who is chasing their dreams in general can relate to what we are talking about. It’s essentially saying it’s a struggle. You are going to get dirty. It’s an upward climb. It’s an uphill battle. A lot of it isn’t fair. You might not always get back what you put out. But its beautiful all at the same time. Its still an amazing experience.

"When I am going through some of the cons in this industry and the downsides of being in this industry, I also have to think about the people who would kill to even be experiencing my struggle. When its like, ‘Oh gosh. I wish we could get more views on said video.’ Its like while that may be an issue that we are dealing on our level, [but] there is somebody else out there who wishes they had a video to worry about views on. Things like that kind of brought me to writing this record. I was extremely stressed out and kind of troubled when I wrote this record because I was starting to see just the unfairness of the game I am about to play.

"Sometimes, I feel at odds to what I do as a person, just this internal battle where its like, I am trying to be part of a world that thrives on things that I don’t even really respect, yet my living depends on being accepted and being successful in this world. And it’s just a very conflicted place for me to be. Spiritually, I am just always at odds with the industry. And the things we glorify, yet I continue to get deeper and deeper into the industry every fucking month.

"It’s very much a double-edged sword. Ignorance is very much bliss. Sometimes you wish you didn’t have the morals that you have. Or you didn’t have the clear understand that you have because maybe you would just be a happy idiot. A lot of times I feel plagued by the things that I know and understand about the industry. Sometimes, being aware of it, doesn’t make it any easier. So that just what the record is all about. I was just in a real funky place when I wrote it. And when I recorded it.


 

"That’s what The Boombox Diaries is. It’s me really opening up and putting myself out there to be judged. To be dissected. To be talked about. To be put into a box. Whatever the case may be and that’s why it’s a beautiful struggle.


 

"I remember months after we recorded it, wanting to readdress it. Telling Jules, ‘Yo, I want to get into the studio and do that over.’ And he was like, ‘No. You are not touching that verse.’ I was like, ‘Why?’ ‘Because you can hear the pain in your voice. You can hear the anger.’

"When I play it for people they get goosebumps. They feel the conviction in your voice and you don’t want to take that away. So the more I listened to it, the more I kind of agreed. I think that’s why I wanted to change it at some point because I felt vulnerable. I felt that the record was so vulnerable because I am on this record damn near crying. I am just spitting from the pit of my soul. When I wrote it I cried.

"That’s what The Boombox Diaries is. It’s me really opening up and putting myself out there to be judged. To be dissected. To be talked about. To be put into a box. Whatever the case may be and that’s why it’s a beautiful struggle. You put yourself in a position to essentially be a target to some people. But at the same time, you get to experience this side of life that some people never get to see. I get to travel the world. I get to speak my mind and literally eat because of it. Consequently, I get to create art and eat off of it. There’s something about it that’s so beautiful."

Latest in Music