Nefew

Nefew
Origin	Windisch, Aargau  Switzerland
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Out Of Frame Records (1995–2007) On Our Feet Ent. (2007–present) Puma (2009–present)
Associated acts	Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Consequence, Torae, Nottz, Dwele, Lenny Harold, Tyler Woods, Best Men DJs
Website	www.nefewmusic.com www.oofrec.com www.myspace.com/nefewmusic
Members
Polemikk (MC, producer) PA-Double (DJ, producer)

Nefew is a hip hop group from Windisch, Switzerland. It consists of Polemikk (born Marco D'Amico; MC, producer) and PA-Double (born Roger Patt; DJ, producer). Nefew is an acronym which stands for New Education From Every Word. Q Magazine describes Nefew as one of the most promising hop hop acts from Europe. The duo is represented by independent label On Our Feet Ent. and Puma.

Musical Style

Nefew's musical style is often compared to artists such as Common,^[1] Kanye West, 9th Wonder, Kenn Starr and Talib Kweli.^[2] Many of Nefew's productions contain soulful samples, as well as jazz keys and string arrangements. Being approached about his lyrics, Nefew's rapper Polemikk stated: "Delivery, punch and dynamics are always on the top of our lyrical menu. [...] We are not preachers of any kind, we strive to be political and conscious without forcing ourselves to be political and conscious."

Early work – Off the Cuff (1995–2007)

Polemikk and PA-Double met in kindergarten and have been friends ever since. The duo has been actively producing music since 1995 under the name Emphacized Prophecy, which has been changed to Nefew (an acronym which stands for New Education From Every Word) for better recognition. Under the old pseudonym, the group released their first EP, Lyrical Quarrel, in 1999. The second EP, called Pieces of Forsaken Times, followed in 2003. Over 4,000 copies were sold worldwide.

After changing their name to Nefew, the group took their first big step in 2007, releasing their debut studio album called Off the Cuff, which contains the track Admit It, a collaboration with Brooklyn rappers Wordsworth and Masta Ace. The album received mixed reviews from music critics. musicOMH gave it 2 out of 5 stars,^[3] while UK Hip Hop calls it a "well-intentioned if unsurprising slice of underground rap".^[4]

Tales of the Dago, Nefew's first free mixtape, also was released in 2007.

Homesick EP (2008–2009)

A track featuring Nefew appeared on Torae's mixtape Allow me to Introduce Myself in 2008.

In December 2009, Puma began to support Nefew in the matter of promotion.^[5] This allowed the independent duo to reach a much higher number of fans. Nefew are the first Hip-Hop act to be endorsed by the company. Also, Nefew revealed in several interviews that they were currently negotiating with two major labels.^[6][7] Yet, no record deal is official.

With Puma supporting the group, however, Nefew released an EP. It was available only on iTunes Music Store.^[8] The track Biko featured R&B singer Chanj and GOOD Music signee Consequence, and held number two position in the US College Radio Charts.^[9]

Antihero Begins (2010)

Antihero Begins came out in April 2010. It is an officially free mixtape.^[10] Even though released as a mixtape, it sounds more like an album.

Antihero Begins tells the story of a rap crew that is at the point of their career, where it has to decide whether to take the step to make music professionally or not. The story is divided in five chapters which all describe a part of the group's journey. The mixtape culminates in the group starting a new life and announcing the forthcoming album Antihero.

The mixtape had considerable success, not least of all because it was published on highly respected hip hop blog 2dopeboyz.com. Also, Antihero Begins received general acclaim from music critics. Okayplayer gave it 89 out of 100 points^[11]:

The title track, the albums curtain call, is an appropriately optimistic celebration of the journey thus far. It is self-celebratory testimony to the group’s determination and initiative. This open-ended finale observes all the attributes that make the groups journey alluring and heroic. And it is the perfect ending for a sequel, something I am excited to hear.^[12]

—Simon Day, Okayplayer

Antihero / Man Vs Many (present)

Cover of Man Vs Many (2011)

The forthcoming studio album is called Antihero and expected to be released in 2011.^[13] On several occasions Nefew stated that the album was already finished over a year ago. However, the group turned down the offers of various labels due to insufficient conditions. No precise release date has been set to date.

After Antihero Begins DJ Green Lantern took notice of the groups work and came up with the idea of a collaboration. In January 2011, Man Vs Many, which is hosted by DJ Green Lantern, was released. Addressing the collaboration, Nefew rapper Polemikk said:

It’s definitely a privilege to have Green Lantern hosting our second official mixtape. And I’m sure with his endorsement, and with the collaborations that we have for this project, it will exceed a lot of expectations. Production wise we have taken it to a whole new level, plus we’ve done something that we usually never do: working with other producers to give it that extra variety.^[14]

—Polemikk

Among others, the mixtape features soul singer Dwele and Rapper Nottz. In October 2011, Nefew released the collaboration EP Transitions with German producer 7inch.

Discography

Studio albums 2007: Off the Cuff 2011: Antihero (to be released)[15] EPs 1999: Lyrical Quarrel (as Emphacized Prophecy) 2003: Pieces of Forsaken Times (as Emphacized Prophecy) 2009: Homesick EP 2011: Transitions (with 7inch) 2011: God Complex (with Nottz) (to be released) Free mixtapes 2007: Tales of the Dago 2010: Antihero Begins 2011: Man Vs Many (presented by DJ Green Lantern)

Singles 2007: Admit It (feat. Wordsworth & Masta Ace) Featured singles 2009: Best Men DJs – Wedding Crashers (feat. Seven & Nefew) Appeared on 2008: Torae – I Don't Care (feat. Nefew) 2008: DJ Age & Costa – Pickin’ Up the Pieces (feat. Souleez, Teichoskopie & Nefew) 2009: Jonas – Sensational Remix (feat. Nefew) 2010: Ruck N' Wiz – Changes You Made (feat. Nefew) 2010: Juice #108: Nefew - Day by Day Produced 2008: Torae – I Don't Care (feat. Nefew) 2010: Knightstalker - Late Knight Show

References

1. ^ http://www.musicomh.com/albums/nefew_0807.htm
2. ^ http://www.last.fm/music/nefew
3. ^ http://www.musicomh.com/albums/nefew_0807.htm
4. ^ http://www.ukhh.com/reviews/nonuk/2574.html
5. ^ http://www.rapspot.de/interview.php?id=96
6. ^ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/dxnext/id.151/title.nefew
7. ^ http://www.aightgenossen.ch/portal_news.php?art_id=109057
8. ^ http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/homesick-ep/id341906244
9. ^ http://www.hiphoppress.com/2010/02/biko-fares-well-on-college-charts.html
10. ^ http://www.oofrec.com/groups/nefew-discography.html
11. ^ http://www.okayplayer.com/reviews/nefew-2010050410599.html
12. ^ http://www.okayplayer.com/reviews/nefew-2010050410599.html
13. ^ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/dxnext/id.151/title.nefew
14. ^ http://www.blackouthiphop.com/dj-green-lantern-to-host-nefews-sophomore-mixtape-man-vs-many
15. ^ http://www.aightgenossen.ch/portal_news.php?art_id=106622

External links

• Official band website
• Label website
• Nefew on Myspace