NERVOUS SYSTEM

Forget conscious or gangsta. Forget underground or commercial. Forget categories altogether. The essence of hip hop is energy and expression, not status or security. It’s about chemistry; the connection between MCs that produces something unique and untouchable. “Nervous System’s greatest strength is each other. The voices of the three MCs – Polarity Plus, Sol Storm and Eclipse – pool together like distinct rivers running to the same source, one giving way to the next, smooth and confident.” (Fairfield Weekly, 11/25/04)It was that special chemistry that motivated MC/producer Polarity Plus to keep in touch with a young poet/singer by the name of Lyric through several failed collaborations. In late 2002, after a long, frustrating creative dry spell, Plus reached out again to Lyric, now going by the name of Sol Storm, to ask if she was still working with a well-known freestyle MC named Eclipse, and would they be interested in meeting with some producers. Almost immediately, several producers saw the sparks of a fierce live hip hop phenomenon – raw lyrics over a genre-defying combination of live instrumentation and programmed beats. Mixing hip hop with rock, reggae, Latin rhythms, and even “opera” demonstrated that this talented trio had no limits.Over time, the writing inevitably began to reflect the collaborators’ individual worlds and personal struggles and conflicts between the members seeped into the lyrical content. Little by little, they realized that their first album would document a year in the creative process. Nothing was censored, but everything was put to rest. The group was “keeping themselves in check, above the easy rhyme.”A year of constant writing, recording and performing resulted in the group’s debut album Controlled Substance (Exotic Recordings) which was release on February 15, 2005. From frustration to escape; from love to obsession; from sickness to redemption; from a hope for peace to a call to arms, Controlled Substance was, as real as hip hop itself.Controlled Substance brought the young group much acclaim – as the album quickly rose to #4 on the CMJ college charts, and was played in heavy rotation at numerous college radio stations nationwide.Since the release of their debut album, Nervous System has opened up for the likes of John Legend and Talib Kweli, Rob Bass and MOP. Now, flexing complete creative control on their new album Premise, Nervous System is sure to bring a fun but bitter taste; a playful tone with a staining message.