Les Charles p.k.a Fresh Les b.k.a Nerve Rahk (pronouned Nerve-Rock)
Les was raised in Eastflatbush Brooklyn N.Y. He lived in Queens for a year and now resides in New Jersey.
His passion for music developed very early in his life. He and his two brothers were always encouraged to play instruments ranging from piano to guitar which helped cultivate his creativity. His parents are of West Indian decent and music was always a major part of their lives. "The Radio was always on in our home. During the week we'd have Jazz, Classical, Top 40 or R&B playing and on weekends we'd jam to Calypso & Reggae. My brothers and I used to sneak to Listen to HipHop"
As a teen he was famous for his street performances throughout his community, which helped to build the confidence needed to pursue music as a career.
A chance meeting with casting directors/video & film directors Ulysses Terrero and Jesse Terrero (T&T Casting), while living in Queens, led to his first experience in the music industry. "They wanted to see if I had the drive to make it so they invited me to a couple of video shoots to see how I would react." Upon being on set Nerve's desires to become a successful artist increased tremendously. "I would perform on set, network and just absorb everything."
In 1998 he took an internship at Razor Sharp Records which was a subsidiary of Sony Music. There he met members of the Wu-Tang Clan and was exposed to the mechanics of the music industry. "Working with their star power was an incredible experience. I learned so much and met so many great people." Many of whom he still remains in contact with today.
At the end of his internship he worked with the promotions dept. and the street team and was encouraged to form a Hip Hop group called the Kevlar Emperors along with Fruka and Steve Thunder who he met at Razor Sharp Records and childhood friend Maintaine. They released an EP independently in 2001 which received a luke warm response due to lack of major promotions and major distribution. It served as a learning experience for them which also created a buzz throughout the U.S. He then took another internship at Edel America Records in 2002 which helped to sharpen his business sense even more. "At Edel America I was able to work closely with the different departmnets. I really began to realize how much work is required to sell records. He enjoyed his employment at Edel America but unfortunately he had to move on. Upon the encouragment of his wife he decided to take another intership. He was hired as an assistant engineer at Boondog Recording Studio owned by Billy Brannigan. There he met many talented and career driven people including David Wolfert who gave him his first professional opportunity to write and record commercials.
In the summer of 2005 Nerve Rahk achieved global success with the independent release of "The Marzebian Impernova EP"(12'' Vinyl) through Wonder Wheel Recordings. It was Produced by DJ Mariano, Zeb, DJ Nickodemus and Nerve Rahk. ( B-side single Hip Hope). The powerful message "The hunger of a nation cannot be solved by and invasion!" received great responses throughout the U.S. and even greater overseas landing 1 for a week in Austria. The record received press in the U.K.,Asia Africa and other Countries across the globe.
He is currently a clothing designer at day where he has consulted for Russell Simmons (Phat Farm/Atman), Andre Harrell (Champagne & Bubbles Collection), Master P & Romeo (Gumbo Station) as well as Crooked Ink (Dave Saulters). At night and weekends he's producing and fine tuning his first solo album The Straight & Narrow Vol. 1. The album is created by up and coming producer Rob Heights , Steve Thunder, Maintaine and Nerve Rahk. The album is already generating a buzz ranging from mixtape appearances, independent EP releases, online and college radio as well as performances. "HipHop has and still is a HUGE influence in almost every aspect of our lives. This is our way of adding on to the culture." 1 Luv! -Fresh Les
* Background work in music videos, commercials and movies 1998-2003
* Member of ASCAP since 2001
* Co-Producer Kevlar Emperors EP 2001 (Independant)
* Performed at World Trade Benefit Concert at Cooper Unions' Great Hall 2001
* Internship at Razor Sharp Records 1998-1999, Edel America Records 2002,
Boondog Records Studio 2003
* Co-Wrote and recorded verse for Jets Academy (NY Jets) produced by David Wolfert - 2003
* Performed at HYLife Productions Media Mixer 2 at Metronome 2004
* Wrote and perfomed lyrics for Great Lakes Crossing Mall radio commercial
produced by David Wolfert 2004 (Aired on Michigan radio station for several cycles)
* Marzebian Imperanova 12'' EP B-side single Hip Hop 2005 (Wonder Wheel Recordings)
* Magazines and Online Press (i.e. Cyclic Defrost Magazine, Last. FM Radio)
* Performed at Remote Lounge 2005,2006 (Hosted By Jhatch)
* Performed at Various clubs in NYC (Organized by 1155 Records)
* Performed at I.S. 285 community event (Organized by 1155 Records)
* Various mix tapes appearances. (Nickel Bag series - Inasirkl Music Group & PFR Entertainment) 2005, 2006, 2007
* Member of HSAN (HipHop Summit Action Network) since 2006
* Gained Radio play in local , online and overseas market (i.e. KVXR 91.7 FM, NYU College Radio-Independent) NJ.
* Performed at Training Camp open mic hosted by Mental Supreme (Club Pyramid) 2006
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