In December of 2019, Birmingham trio Nerves Baddington opened for Qualifier at the Firehouse for Qualifier’s 7” release party. Going into the show, Nerves Baddington encouraged everyone to come, announcing that it would be their last show for the foreseeable future, as emcee/producer Inkline was moving to Denver. Since that time, we’ve gotten a couple projects from Inkline, one solo and one collaborative one with K1NG ELJAY. During this same time period, bassist/producer Kilgore Doubt went on a deep dive to hone his own production skills, emerging with a beat tape in November 2020. Fast forward a year and change, and not only are we finally getting a new Nerves Baddinton release, we are getting an ambitious double album, Micro/Macro.

For this project, the majority of the production duties are being helmed by Kilgore Doubt, with assists from drummer/producer Cam the Invisible Man and inkline, along with the lone outside collaborator, The Phasing Octopus. The sound of both Micro and Macro is dark and driven, with a lot of crisp drum beats and densely layered minor key sounds, giving the whole project this tense and nervous energy that gives way to this confident excitement as you stick with it. More than anything, they find just the right balance between the weird and experimental side of things and the accessible, funky side of things, allowing casual listeners to be drawn in before realizing that they are falling down the rabbit hole into this carefully crafted world of abstract beats and rhymes. Inkline is of course leading the way on the mic, with his raspy voice and lyricism that moves between the lived-in ups and downs of his life and his philosophical and political rhymes. As is the case with most Birmingham acts, Nerves Baddington don’t just want to see themselves shine, so they brought in quite the roster of collaborators, including Black Plastique, LINNIL, MC Kano, Shaun Judah, DJ illanoiz, DJ AWHAT, GI Magus, Ichiban & adj., Phrasure, Nick Dire, Mane Rok, Joshua (of K.L.U.B. Monsta), Day Tripper, Fathom, Fleetwood Deville, K1NG ELJAY, Akil Pratt, and OZU8LACK. On most other projects, this would be way to many cooks in the kitchen, but these collaborations are spread across two albums, and more importantly, each contribution is made with purpose. Nerves Baddington knows all of these artists and are familiar enough with what each one brings to the table, so each guest is put in a position to shine and elevate the track that they are joining on. With each addition, the picture of the hip hop dream world of Micro and Macro becomes clearer in your head and you get a greater idea of what it could be. As for the double album itself, we get yet another interesting layer to the project as you put the two volumes together. That’s because the two volumes pull apart as sort of funhouse mirror reflections of each other. One is not strictly a remix album of the other, but there are shared reference points lyrically and sonically that tie the two volumes together, but ultimately you end up in different places when you get to the end of each one. As a result, you can listen to them back to back and get the fully immersive experience, but you can also separate the two and listen to one at a time and focus your attention on one volume at a time and go deeper in that particular direction. It’s absolutely fascinating and exciting and compelling, all at once. You never quite know where you’re going from track to track, but you’re excited to find out.

Micro and Macro are a hell of a return for Nerves Baddington. It’s an ambitious project, but it’s one that was pulled off with a lot of care and attention to detail. For a project this expansive, nothing is done without purpose and a clear sense of how it relates to the work of art as a whole. They put on for the Magic City, build community, and give you some really inventive and passionate hip hop in the process. As a trio, Nerves Baddington has never been better.