Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, Dell Nellson is an up-and-coming MC who recently released his debut EP, Charlotte’s Unfortunate Death. With plans for another EP this autumn and a debut album next year, he already has the start of his career sketched out.
To begin, Dell touched on his sound as a musician. He said: “I have always been enamoured by music, but my favourite part of music has always been words and talking about the actual music. Right now, I am still in the early stages of finding my sound and true style, but I know I cater much more to the lyrical side and deeper meaning side. I love the lyricism from the ’90,s but I love the energy from 2023 just as much, so I want to mix them both together while also having tracks that make you think while being very laidback, yanno?”
He went on to discuss the deeper meaning of the EP’s tracks. “Charlotte’s Unfortunate Death is about the environment I grew up in and the mental stages that people have. ‘Flowers in Gaston’ being about death knocking on our door everyday through natural causes – unfortunate events like shootings, illnesses, and accidents. ‘Life Is Death’, living in a world that seems messed up and never gets better because of the evil that's in it, and the clock that ticks in everyone's heart because we all have the date we pass away. ‘Manere’ being about hating this world we live in and how it seems it never gets better. ‘Weapon X’ is about the braggadocious but dangerous side of gun violence and what runs through people's heads committing crimes, and it follows that theme in ‘Messiah's Prints’. ‘Ps & Qs’ centres around getting money in any fashion – we can get it followed by reparations which is centred around the black community.”
Work on Charlotte’s Unfortunate Death dates back to 2021, when Dell released the EP’s first single. Speaking on the project’s lengthy process, he said: “’Life Is Death’ is the first song I have made and it got a great push. I started writing poems on Twitter then I started to dabble with more music. Unfortunately, 2021 and 2022 were some of the hardest years of my life, so I didn’t drop or record much music let alone write poems.”
He went on: “Making Charlotte’s Unfortunate Death, it was my first time so I just wanted music and expression out, so it just came out how it did. That's why I love the vision of this project. It's all about my life, my city, and troubles growing up, and while this for sure won't be my best project, it will be my most important one … I wanted to make music and expand the way I make art from just poems, and people reacted well to it. The main thing I love isn’t the praise; it's the critique and tips to get better because those people see a brighter future than I do.”
Turning to his future, Dell already has plans for his career. “I am planning to have an EP out in the fall, my debut album out in 2024, and I am working with two big names in the underground scene right now. 2023 to 2024 – and maybe even 2025 – are my set up years. I am really trying to build a strong foundation.”
Going forward, he wants to “be more versatile; have more than one delivery; get out of my comfort zone. I hate my voice so it's hard for me to do, but it is a must if I want to get better. No matter how impactful the words are, if every song sounds the same – even if the theme is different – who cares! This is why I love Charlotte’s Unfortunate Death. It is my biggest lesson musically.”
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