Over the weekend of May 15-17, The Current hosted Sounds Like Home: a virtual festival of Minnesota music. You can find all the performances archived on The Current's Facebook page, and we're also sharing the archived sessions one by one on YouTube. Thanks to the Minnesota Legacy Amendment Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, which allowed us to compensate artists for their performances.

"I don't want a princess in another castle," hollers the incomparable Nur-D. The Twin Cities rapper is unapologetically affable. Born Matt Allen, the pop-culture-obsessed MC places just as much emphasis on vulnerability and self-acceptance as he does on comic book references and old-school Nintendo games.

Allen got his start in the music business when he won the "Shut Up & Rap" open-mic competition. The then-rookie performer went on to win it three more times in a row.

Since then, the Nur-D moniker has taken Allen to new heights: he's released three LPs; shared a bill with Migos and Wu-Tang Clan for Soundset 2018; and opened for acts like Carnage The Executioner, Dem Atlas, and Grieves.

The most recent Nur-D project, Trapped in My Room, is a response to the current COVID-19 crisis. "Unlike Mixtape 2: Electric Boogaloo and Songs About Stuff was not recorded in a professional studio. With all of my shows gone I couldn't afford it," explained Allen on his Bandcamp. "This new EP was written and recorded within the four walls of my bedroom. Bringing a unique chance for me to go back to the very roots of this hip-hop journey that has taken my voice around the globe."

Songs performed

01:42 "Still Here"
05:02 "You Suck (Be Better)"
16:39 "Take My Picture"

Hosted by Andrea Swensson
Produced by Jesse Wiza
Engineered by Erik Stromstad
Web feature by Caleb Brennan

External link

Nur-D - official site