After a breakout 2022 and an even more accomplished 2023, last year proved to be an uncharacteristically quiet one for NilexNile. Besides a select few local outings (including a direct support slot before Jack White’s Cactus Club show last October), sparing out of town gigs, and putting out two singles, the Milwaukee rapper kept mostly to himself in 2024.
While covering the release of his song “Balance” last fall, we predicted NilexNile was lying low and setting down tracks for bigger happenings in 2025. Even though things remained relatively low-key for him so far this year (excluding a return trip to Austin for SXSW), things are really starting to ramp up for one of the city’s most active hip-hop talents. In the next seven weeks alone, NilexNile will be releasing a new album, performing with T-Pain and a bunch of other notable artists at Back To Wiscansin Fest, and setting the stage for Fabolous and Mike Jones on Summerfest’s opening night.
Before all of that (along with a Chill On The Hill date in August and surely more exciting things that haven’t been announced yet), NilexNile is getting things rolling by debuting a new song. Today marks the release of “Eddie Kane.” The second single off the Pastel Views—the rapper’s forthcoming album that’s due out Friday, June 6—picks up where “Balance” left off, as NilexNile covers cool, off-kilter production with rapid-fire rhymes and perhaps his most self-assured lyrical delivery yet. It’s in and out in under 150 seconds flat, but that’s more than enough time to make its presence known and stick with you well after it’s over.
You can stream the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and pretty much anywhere else you listen to music digitally. Get ready for Pastel Views and a steady diet of NilexNile this festival season and listen to “Eddie Kane” now.