For hip-hop fans on the west coast, MBNel is considered by many to be one of the hottest up-and-coming rappers in music. To the rest of the music world, MBNel remains a secret yet to be discovered. But for those paying close attention, it’s clear that he won’t be a secret for long.
In the last 6 months, MBNel dropped one of his best projects to date, “Born to Win” including a standout single with Mozzy entitled “How it Go” along with 5 music videos collectively generating millions of views. Since his album, the Stockton native has been featured and interviewed by Travis Mills at Apple Music, XXL, ABC, and NBC Television. He’s performed for the NBA and the Sacramento Kings and dropped a single “One Day,” which garnered the attention of DJ Ghost on Youtube.
But the success has not come without setbacks and disappointments. Like many artists, COVID-19 has disrupted MBNel’s plans for 2020. The artist was scheduled to perform at multiple showcases at SXSW and had to cancel his west coast tour this summer that was scheduled to hit 10 U.S. cities.
But these setbacks don’t seem to be affecting MBNel or his team. MBNel’s manager and attorney, Matt Llewellyn, who manages a few other standout west coast artists is focused on the things they can control. “We’re using the downtime to plan Nel’s next project, acquire the right features and strategize on the album’s rollout,” Llewellyn said. It’s this mindset that has allowed MBNel to succeed. Matt is joined by co-manager Ismael Soto, a talented A&R from Boyle Heights and their focus is to be consistent–something Nel seems to deliver in both quality and quantity.
As for what’s next, Nel is scheduled to drop a project with $tupid Young, entitled the Yellow Tape 2 this month. He also has a solo project on the horizon with production by Mike Crooks and features with Blxst, Rucci, Jay 305, ABG Neal and rumors of Fenix, Bridge Mike Sherm and other notable artists.
2020 might temporarily put things on hold, but MBNel is positioned to make a lot of noise very soon.
Check out the new Elevator exclusive video now which was directed by Jolo, and takes place in an open deserted scenery. Showing the isolation of MBNEL during the whole pandemic going on. Yet he still manages to flex with ease throughout the video, with minor after-effects added. I have to appreciate the simplicity of the video because it still has a big impact while watching.
Watch now:
Instagram: @nellynelmb
Twitter: @NellyNelMB