
A film about Northwest hip-hop from 2017
Nick Weaver
Photographs of Other People
There’s an old joke from when Baywatch & Knight Rider star David Hasselhoff’s career was floundering stateside that at least he was still a massive sensation in Germany. Seattle spitter Nick Weaver has a low profile on the local scene but is an equally big success in Germany. Indeed, last fall he mounted a four-city tour of that country, hitting Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. Before that, he released Photographs of Other People, a five-song EP about mental health and self-care, especially in the face of each day’s anxiety-inducing news cycles, and the constant barrage of upset from the White House, gun violence, denial of health care, and so on. “Stephen King couldn’t write a scarier media day,” he raps on floor-shaking centerpiece “Soundbyte.” His earnest consideration of social issues can’t help but draw comparisons to Macklemore, especially backed with polished, hook-filled production, often punctuated with horns. Some moments I love on this EP: the acapella blast at the end of “What You Doin These Days?”, the chorus on “Roll,” where Nick shows us he can sing, too, and the indietronica-inspired “I Might See.” With songs like these, it’s no wonder this guy is big overseas. Time to catch up, Seattle.
Photographs of Other People was created in 2017 and features appearances from: