Gunner Shepardson (born March 18, 2007), professionally known as Nettspend, is an American rapper and songwriter. He gained popularity after a snippet of his song "Drankdrankdrank" went viral on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

in late 2023. Growing up surrounded by music, Nettspend began rapping while in fifth grade. After releasing multiple singles, Nettspend released his debut mixtape, '' Bad Ass F*cking Kid'', on December 6, 2024. Nettspend's musical style stems from trap and jerk, which are subgenres of

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

. He commonly employs " distorted

808s ''808s & Heartbreak'' is the fourth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West, released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 24, 2008, having been recorded earlier that year in September and October at Glenwood Studio ...

", "loose piano riffs", and "glimmering

synths A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

" in his music, according to ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

''. He is an affiliate of

Xaviersobased Xavier Lopez (born October 23, 2003), known professionally as Xaviersobased, is an American born Dominican rapper and record producer from New York City. He is known for his eccentric rapping and production styles. He first gained recognition with ...

's collective 1c34, which popularized the jerk subgenre.

Early life

Gunner Shepardson was born on March 18, 2007, in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, Virginia. He has three siblings, and his father was a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singer. Growing up, Shepardson listened to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

, and

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

, and was heavily interested in skateboarding. He first tried out rapping while in fifth grade. Shepardson felt isolated in school, and dropped out in ninth grade, citing the impact of the

COVID-19 lockdowns During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of Non-pharmaceutical intervention (epidemiology), non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar socie ...

Career

Nettspend began releasing music to

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

in December 2022. After steadily gaining popularity for a few months, a snippet of his song "Drankdrankdrank" went viral on

, exposing him to a wider audience. His song "Shine N Peace" was listed among the best songs of 2023 by ''

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. On January 11, 2024, Nettspend was featured alongside rapper

on producer Evilgiane's song titled "40". The song was listed as one of the best songs of 2024 by ''The New York Times'' and ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

.'' Nettspend performed at

Rolling Loud Rolling Loud is an international hip hop music festival which has been held in Asia, North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. Established in 2015, it is "one of the biggest festivals in the world" according to ''Complex'', while ''Bill ...

on March 16, marking his first festival performance. In June2024, Nettspend collaborated with rapper OsamaSon on the single "Withdrawals". That month, he also made a cameo in the music video for " Devil Is a Lie" by fellow Virginia rapper Tommy Richman. After teasing it at multiple shows, Nettspend released "That One Song", a song sampling "Entombed" by

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by frontman Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cunningham, with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and tu ...

, in July. In the weeks that followed, "That One Song", along with the majority of Nettspend's other popular songs, was removed from streaming platforms. Most of these songs have since been reuploaded. On October 3, 2024, Nettspend released the track "F*ck Swag" alongside a music video directed by

Cole Bennett Cole Bennett (born May 14, 1996) is an American music video director and record executive. He is the founder of Lyrical Lemonade. He has most notably collaborated with Juice Wrld on music videos such as " All Girls Are the Same", " Lucid Dreams" ...

. Two months later, on December 6, 2024, Nettspend released his debut mixtape, '' Bad Ass F*cking Kid''. He embarked on a promotional tour of the same name, bringing out English singer

PinkPantheress Victoria Beverley Walker (born 19 April 2001), known professionally as PinkPantheress, is a British singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her music is noted for its various samples and diaristic lyrics. Born in Bath, Somerset, and raised ...

at his Los Angeles show. On February 21, 2025, Nettspend announced his upcoming "Invert" tour on social media. The tour is sponsored by Vans, and runs from March 14th to April 16th. On March 11, 2025, Nettspend made his

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

debut with

Miu Miu Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women's clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. It is headed by Miuccia Prada and headquartered in Milan, Italy. Silvia Onofri is its CEO. History Miu Miu was established in 1992 ...

on the last day of

Paris Fashion Week Paris Fashion Week (, commonly ) is a series of designer presentations held semi-annually in Paris, France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Pa ...

alongside Cortisa Star.

Musical style and influences

Nettspend's musical style stems from trap, a subgenre of

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

. His music has also been characterized as jerk, a hip-hop subgenre which consists of "pitched-up, layered vocals and bass that will make your speakers sound broken," according to ''Pitchfork''. Most of Nettspend's songs are under two minutes long. According to ''

'', he commonly employs " distorted

", "loose piano riffs", and "glimmering

" in his music. Nettspend's music has been described as "a symphony of stimuli" by ''

i-D ''i-D'' is a British biannual magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art, film and youth culture. The magazine was launched in 1980 by Terry Jones, originally as a hand-stapled fanzine it has since evolved into a glossy publication. In 2023 the ...

,'' and "post-post-

rage Rage may refer to: * Rage (emotion), an intense form of anger Games * Rage (collectible card game), a collectible card game * Rage (trick-taking card game), a commercial variant of the card game Oh Hell * ''Rage'' (video game), a 2011 first- ...

" by ''

''. In an interview with ''i-D'', Nettspend named

Chief Keef Keith Farrelle Cozart (born August 15, 1995), better known by his stage name Chief Keef, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago's South Side, he began his recording career as a teenager and initially garnered re ...

Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, they gained initial recognition following the release of the commer ...

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...

, and

as influences.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

Nettspend
at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online encyclopedia of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also features comm ...

{{Authority control 2007 births Living people American trap musicians Rappers from Richmond, Virginia 21st-century American male musicians Musicians from Richmond, Virginia Cloud rappers American child rappers