Cloud Control is a collaboration between the Nashville Scene and music news, events and promotions platform 2 L’s on a Cloud.
Born in Riverside, Calif., and raised in Huntsville, Ala., $avvy planted his feet in Nashville in January 2019. The gifted MC and singer has navigated the Music City hip-hop community by observing the scene’s culture, building relationships and continuing to push his unique brand as an up-and-coming artist in the city. The spark of his interest in music hit the kindling when he was a teenager. He attended a private school in Huntsville, where he developed a love for music production.
“When I was in high school, I was strictly making beats for my friends’ YouTube channels or those who were rapping,” $avvy recalls with a laugh. He also created edits through graphic design on Instagram, which led to the realization that he had more to offer. “I felt that God had gifted me a lot of different talents, so to round it up, I started going by $avvy.”
Today, he has a performance style that is both energetic and engaging, and he leans into his drawl as he turns a perceptive eye on the complexities of all kinds of relationships. He has a deep appreciation for fans who come out to see him in person, and notes that his performances are meant to make the audience feel like friends.
$avvy credits his early love for the stage to being involved with the school drama team and the praise team at his church. He had chances to perform at a variety of venues, and it gave him the drive to book more and bigger shows.
“The whole element of stage fright didn’t exist to me,” he says with a laugh. “I get compliments on my stage presence a lot, and I think that’s from being in front of a congregation and being trained for these moments.”
Creating music and art for his peers felt like more than just something to do for fun. With that in mind, $avvy zoned in on his future, but settled on a slightly different direction. After conversations with his parents about his aspirations to produce music for television and video games, $avvy set his sights on Middle Tennessee State University. While attending MTSU, his passion for music reached a new level when he attended a sold-out student showcase concert. With the building packed, $avvy took notice of the tremendous love shown to the artists, and he began to see a different side of the music world than he’d witnessed in Huntsville. His confidence in his ability to establish a career as an artist was growing.
“2019 was a new chapter of my life,” he explains. “This was the year that I moved [to Nashville], stepped into myself and began introducing myself as $avvy.”
He began branding himself as $avvy online while he was throwing parties and events with multifaceted collective The Lil Homies. With a new generation of music and culture taking Nashville by storm, the group brought a refreshing, carefree feeling to the hip-hop scene. After developing a cohesive bond with the collective, $avvy began building relationships with other artists and others in creative fields across the city. He made further connections while throwing shows at local eatery Café Coco. After headlining their own sold-out show, $avvy and The Lil Homies began getting more opportunities. $avvy worked closely with apparel store Rooted and thrift shop Throwback Thursday, both relationships that helped him meet people across the city. One artist in particular he notes played an important role in his growth: Mike Floss.
“I remember meeting Floss for the first time at [the shoot for] his ‘FOTW’ video,” says $avvy. “I remember being so excited just to attend. I met a lot of the creatives in the scene, and later that night I ended up sneaking into The Back Corner. I snuck in just to talk to him, and he immediately took the time to listen and we exchanged numbers.”
A few months later, the pandemic hit, throwing the whole music ecosystem into limbo. $avvy decided to drop out of MTSU and pursue music on his own.
“It was all about patience, learning the craft and absorbing as much knowledge as I could from music as a whole in the Nashville scene,” he explains. “I trusted myself, my relationships with mentors and peers, my capabilities — and it pushed me to try a different path than the one I originally set out on.”
In summer 2020, he and Floss joined forces on the single “Bag Purse.” The Seck-directed video for the track was a springboard for $avvy, helping lay the groundwork for Boys Wear Pearls, $avvy’s debut record, released Feb. 14 of this year. $avvy initially didn’t want to release an album, feeling he was still too new around the city, despite all the connections he’d made. After talking with Floss and other friends, he set out to release the eight-track offering. The record created traction for the young MC and also showcased the diversity of his abilities as an artist. In the fall, the Scene recognized him as Best R&B Newcomer in the Best of Nashville issue.
At the moment, $avvy has a new multimedia project called POOR in the works that includes new music and a line of apparel. He’s keeping most of the details close to his chest, but he emphasizes that he plans to step outside traditional boundaries in music to create a new experience for his fans. $avvy’s name is one you hear in many places these days, as people are paying attention to where he is looking to take the Nashville music scene next. As he builds his musical empire, one thing you can expect is that he won’t limit himself to any specific genre.
