Temperature's Rising: Nick de la Hoyde- By My Side

“Music is the only drug for the mad addicts,” Nick de la Hoyde spits in his new single, “By My Side.” As a self-diagnosed music addict myself, I am always on the prowl for new music, even when the rest of the world is freaking out over some viral sensation, like Bruce Jenner’s transformation to Caitlyn for instance. Even though A$AP Rocky’s A.L.L.A., Wale’s The Album About Nothing, and Big Sean’s Dark Sky Paradise are currently rotating heavily in my Spotify playlist, Nick de la Hoyde’s new single, “By My Side,” officially released today, has provided the spark to my morning soundtrack.

The typical Hip-Hop Love song is atrocious. An artist spits some rhymes about how, in spite of their many side-chicks, their main chick is the special one. Add Chris Brown or Trey Songz, and you have a 50% chance of making it to the radio. Mainstream Hip-Hop has become like a formulated science, unfortunately. However, on “By My Side,” Nick uses honest lyrics to convey why the object of his love interest is someone he wants to stay as a permanent force in his life. The woman in question is not only his beau, but the muse to his music as well. But speaking of the music, let’s speak a little to the man’s desire to pursue it in the first place.

Nick de la Hoyde is a 20-year-old singer/songwriter/rapper from Sydney, Australia. While Nick’s Australian accent is a huge departure from the mostly American bred rappers that dominate radio in the states, by melding the sounds and vibes of hip-hop, pop, soul, R&B, and spoken word, Nick has developed a style that defies cutesy genre-labeling. With introspective lyrics that read like personal journal entries, his songs express the angst and triumphs that come with youth, dreams, and determination. But music wasn’t always in the cards for Nick. In pursuit of a professional football career, Nick moved to Barcelona, Spain at the age of 15 and lived there for 4 years. It was during this time that Nick started to explore hip-hop music as a way of expressing his frustrations with the ups and downs of following his dreams. What started out as an outlet, soon became a burning passion. Nick wrote lyrics and melodies to his favorite instrumentals as well as original songs, in collaboration with Sydney based composer, musician and producer (and brother) Joseph de la Hoyde (de la Aurora & Monks of Mellonwah).

Nick started off writing his own introspective lyrics and recording them over modern hits, sharing his work on Youtube and Instagram (where he’s built an audience of over 100,000 at @ndelahoyde). Nick’s work recently caught the attention of Chicago based Hip-Hop producer Lemoyne ‘LA’ Alexander (R.Kelly, Aaliyah) who invited Nick to the USA to collaborate. The result, Nick’s debut single “The Longest Way,” realeased in October, entered the US top 100 chart strongly in 2015.

Nick is currently preparing for the of his debut EP Passion, but in the meantime you can check out his latest single on SoundCloud.