guardin

Nicholas Kerr, a musician hailing from Western New York, channels his solo work as Guardin through a moody fusion of bedroom hip-hop and emo songwriting. Early output in 2015 took the form of EPs such as Lost in a Fantasy and Astral Agenda, which ranged across chiptunes and witch house textures. A shift toward emo rap surfaced on the 2016 release Lost & Found, after which further EPs sharpened his buoyant yet introspective approach ahead of the 2017 debut album Lacuna.

The Hornell, New York native first used the Guardin alias in 2014 while still in his mid-teens, uploading productions and later songs to streaming platforms. His chiptunes EP Lost in a Fantasy appeared in February 2015, followed that July by the more atmospheric Astral Agenda. Zodiac surfaced in September 2015 and No Roads, Just Paths arrived in early 2016, yet vocals entered the picture only with December 2016’s Lost & Found, an EP that featured producer JF Beats on one track. Additional partnerships emerged as his profile grew; the seven-track Ataraxy, released in May 2017, included a guest spot from Chasm. Before year’s end came the EPs [daydream] and Take Me Home, plus the full-length Lacuna, which AV Records issued in October and which contained several joint efforts with St. Silver, Aidan, and Notmorgan, also known as Guccihighwaters.

Repost Network put out the second album, Outsider, in March 2018, again hosting St. Silver alongside Qawi Kamri and Sadeyes. After inking a deal with Photo Finish Records, Guardin joined gnash on tour in early 2019. The label then released Creature, Pt. 1 that September, an EP featuring hateful, 93FEETOFSMOKE, and others, with Creature, Pt. 2 appearing in January 2020.