Urban World

The Rise and Fall of River Nelson

"The Rise and Fall of River Nelson" is the debut album by Brooklyn-based MC River Nelson, out now on The World Of Dusty Vinyl Records.

Produced by the legendary Lewis Parker, and featuring guest appearances from Vex Da Vortex (Boogiemonsters), “The Rise and Fall of River Nelson” sketches a picture of the daily triumphs, failures, wins and losses that we encounter trying to achieve our desired goals.

Highlights of this 17 track opus include the jubilant positivity of forthcoming single ‘Beautiful Life’ (release date TBC), the retro stylings of ‘Hold On’, River’s saucy lyrics in ‘Women’, the whistling hooks of ‘Fistful of Dynamite’ and the mournful standout track, ‘Moonrise.’  The live female vocal on poem/skit Rise and Fall is River’s sister: the poet Panama.

‘I wanted to make a hip-hop album that will make people feel good about themselves and life in general, despite its hardships,’ says River. ‘An album you can play straight through, it will put your mind in a good and warm place.  Lyrically, the album has a continuous theme of being hopeful.  Musically, the tracks consist of classic Lewis Parker beats, with a 2010-and-beyond twist.’ 

Brooklyn based MC River Nelson began his recording career when he joined up with the Boogiemonsters collaborative and was featured on the Boogiemonster’s first classic album “Riders Of The Storm: The Under Water Album”. He was signed to Arista Records by founder Clive Davis, when Mr. Davis was still at the label’s helm.  Over a period of years he has gained a respectable following playing the NYC underground circuit and overseas with the likes of Talib Kweli, Common, Peoples Army, and many more.

Being introduced to each other at a Medina Green listening party in downtown Manhattan was how River Nelson and Lewis Parker would first meet. A connection was instantly made and Lewis handed River his Beats CD. River was blown away, and not long after their first hook up, he was at Lewis’ studio in Queens, where they recorded down material which left both feeling they had some special chemistry with their music. It was then that they went on to record a whole album together: “The Rise and Fall of River Nelson”.

A note on Lewis Parker

Lewis Parker is a British hip-hop producer born in London who signed an album deal with Virgin imprint Melankolic and released his first LP, Masquerades & Silhouettes, in 1998.  Lewis earned himself a well-respected global reputation releasing several critically acclaimed albums while producing for a number of different artists, most recently Wu Tang Clan's GhostFace Killah.