Single sleeve
Official bio: With over 150 records released in the past couple of years, American artist Jade The Nightmare has created a lane for herself being one of few African-American female artists performing a fused genre of rap and nu-metal music. At the age of only twelve years old she became completely enraptured by the underground rap and metal scene. Growing up in a lower-income part of Denver, Colorado, Jade faced a plethora of environmental tribulations and social stigmas associated with her upbringing.
I may have mentioned or not that I grew up in such a secluded and conservative village in southern Poland that I met the first person of colour when I was 16. What seems almost impossible in the UK is still a sad reality for many Eastern European countries (though it is slowly changing). I don’t have to tell you how envious I was of everybody who grew up abroad in diverse and open societies, how much you miss out when you are raised in a monolithic state. Like every young person I rebelled, but if my contemporaries in other countries listened to punk, I made it a point to listen to soul, r`n`b and gangsta rap. I also listened to rock but a wallpaper of long haired dudes with guitars did not scandalize my old folks the same way one single NWA poster would. And I wasn’t the only one. All my friends were the same. We would hang around listening to Eazy E and Snoop Dog, trading counterfeit cassette tapes with early Ice T recordings. It was an outlet for anger and disappointment and – how I felt at a time – isolation from the world, other people and other cultures. But rap was also tackling things that rock could not handle. It spoke about struggles of working-class people in god-forgotten places, living on dangerous estates, where drugs, crime and contempt for youth was systematic. In that sense Compton was not some exotic destination, it could have been the next estate, ours was ironically called Manhattan. In short, a 12 years old Malicia would very quickly found herself somewhere between rock and rap in her own musical education and it has been like that ever since. When Jade The Nightmare says in her bio that she became enraptured by rock and metal at an early age I feel her. I may not share the exact same experiences with her but this one is true. We both – at certain points in time – found solace in music genres that provided a home for a person that could not fit anywhere else.
Maybe this is why I respond so strongly to the music Jade The Nightmare makes. It doesn’t just fit my tastes, it tells me something about my life to quote The Smiths. Jade carves herself a niche in two most male dominated regions of music business and she does it with superhuman strength, determination and amounts of talent. She is a Hell Woman after all and she fears no one. You should fear her instead.
Just listen to “Crawl Inside” – a new single that debuted on 1st February. It may last two minutes and fifteen seconds only but the fury, howls and ice-cold chanting contained within cannot possibly be human. This is hell wide open and if your name is not Geralt of Rivia then you better run.
Crawl Inside promotional shot
Obviously, behind the stage persona known as Jade The Nightmare is an artist who works herself to the bone and leaves nothing to chance. It is a one woman project and all samples, musical instruments parts and vocals are done by Jade herself. When Vanadian Avenue interviewed her in December she told us that almost all her music comes from her directly and she only occasionally works with other people. “Crawl Inside” makes an exception. It was recorded together with alternative metal and punk producer Youji2K. It warms my heart to see Ukrainian musician being involved in this track. Some of my relatives live in the country at the moment and the past year hasn’t been the easiest. We are leaving links to Youji`s social media in case you want to check out their work.
Having a punk producer gave “Crawl Inside” this rebellious attitude and straight to the point edge that reminds me a bit of Napalm Death. It may not mean much if you are not a music nerd, but I am and discovering those little trinkets and references makes me so happy.
There is a tradition of one person projects in metal and some of them belong to women like Myrkur (Amalie Bruun), Nebelhexë (Andrea Haugen who tragically died in 2021) or Janaza (but due to safety reasons we know where little of this Iraqi musician). However, as a woman of colour there is no equivalent for Jade The Nightmare. She is almost standing alone. The best way to describe the unique position that Jade has in extreme metal would be to return to rap for a moment – particularly to Tairrie B. In 1990 she released her debut album “Power of a Woman” via Easy E`s Ruthless Records and distributed by MCA. Her single “Murder She Wrote” ended up in the top 30 of hottest rap tracks in the US. Tairrie was one of few women rappers in general at that time, and especially on Ruthless, but the fact she was a white woman in gangsta rap proved a sensation. She left the genre in 1992 and reinvented herself on the metal circuit, first with a band Tura Satana/Manhole then My Ruin.
I always thought that there is a lot in common between the way Jade The Nightmare delivers her vocals and how Tairrie B sings on My Ruin Records. Both ladies meet beautifully in the middle merging delivering verses to a dark metal background. In the age of recycling and nostalgia women like Jade or Tairrie are trailblazers and bringers of new quality.
Five stars or rather five horns for “Crawl Inside” for being the powerful showcase of untamed female energy, genre bending and proving that metal music truly belongs to everyone. Misfits rejoice.
Please follow Jade The Nightmare online:
jadethenightmare.com
https://www.facebook.com/jadethenightmare
https://twitter.com/jadethenightmre
https://www.tiktok.com/@jadethenightmare
https://www.instagram.com/jadethenightmare666
https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialJadeTheNightmareMusic
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1XgEef1F67Q88BMIFPNtes
You can also read our interview with Jade here:
https://vanadianavenue.co.uk/2022/12/28/indieterria-meets-jade-the-nightmare
You can find Youji2K on socials here:
https://www.instagram.com/youji2k/
https://www.youtube.com/@youji2k
https://soundcloud.com/youjiiiii
Malicia Dabrowicz
Indieterria 
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