NS RADAR Vol. 003: Five Artists We've Been Listening To

Every other Thursday, NS RADAR brings together five artists or records worth spending time with. Sometimes a submission introduces us to someone new. Other times, a new release gives us a reason to return to an artist we’ve followed for years.

For Vol. 003, we’re listening to K.O.N, LE-VI, Scotty Apex, jev. and Saminis. Four have appeared on Nefarious Supply before, through interviews, a playlist or a feature. Saminis’ Saminis Matrix came to us through the submissions inbox this fall. Together, they give us a chance to revisit the work that brought these artists onto our radar and share where to start listening.

K.O.N

Our history with K.O.N goes back to 2022, when the Nashville rapper and producer spoke with us about Kids Being Kids, his project with WowJus7in. In that conversation, he described the tape as a detour from his usual lyric-driven approach. He wanted to make fun music for people who wanted to move, bringing together Nashville collaborators including Jyou, Demo, Dimestate Don and Lina.

The music came together during a period when K.O.N was reconsidering what he wanted from his work. Speaking to Stereofox about “Juno”, he described a difficult year in which he had become uncertain about setting goals and releasing music. He credited the people around him with seeing potential in him when he was struggling to see it himself. That context gives the enjoyment he wanted from Kids Being Kids another dimension: the tape was also made through relationships that helped him keep going.

His partnership with Jyou goes back further still. They began making music together after their sophomore year of college and continued to develop alongside one another. In our 2023 conversation about The Boombox EP, the pair described a project rooted in having fun while making use of the skills they had spent years developing. K.O.N explained that producing and writing required different kinds of attention: sometimes he needed to leave a beat until the next day before he could return to it and write. Jyou, meanwhile, spoke about finding a pocket that fit the feeling of a song without overthinking every lyric.

Last month, K.O.N returned to NS for a SoundSubterra Sessions playlist. It offers a different way into his work: not through an explanation of his process, but through the music he chose to share. His selection includes Channel Tres, D’Angelo and Dimestate Don alongside his own “Beyonce.”

Why it is on our radar

The opening stretch of K.O.N’s session was my favorite part. It moves from Channel Tres’ “Sexy Black Timberlake” to VonOff1700’s “Opps On Deck,” then into Brent Faiyaz’s “On This Side.” Those are different energies, but the transition through the third song helped them make sense together. It gave me a reason to pay attention to how K.O.N listens, not just what he makes.

The playlist also brought me back to Dimestate Don. We had featured her before, but I hadn’t kept up with her releases. Hearing “kikdoor” sent me into her catalog, where I found SHINESTATE: DIAMOND EDITION and Chasing Purpose on E. She had also appeared on Kids Being Kids, so the discovery led back to our first conversation with K.O.N.

I’d start with the full session and hear “Beyonce” among the records he selected. From there, Kids Being Kids and The Boombox EP give you two earlier points of entry into his work and collaborations.

 

LE-VI

LE-VI spent years helping other artists bring their ideas into focus before placing their own voice at the center. The Toronto artist’s work extends across writing, production, mixing and sound editing. According to their professional website, that experience also includes sound work for television and film, including the Canadian Screen Award-winning sound team behind Canada’s Drag Race.

In our September interview, LE-VI explained that shaping the music felt familiar. Being visible inside it was more difficult. Working behind the scenes had given them room to support someone else’s perspective; releasing their own music meant allowing listeners to connect the work to their own voice and story.

That technical background informs how LE-VI approaches emotion. They told us that a small production decision can change the meaning of a lyric or vocal performance. Being involved from writing through mixing helps them protect the feeling that first inspired a song, even as they continue to value collaboration.

“Hourglass” began with a looping guitar pattern and a vocal sample. LE-VI described writing from that initial loop before developing the arrangement, trying to retain a sense of being suspended in a moment. The song’s central image comes from wanting an experience to last while knowing time will keep moving. In the accompanying video, they extended the idea through the ouroboros and the image of shedding skin, using cycles and transformation to explore the possibility of leaving old patterns behind.

Why it is on our radar

“Hourglass” is where we’d suggest starting with LE-VI. The interview gives the record a useful context: the person shaping its atmosphere is also the artist deciding how much of themself to reveal. LE-VI described the release as an introduction to a larger project and a commitment to sharing their own work more consistently. We’re interested in following where that commitment takes them.

Listen: “Hourglass” on Spotify.

 

Scotty Apex

Scotty Apex has one of the longest histories with Nefarious Supply in this volume. We first interviewed Scotty in 2019 and returned for conversations around STARLIGHT in 2021 and DATA BEND in 2023. When we revisited that history for XTC: Underground Frequencies Vol. 001, we traced an artist moving from raw, emotion-led writing toward more deliberate storytelling and presentation.

That development did not mean leaving uncertainty behind. In a 2021 OnesToWatch feature on STARLIGHT, Scotty described the project as representing an internal conflict about uncertainty and where life was going. It is a useful point of entry into a catalog where the surrounding production may change, but personal experience remains central.

This summer, Scotty headlined our first XTC volume. The playlist gave us room to place several of their records across a longer listening experience, while returning to the artist’s development remained central to the accompanying editorial. Their 2026 EP HOTEL MIRAGE is another place to hear that catalog: five tracks, including “JUST US HERE” and “MIRAGE.”

Why it is on our radar

Revisiting Scotty’s catalog while preparing XTC made me think about how music becomes attached to periods in our own lives. Following an artist for years means hearing the work alongside your own changes, too. Scotty’s place in the first volume came from that longer relationship, not just one release.

Start with HOTEL MIRAGE on Amazon Music, then return to the XTC playlist editorial for a wider view of the records we brought together and the history behind the selection.

 

jev.

Our history with jev. began in 2022, when he spoke with Nefarious Supply about making music from his bedroom, his creative ambitions and the places that shaped him. We caught up again in May 2026, at a point when his music was reaching more people and his life on the road was asking new things of him.

In that conversation, he returned to Untitled 01, the early recordings he had described as a diary of his high school years. He told us the songs still take him back to his childhood bedroom and remind him how much love he had for making music. Working alone taught him to trust his own judgment before anyone else had a chance to weigh in. “My rule for every artist, TRUST YOUR TASTE,” he told Nefarious Supply.

The Color Grey grew from a different period. jev. said he was writing through the demands of work, school, family and life in his early twenties before the idea of a project about transition came into focus. The concept clicked only a couple of weeks before release. On “Where’s the Confetti?,” that sense of transition included the distance between gaining momentum and feeling supported.

He continued developing the visual side of his work with LONERWRLD, vol 1. Complex reported that the 2023 release arrived with visualizers or videos for its six tracks, giving listeners another way into the project beyond the songs themselves.

By the time of our latest interview, jev. had completed two tours in a month. Watching Clipse from side stage in Paris made him pay attention to their presence and the way a crowd could sing their hooks back. His own headline run brought a different lesson: managing the logistics himself was exhausting, but seeing listeners show up each night made clear that people were living with his music.

Why it is on our radar

“Where’s the Confetti?” remains a useful place to begin because it brings the question of support into focus. When we asked jev. about it again in May, he described both a growing support system and the importance of being his own biggest cheerleader. That answer connects the earlier record to the artist we spoke with more recently, without suggesting the questions behind it have disappeared.

Start with “Where’s the Confetti?” and The Color Grey, then explore LONERWRLD, vol 1 and its visuals. Together, they offer a way into both his writing and how he presents it.

 

Saminis

Saminis came to Nefarious Supply through the submissions inbox with SAMINIS MATRIX, an album released on October 2, 2026. Its 41 tracks make it a substantial introduction for anyone encountering the artist for the first time.

In the submission, Saminis described the project as a collection of songs made over the previous year. The artist said each song has its own identity while contributing to an atmosphere developed across the album. That gives listeners an invitation to pay attention to both the individual tracks and the larger collection they form.

The scale is not entirely new to the catalog. The previous album, WELCOME: Saminis, arrived in 2025 with 31 songs. Together, the two projects offer plenty of material for someone who wants to spend time exploring beyond a single track.

Why it is on our radar

I enjoyed WELCOME: Saminis as a full project, with “wealth & fame” and “UTOPIA” as my favorites. Start with either track, then spend time with the whole album. The more recent SAMINIS MATRIX, which Saminis submitted to us, offers another way into the catalog.

Listen: WELCOME: Saminis on Apple Music · SAMINIS MATRIX on Bandcamp.

Keep listening

Some of these artists have been part of Nefarious Supply for years. Others have only recently come into view. Either way, the first record is just a place to begin.

Follow the songs that stay with you. Revisit an earlier project, spend time with an interview or see where an artist’s selections lead. There is always more to discover when you keep listening.

We cover what moves us. Send what moves you.

Making music we should hear? Submit your music and tell us where to start. Share the story behind your work: what you’re making, what shaped it and why it matters to you.

Selected artists may be considered for interviews, playlists and editorial features. No fees. No pay-to-play. Ever. Submitting does not guarantee coverage.

Editorial bibliography

K.O.N

LE-VI

Scotty Apex

jev.

Saminis