Editor’s Letter

XTC — Underground Frequencies // Vol. 001 is our first attempt at treating a playlist like a finished piece of editorial: a two hour, front to back listen built from underground artists we actually live with, sequenced with the discipline of a DJ set.

How to listen

Start at Track 1. No shuffle.
Treat it like radio. The handoffs matter.
Best in motion. Headphones or a late drive.

Nefarious Supply started in 2018 as a simple response: the charts can be loud, but they’re never the whole story. We built this platform to spotlight the underground records and artists that grabbed our attention before there was a machine behind them because the underground isn’t a waiting room. It’s where the future gets written first. We’ve had our starts and stops with consistency, but the thesis hasn’t changed: while mainstream names dominate the moment, the true gems the next movers and shakers are often underground artists building real worlds in real time, long before the spotlight catches up.

XTC is our way of treating listening like a craft again: less “here’s what’s hot” and more “here’s what’s been living with us.” More than a playlist, this is our way of proving the thesis we’ve been standing on since day one: the future movers and shakers are already here, building in the underground—our job is to put a real spotlight on them early, with taste and context.

This is also a listening piece in the literal sense. Volume I was sequenced the way you’d sequence a set: not “underground for the sake of underground,” but artists we actually live with, stitched together so the handoffs feel natural and the quality never dips.

Volume I is the first entry in what we hope becomes an episodic feature on the platform, released with a focus on quality over quantity. It’s a mix of artists who’ve either been consistently grabbing our attention lately, or have already had a real footprint on the platform.

Some of these names are already part of our history, which is exactly why they matter here: they’re proof that the underground isn’t a phase it’s the first draft of what everybody else will eventually call “next.” We caught Lango early (2019), when the conversation was less about positioning and more about identity, risk, and effort the kind of mindset that refuses to treat art like it’s disposable. We checked in with THREE65 (2020) right as the catalog started turning into a body of work—projects used to get things off the chest, and a clear preference for resolution over noise.

In Volume I, the clearest proof of that thesis is Scotty Apex—an artist we first tapped in with years ago, who’s kept evolving ever since: stronger structure, sharper world-building, and a catalog that’s become harder to ignore with every release. Across our Scotty Apex coverage (2019, 2021, 2023), we’ve watched the arc sharpen in real time: raw emotion turning into structure, structure turning into world-building, and world-building into a body of work that keeps raising the ceiling.

We first tapped in back in 2019, when Scotty was 22, describing themself as an outcast who used music as an escape and wanted the work to be that same escape for other people. The writing was raw, emotion-forward, and intentionally unpolished. By 2021 (STARLIGHT), the world expanded. Scotty framed albums as “cinematic” versions of real life, a new chapter built from real-time experiences, and a two-year stretch of growth—moving through uncertainty while sharpening structure, vulnerability, and storytelling. By 2023 (DATA BEND), the craft got even more deliberate: genre-bending as a philosophy, world-building through contrast (nature + technology), and a more focused creative circle executing bigger ideas with clearer direction.

And now, as Nefarious Supply has grown and time has passed, Scotty is still one of the clearest examples of what we’ve always been betting on: an artist who hasn’t just stayed consistent with releases, but has kept leveling up in development—stronger songwriting and structure, tighter execution, and a universe that feels more lived-in with every project. That’s why Scotty was one of the first artists we chose to anchor Volume I: over years of watching the output stack up, it’s become clear the consistency isn’t a fluke—it’s the mark of real talent, sharpened in public. And with the arrival of Hotel Mirage, that thesis gets louder: not just more music, but better music, built like a world you can step into.

The Listening Experience

I sequenced Volume I the way I’d sequence a DJ set, with the same kind of patience and pacing you get from a radio hour that’s been edited down to the essentials. If Soulection and ClubCarter Radio are reference points, it’s because they treat cohesion like a standard, not a happy accident. The goal is a true front to back listen: roughly two hours, uninterrupted, with the energy moving but the palette staying coherent.

Set moments (the handoffs)

Scotty’s “JUST US HERE” sets the rules early. After that, the pacing can quicken without feeling scattered.
The handoff from BashfortheWorld to Mathaius Young tightens the posture. Same clean drums, more forward motion.
The Scotty run is the center of gravity. “MY TYPE OF CRAZY” into “MIRAGE” makes the set feel focused without turning it into a loop.
Burgundy carries the comedown without dropping the temperature. The last stretch lands like an ending, not an exit.

Featured Artist Spotlights

Scotty Apex

Scotty Apex is our headliner because the work doesn’t just arrive—it accumulates. Even when the tempo changes, there’s a throughline: melody-first records that still hit like rap, emotion that stays front-facing, and a sense of setting that makes each release feel like a new room in the same house. The progression has been public, but never messy—more control in the writing, more intention in the structure, and a sharper visual language around the music.

Hotel Mirage is the cleanest expression of that discipline. It plays like an engineered escape hatch: bright enough to move to, detailed enough to live with, and built with the kind of repeatable structure that separates a “run” from a real catalog. On Volume I, Scotty isn’t sprinkled for familiarity—they’re sequenced like chapters. “JUST US HERE” opens the door, “MY TYPE OF CRAZY” and “MIRAGE” raise the ceiling, and by the time you reach “SOMETHING I CAN FEEL” and “ANSWER,” the ending feels authored, not accidental.

Burgundy

Burgundy’s records live in the in-between: soft-edged, melodic, and constantly shifting—music that can hold a room without raising its voice. The catalog moves like seasons, and the best songs feel textured rather than stacked: acoustic warmth braided into electronic space, hooks that land like a thought you didn’t mean to say out loud. Recent releases and singles (including “Proud” and “BLOOD/INK”) underline that focus on mood and detail: songs that feel finished, but never overworked.

What makes Burgundy a fit for Volume I is how intentional the world is. The writing doesn’t chase shock value; it lets atmosphere do the heavy lifting, then uses melody to keep the listener close. In conversation, Burgundy has described the project as something that’s meant to stay fluid—never locked into one sound—and rooted in a real, lived pace of life: long weeks, travel, seasons changing, and songs built from small moments that get saved before they disappear. That’s exactly the kind of craftsmanship XTC is built to reward.

On this volume, Burgundy functions as the emotional temperature change—pulling the playlist toward reflection without breaking the pace. Key moments here: “Proud,” “BLOOD/INK,” “More wine?,” and “Earl grey.”

ihateyouALX

ihateyouALX is a reminder that “party music” doesn’t have to be empty. The sound pulls from rap, dance, and house, but the center is always personality: rhythm as language, bounce as discipline, and hooks that can carry a message without making a speech. The origin story has always read as hands-on: early profiles framed the project as DIY and self-taught, built with curiosity, free tools, and a willingness to learn the technical side (production, recording, engineering) instead of outsourcing the details. That background still shows up in the way the songs move bright on the surface, intentional underneath.

In conversation, ALX frames the world like a room you can step into: colorful, creative, and built to make listeners feel free like the rules were meant to be broken. The mission isn’t to hide the message; it’s to let it travel in the rhythm. “keep the party lit.” is the clearest example on Volume I: a celebration record with real stakes, where the hook reads as energy but the intent reads as persistence—keep going, keep the dream alive. And that contrast is exactly why it earns its placement here: it keeps the set moving while quietly underlining what this series is trying to document—artists building worlds with craft, not just noise.

Rosabell

Rosabell brings a different kind of brightness to Volume I: Nigerian-Canadian pop/R&B built on melody first, then emotional precision the kind of writing that turns a private feeling into something you can actually sing back. The music starts where Rosabell says it always starts: chords. A progression hits, the emotion follows, and the voice does the rest stacked harmonies that nod to pop discipline but still carry R&B weight. There’s a clear “pink lights” stage vision behind the work, but it isn’t just aesthetic; it’s a world designed for people who are still learning how to choose themselves.

“Breeze” is the entry point we wanted here: warm guitars, tropical-summer ease, and a calm, grounded energy that cuts through the set without breaking its momentum. It’s the kind of record that feels drama-free on purpose—built to hold you steady, not pull you under—and it quietly reinforces the broader point of XTC: the underground isn’t only intensity. It’s also softness, craft, and artists building a real home inside the song.

Mathaius Young

Mathaius Young brings a different kind of gravity: clean writing, producer-level detail, and songs that feel designed to sit in sequence instead of fighting for attention. The backstory matters here an artist who came up on the technical side, learning the craft obsessively, then stepping into bigger rooms without losing the hands-on instinct. Recent profiles place Mathaius as an Indianapolis-born producer/artist who’s spent years in Los Angeles, with a career shaped early by Sonny Digital’s mentorship and credits that stretch across hip-hop and R&B. If Volume I is about the future being written in real time, Mathaius is one of the clearest examples of how that future sounds when it’s engineered as carefully as it’s felt. The Mathaius picks we’re running here are pulled from the new album run—records that show the writing and the production moving with the same intent. Key moments here: “WHATS YO STATUS,” “MARGIELA,” “TIL THA MORNING,” “201 Interlude,” and “Hold You Close.”

SincerelyChico

SincerelyChico moves like a builder an artist-producer who treats the record like the unit, not just the verse. Coming out of New Jersey with a cinematic, “feel good” sensibility, the work leans on intentionality: each song is meant to hold a scene, not just fill space. The MAIN INGREDIENTS EP (with Saint Nxva) put that approach on display, and the live resume—showcases and festival sets—suggests this music is meant to translate off the screen.

On Volume I, “TABLE MANNERS” lands as a closing statement: crisp, confident, and built to hit with a little more weight than the runtime suggests. It’s the kind of record that makes the case for why XTC exists in the first place—artists who can write, produce, and perform with intention, without waiting for a bigger machine to tell them it counts.

Closing

Volume I is the standard we want to hold ourselves to: taste, yes, but also editing. Not just good songs, but a two hour listen that holds together, where the handoffs are intentional and the focus stays on the music, not the skip button. If XTC becomes episodic, it will be by design. No filler, no obligation to publish on a schedule, and no compromise on cohesion. The underground deserves that level of care.