Nur-D is Here, He’s Queer and He’s ‘Chunkadelic’

The rapper, a local favorite, will be celebrating his 10th full-length project, which he calls his most personal project yet, at the Fillmore this month.

Nur-D, aka Matt Allen, is perhaps the friendliest local celebrity you will ever meet.

When we met at a Minneapolis coffee shop to discuss his upcoming album “Chunkadelic,” he walked into the wrong room and still buoyantly greeted everyone after realizing I was sitting elsewhere.

The 34-year-old rapper from Rosemount, Minn., who makes “hip-hop and pop for people who feel different,” rocked a big smile and jubilant laugh along with a bright orange sweatshirt covered in cartoon characters.

Nur-D embodies the openness and unabashed nerdery that define his music, things he says are in their fullest form in “Chunkadelic,” his 10th full-length album set to release on July 23.

“It’s a real combination of all that I’ve learned musically since I’ve started,” he says.

Nur-D explains that the record began with a much more dour, depressing mood, but that he shifted gears when it stopped being fun to make.

“I was thinking, ‘Y’know, there’s gotta be another way to do this,’ and it turned into ‘protest by way of radical joy’ and ‘creativity in the face of opposition,’ and everything just popped into place,” he says. “It is booty shaking in the face of adversity.”

Fittingly, one of its singles is titled “Sandy Cheeks” (referring to the “Spongebob” character whose name is an iconic innuendo.) In the song, Nur-D declares his authenticity even in the face of immense change, namely his rise to prominence, to a boppy, funkadelic flow.

Nur-D, cover star of Lavender’s 2022 Pride Issue, says the “Chunkadelic” sentiment also applies to his queer identity.

“Most of the identity labels that I have, with the exception of being [cisgender], are in some way in opposition to the status quo: a big bodied, queer, Black person making hip-hop music in a majority white space, being Minnesota,” he says. “Doing so with joy and fun, I think that’s the first thing the opposition tries to take.

“Being more loud about it has ruffled some feathers, but they’re feathers that need to be ruffled.”

Nur-D’s queerness is also apparent in his musical influences, from gender-playful local legend Prince and ‘80s hair metal bands who embodied masculinity with feathery hair and tight leather pants, to Tyler, The Creator, who has often rapped about his fluid sexuality.

Even after sharing the Soundset 2018 stage with Tyler, Nur-D says he has “hometown jitters” for the “Chunkadelic” album release party at the Fillmore on July 25, his first time headlining the venue.

“You never know who’s gonna show up,” he says. “I’m excited to be able to show my fans and the people who are coming from all over just how much this album has affected me and how much the message can be used today.”

With openers Dakotah Faye, iLLism and DJ Hayes, it will be a veritable celebration of how far Nur-D has come in the seven years since he started making music in 2018.

“I’ve written a lot of music, and coming in on my 10th full-length project, it feels like a major milestone,” he says. “It feels like proof that I can do this consistently. Every time I finish a project, I get scared that I have nothing else to say, but living my life gives me a lot more opportunities to continue the conversation.”

As for what comes after “Chunkadelic,” Nur-D has a full to-do list, from a record store tour with DJ Hayes to working to make recording music more accessible via his St. Paul studio, FairPlay Entertainment.

“I’m also a professional wrestler now,” he states with a cheeky grin.

He hopes to become the first Grammy winner to also hold a championship belt.

“I don’t care what the Grammy’s for, I’m gonna walk on the red carpet with my belt, that’s all I know,” he laughs.

On that note, we agree on a comparison between him and actor Jack Black. Jack Black’s presence in each of his movies feels natural across a range of characters, contexts and genres.

“I like the motto that you’ll never know where you’ll see me, but I’ll never be out of place,” Nur-D says.

Anyone looking to explore Nur-D’s vast discography in preparation for “Chunkadelic” has a plethora to choose from, but specifically, he names his 2019 breakout album “Songs About Stuff” and 2022’s “HVN” (pronounced “heaven)” as must-listens.

“I got my first commercial placement off of [“SAS”], and a lot of people found me for the first time. ‘20 Cha’ with the Minnesota Orchestra was nominated for a Regional Emmy,” he says.

He describes “HVN” as an introspective epilogue to his group works “38th” and “Chicago Avenue,” both released in 2020 in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and subsequent uprising.

“It brings the same elements from [‘38th’ and ‘Chicago’], as well as my own deconstruction journey away from Evangelical Christianity. The ideas floating around ‘HVN’ are a great secondary to ‘Songs About Stuff,’” he says.

Tickets for the “Chunkadelic” release show are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. More information can be found on Nur-D’s Instagram page, @nurdrocks.