Exron Exclusive Interview: Nitti Gritti at Hard Summer

September 22, 2021

The Chameleon of EDM has no plan of slowing down on his boundary-pushing musical exploration.

Miami-based, Haitian-born DJ/Producer extraordinaire, Nitti Gritti, is quite unlike any other artist out right now. Real name Ricky Mears, the beloved Nitti Gritti has carved a path strictly unique to himself. While his rise in popularity came from his skull-shaking bass music, in recent years we have seen how versatile the artist can be.

With a Latin Grammy award, American Grammy nomination, and critical acclaim from virtually every music publication, Nitti Gritti has proven that his genuine approach to music is key to being such a prominent DJ. His joint project with Knife Party titled Sidepiece has continuously put out house bangers, his song with Bad Bunny is played at every reggaeton club on the western hemisphere, and his heavy bass tunes can be heard at raves across the country. Nitti Gritti is an artist that is almost impossible to not listen to now, regardless of what genre you’re into.

After having some time to reflect on his wild weekend at Hard Summer, we had the pleasure of asking Nitti Gritti a few questions about his performances.

This was a crazy moment!!

Still buzzin @DJNittiGritti @HARDFEST pic.twitter.com/t5H6ZtfFgT
— wuki 🍄 (@Wuki) August 4, 2021

Exron Music: Your B2B with Wuki had such an intense energy, how were you two able to establish such good chemistry on the decks?

Nitti Gritti: I think because we’re friends and always make edits/music together it comes very natural to go up there and just have fun with each other.

Exron Music: How much have your surroundings, both growing up and now, influenced your sound?

Nitti Gritti: I think that’s the only thing you can learn from, to be honest. What you’re exposed to as a young person makes up most of the rest of your life. So learning to love all genres of music has stayed with me and is the reason why I produce for other artists and myself in so many different genres.

Exron Music: One thing that stood out from your daytime set was the flood of people that came right as your set started, with a number of them with shirts that said, “Gritti Gang.” Your fans are clearly very passionate about your work— what does that mean to you and what do you think it is that allows you to have such a strong fanbase?

Nitti Gritti: I’m honored to have people enjoy my music as much as I do. It’s a feeling I try to always hold to when making music. The fact that so many people want to have fun with me at a club or festival will always make the bad parts of the music industry seem worth it. So thank you to all my fans who keep me going.

Nitti Gritti and Wuki perform at HARD Summer 2021.

Exron Music: In your set, you managed to transition from intense bass music with remixes of pop-punk classics to reggaeton and house music. What is it about mixing up genres that you enjoy so much?

Nitti Gritti: I think it’s always been my forte to be a musical chameleon. I won’t say I’m the best at any one genre but I think I am one of the best at blending different genres together, especially in live sets. I spend hours making edits and thinking of transitions for my sets.

Exron Music: In an Instagram post, you mentioned how your set with Wuki was special compared to others you’ve done in the past. What was it that made this particular set stand out from the rest?

Nitti Gritti: This was the best b2b I think I’ve ever had so far. The crowd was right, we were prepared, and the whole day was a great vibe for me.

Exron Music: From performing at one of the biggest stages at Hard Summer to doing a later performance at the most intimate one, what differences did you account for going into the two sets?

Nitti Gritti: I went into the b2b as a fun edit-filled jump-up set and later I played a lot of heavy, raging unreleased Nitti and dubstep.

Exron Music: During your set at the Corona Electric Beach, you played a new track that had heavy emo influences. Is this a sound you’re planning to tap into more or is this just something random that you wanted to make?

Nitti Gritti: I always loved emo pop-punk growing up so it was a dream of mine to make some and mix some electronic music into it!