Hip hop audiences are accustomed to seeing performers surrounded by an entourage of friends and fellow artists onstage, but when the lights go up on Trevor Wiggins, the Athens-based MC is accompanied by three musicians who are responsible for creating a uniquely different sound.
Under the name Trvy, Wiggins is an award-winning recording artist, but when combined with The Enemy, his craft becomes part of an unforgettably powerful machine.
Even those who are familiar with what Trvy and the Enemy have been creating as a live band over the past two years might be surprised at what the band has achieved with their latest single “Matthew McConaughey,” which is part of a six-song EP called “Choose Your Enemy” due to be released on May 31. Known for their sweat-drenched, high-energy concerts, Trvy and the Enemy managed to capture the experience while also channeling some classic southern soul.
“Even though the band’s name has my name in it, I’m not separate from them,” Trvy told the Banner-Herald. “The goal wasn’t to have musicians backing me up to re-create songs that I already made. I wanted to be in a band.”
Trvy and the Enemy is made up of Trvy on vocals, drummer Rio Crane, bassist James Stickney and guitarist Robbie Rapp. Crane, Stickney and Rapp are childhood friends who had played together in a couple of bands before meeting Trvy via the Athens hip hop scene. Trvy’s reputation as one of Athens’ best MCs goes back several years, and he won the Vic Chesnutt Songwriter of the Year award in 2023.
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Released on May 10, “Matthew McConaughey” isn’t the band’s first commercially available track, but its sound represents a refinement of the band’s ability to function as a creative unit. Trvy’s signature rasp emerges with a soulful quality that recalls R&B vocalists of the Stax Records era, and the addition of piano leaves behind all traces of “rap rock” clichés. Trvy said that a follow-up EP to “Choose Your Enemy” is already in the works.
“Everyone in the band is an audio engineer, so the production credit goes to all of us,” said Trvy. “Rio mixed and mastered the EP, so we didn’t outsource anything. Everything you’ll hear (on “Choose Your Enemy”) was created by live jamming together in the same room. We grew up in Athens, and this is the sound of the city that we want to put out into the world.”
To stream music, watch videos and join the Trvy and the Enemy newsletter, visit trvyandtheenemy.com.
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