MNERVA is known for being the creator and writer of the parody musical of the 'Twenty One Pilots' called 'Blurryface: The Musical'. The project was quickly put to rest after a cease and desist letter asking him to take down the trailer he made, though it can still be found online. 

On 30th April, MNERVA released his brand new single called 'Stuck' which he wrote during quarantine. This was during a time he was at his all time low both creatively and mentally. He found himself repeating his days over and over where he stopped replying to his friends. He worked on this song to get him through and went to therapy straight after. 

Congrats on your new single ‘Stuck’, how do you feel about the release? 

I’m actually very confident about this release. I just debuted “Stuck” live last week and everybody who watched the show said it was their favorite MNERVA song. It’s definitely the most honest song I’ve ever put out and I really hope that the rest of the world likes it as much as that audience. I’ve also had a lot of time to prepare for this release date since I haven’t dropped a song since October so I have all of the assets ready and won’t be scrambling at the last minute for once.

How did you prepare for the release?  

We had a lot of fun things planned for “Stuck’s” release. I just finished editing the music video earlier today and I also have an incredible designer working on a lyric video for the song as well. On top of that, I have a live acoustic version of the song filmed and ready to go, as well as a Tik Tok campaign once the song is released. I’ve had a lot of time to plan the next phase of my career and I can’t wait to show everyone what my team and I have been creating for the last few months!

Your song is about mental health, why do you think it is important to speak out about mental health? 

Speaking from experience, it is so easy to feel like you’re the only one who’s suffering from mental health issues and that everyone else is “killing it” while your life is going nowhere. I think it’s important to be open about your mental health struggles because a listener somewhere is going to see that they’re not alone and, hopefully, that will help them rise above their issues. Obsessively listening to artists, such as NF, Linkin Park, and twenty one pilots, were crucial for me overcoming my own personal pandemic rock bottom and I hope that “Stuck” can also be an outlet for anyone who is feeling hopeless in a post Covid19 world.

When you felt ‘Stuck’ creatively, how did you find the motivation to start being creative again? 

I have a lot of energy so I find going on walks helps refresh my creativity. That, or I start talking to friends on the phone and try to find song titles in our conversations. Like the other day, I accidentally stumbled on a lyric about making amends with one of my exes while talking to a friend and immediately wrote the song after I hung up. There’s a lyric in everything, you just have to keep your eyes peeled for inspiration.

When did you realise you had a talent for singing and find your ‘style’ of music?  

I started out as strictly a drummer but found out I could sing when I joined my first band at 13. No else could carry a tune so I had to play double duty as the drummer and singer for all of our gigs. But I didn’t truly find MNERVA’s style until I went to college and dived head first into rapping. I always loved rock and hip hop crossover bands such as Linkin Park, Papa Roach, and P.O.D. but I didn’t realize I had an affinity for the artform until my freshman roommate pointed it out to me while we were badly freestyling in our dorm. From there, I flirted with the idea of being a hip hop artist until I stumbled upon the song “Minerva” by Deftones and decided to fuse that song’s atmospheric elements with trap drums for my own music. I’ve been perfecting MNERVA’s sound ever since. 

How do you think this song has benefited your mental health? 

Writing “Stuck” was what got me to turn my life around after months of struggling due to the pandemic. A week later, I started therapy, quit drinking, and started working out in order to break my toxic habits. Now, six months later, I can say that I still have a lot of work to do but that I’m happier than I’ve been in years. But I don’t think I wouldn’t have been able to admit to myself that I needed help if I hadn’t written “Stuck.”

Finally, why should people stream ‘Stuck’? 

I think that anyone can relate to this song because everyone faced a new degree of uncertainty due to the 2020 pandemic. By talking to my family and friends, I know that everyone felt trapped in Groundhog Day for months at the beginning of the quarantine and I think that this song will help people give a voice to their angst as we slowly move toward a new normal. Also, my producer, Kory Shore, outdid himself on this beat and I think that everyone will be able to bang their head to this one!

Check out MNERVA's song 'Stuck' clicking here.