Nick Shea is best known for selling $1 portraits in the Boston Common—simple yet iconic sketches that make an irreplaceable keepsake for tourists and locals alike. But the East Boston native has been making music for years, and his latest album “Mad Rap Verses” is some of his proudest work yet.
The Beacon sat down with Shea to talk about his upcoming album release show, set to occur at the Blue Triangle Gallery on Nov. 16. The art gallery sits right in the heart of Chinatown and exhibits a variety of upcoming artists in their monthly shows, or as the gallery simply puts it, “contemporary cool shit.”
Since he often works in the Common, Shea seems fond of DIY working spaces. The artist expressed excitement about the unorthodox nature of the show.
“It’s an unconventional space,” Shea said. “I think that’s what’s lacking [in Boston] is just having spaces where we’re going here for a creative thing and it’s gonna be DIY and it might be strange, it might be weird, but it might be great.”
Shea said his new album, “Mad Rap Verses,” features some of his goofiest lines. This playful lyricism is heard immediately on the opening track “Krookcafe,” a short song with an upbeat instrumental that emanates the style of K.I.D.S.-era Mac Miller.
“Give me the loot, give me a biscuit, my name’s Nick Shea, not Jiminy Cricket,” Shea said with a slight smile. “That’s my best and worst line.”
Shea loves being from Boston. This is not a radical observation—his art is scattered all around the city. When asked about the Boston music scene, Shea shared appreciation for his fellow local artists.
“I think a lot of artists are embracing being from Boston, being from Massachusetts, the East Coast,” Shea said. “I think that’s awesome. I think we should. We have a great city.”
Shea believes there’s no need to travel to a bigger metropolis, such as New York City or Los Angeles, to find and perform great music: it’s right here in our city, from the basements of house shows in Allston to the top of the food chain at larger venues like the House of Blues and MGM Music Hall.
Nick Shea will perform at the Blue Triangle Gallery on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. All ages are welcome and tickets are $10. More information can be found on the artist’s Instagram page, @realnickshea.
