‘Pure Order is Pure Lyricism’: Emcees God’s Gift and Nemesis Team Up as Pure Order to Refresh the Hip Hop Landscape on “New World”
By Francis Galang
December 27, 2022
LOS ANGELES – For the 2023 re-release of their single “New World”, emcees God’s Gift and Nemesis team up to elevate today’s hip hop with the lyrical prowess and bright messaging found in the Golden Age styles of the 1990s.
Pure Order defines itself around what is needed in the hip hop landscape today. Nemesis says, “Pure Order is pure hip hop, purity for the original style of hip hop. Purity of lyricism: The lyrics, the skill, as well as the concepts that have meaning and are uplifting for our global community. It’s Pure Order, pure hip hop, pure expression.”
Pure Order responds to the decades of development that has made hip hop culture so vibrant, skilled, and resonant. It is a project that steps up to the high bar of hip hop’s greatest talents, reflecting upon the ways in which others have become pillars for inspiration.
“Our focus is on the lyrical element of hip hop. I’ve had the concept since the 1990’s, but the idea for the group came to me in Oxnard as I was collecting lyricists around me,” Gift says. “Over the years, b-boys and graffiti artists, they all keep elevating and doing greater and greater tricks. Lyrically as emcees, we should be elevating also. Not degrading and pandering to popularity.”
God’s Gift and Nemesis met through a mutual friend in San Bernardino. After realizing the both of them wrote poetry and are emcees, Gift and Nemesis began their friendship over shared rap notes and a rap session.
“We’ve been down with each other ever since. We have the same ideas and make the same style, Conscious Hip Hop, since we’re on that vibe. We got together and the rest is history,” says Nemesis. “Later on, Gift needed emcees, but didn’t meet me until 10-15 years later. When we met, it clicked that I would be an appropriate partner for Pure Order.”
Before Pure Order, God’s Gift grew up in Oxnard, rapping with his high school friends – the famed Madlib and Kankick as well as his cousin’s group Mystery’s Exstinction. Gift went on to have a wide involvement in the hip hop industry, influenced by Chuck D from Public Enemy and the native tongue style of the Jungle Brothers. Gift worked closely with Madlib and his brother Oh No on Lootpack’s Soundpieces: Da Antidote (1999) and The Lost Tapes (2004). He also appeared on Kankick’s From Artz Unknown (2004) and is close friends with many from Stones Throw Records.
Nemesis, a female emcee, also grew up with an eclectic taste in hip hop. She took rhyming seriously after high school, beginning her recording career on God’s Gift’s project with DJ Shag called The Valkyrie (2014). Her first ever verse is on “Lighthouse” by De Bergerac (God’s Gift & DJ Shag). Nemesis’s style is deeply influenced by her Los Angeles hometown, developed from Funkadelic’s P-Funk, L.A.’s G-Funk, and even Motown Sound. Artists like Missy Elliott and Prince deeply inspire her musicianship: “With Missy Elliott, the creativity, the arrangements, the singing into rapping into ad libs. It’s all a major influence. Prince’s creativity, freeness, and flair that constantly entertains me, I incorporate a lot of that into my music.”
Both members of Pure Order have had a busy 2022. Nemesis’s April 2022 single “INNOV8!” has charted in both California and Seattle, reaching a #1 position on nationwide college radio charts. The success of her singles “INNOV8!”, “Nefertiti the First”, and “Tigress” have recently landed Nemesis the honor of 2022‘s Artist of the Year from RapAttackLives. Pure Order has also released the music video for their single “Sons of Belial (Walking Dead)” in November and performed a show in August, afterwards spending time with those from Death Row Records.
Gift says, “It’s been a busy year, but we’ve been enjoying the momentum as we get busier. This year has been dedicated to establishing a platform for ourselves and taking off.”
Pure Order’s “New World” is a refreshing breath of fresh air that lyrically challenges the 2020s hip hop industry. Its refined lyrics, vivid message, and rhyming ability serves to impact listeners both musically and poetically.
Nemesis says the single “New World”, “Positively pushes from the old. There is so much trouble in this world, and it’s just stacking up more making everyone stressed out. New World is a refreshing but also intelligent dive into what we see can be possible if we the people empower ourselves to think more positively.”
“There are so many recent drastic changes that affect all our lives. It was therapeutic for me to talk about how I can combat the negativity in myself, and how I can help others do that too.”
Gift says “New World” features both members as recording engineers. “We taught ourselves the craft in what is now called Pure Order Entertainment Studios. We empowered ourselves even down to the recording technique. We had a mixing engineer, DJ Romes, but we arranged the song ourselves, picked the parts, and the poetry interludes.”
“We put a lot of thought into the arrangement. It’s really a meaningful piece for us,” Gift reflects.
Upcoming in early January on their YouTube, Pure Order will be releasing a lyric video for “New World” as well.
Looking forward to the new year, Pure Order has many plans in store. In the Spring, the duo will be releasing a new single and video. Then later in 2023, Nemesis will be releasing an album and Pure Order will be releasing an album as well.
Envisioning the year, Nemesis says, “The goal is for a big social impact. That means connecting with meaning and what people need right now.”
Upcoming, on January 1, Nemesis will be coming out with a new vinyl and merchandise. The links to these are available on Pure Order’s Bandcamp.
Be sure to follow Pure Order on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
https://pureorder.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thepureorder/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100048631136080
https://twitter.com/PureOrder?t=9BDB3K33qbg3t7KlCBQiYQ&s=09
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