Destin Conrad is proving he doesn’t want to be tethered to a single genre. The progressive artist has unleashed “Nervous,” the first offering from his upcoming reggae album.
Produced by close collaborator Louie Lastic, “Nervous” whines to the rhythm of a dancehall beat, laced with a vocal chop from the viral rendition of the Chinese folk song “Midu Mountain Song.” “When I walk in the room, dem get up / Make them nervous, I know,” he sings.
Speaking on his new track, Conrad says, “Flowing between R&B and jazz inspired me to keep being curious about how far I can expand my sound.”
He continues, “‘NERVOUS’ carries that same off-the-cuff freedom, so it was an opportunity to really stand in and own that part of me. It feels good to honor my Jamaican roots and make something fun that completely challenges what people might expect.”
“Nervous” is Conrad’s first solo release since dropping wHIMSY!, the deluxe edition of his alternative jazz album, in April. The expanded set included seven additional tracks. “wHIMSY! picks up where the original left off, just with more movement and more play. It’s me leaning further into how jazz and R&B speak to each other,” Conrad told Rated R&B.
The standard edition of wHIMSY was released in August 2025, just four months after dropping his Grammy-nominated debut album, Love On Digital. The former featured contributions from Terrace Martin, James Fauntleroy, Keyon Harrold, Ambré, Louie Lastic, Mack Keane and more.
“wHIMSY is an off the cuff, free idea, that is my passion project,” said Conrad. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do—from my years in the Jazz Choir during high school to now, having the opportunity to release this project and reinventing what Jazz means to me now.”
Most recently, Conrad joined forces with Kwn on “All Fours,” the opening track to her latest EP, And All Pride Aside.
Stream Destin Conrad’s “Nervous” below.
