Gunner Shepardson (born March 18, 2007), known professionally as Nettspend, is an American rapper. He gained popularity after a snippet of his song, "Drankdrankdrank", went viral on Twitter in late 2023. His song "Shine N Peace" was listed among the best songs of 2023 by The Fader and The New York Times.

Shepardson began rapping while in fifth grade. After releasing multiple singles, he released his debut mixtape, Bad Ass F*cking Kid, on December 6, 2024. After an almost nine-month-long delay and a year following his mixtape, he released his debut studio album Early Life Crisis on March 6, 2026.

Early life

Gunner Shepardson was born on March 18, 2007, in Richmond, Virginia. He has three siblings, and his father was a country singer. Growing up, Shepardson listened to Michael Jackson, Katy Perry, and Justin Bieber, and was heavily interested in skateboarding. He first tried out rapping while in fifth grade. Shepardson felt isolated in school and dropped out in ninth grade, citing the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Career

2022–2023: Career beginnings and breakthrough

Shepardson began releasing music to SoundCloud in December 2022. In 2023, rapper Zuro introduced Shepardson to New York rapper Xaviersobased. Following this, a snippet of his song "Drankdrankdrank" went viral on Twitter, exposing him to a wider audience. Shepardson would briefly be associated with the digicore collective Novagang. His song "Shine N Peace" was listed among the best songs of 2023 by The Fader and The New York Times.

2024: Bad Ass F*cking Kid

Shepardson performing at The Masquerade in 2024

On January 11, 2024, Shepardson was featured alongside rapper Xaviersobased on producer Evilgiane's song "40". The song was listed as one of the best songs of 2024 by The New York Times and Pitchfork. Shepardson performed at Rolling Loud on March 16, marking his first festival performance. In June,Shepardson collaborated with rapper OsamaSon on the single "Withdrawals". That month, he also made a cameo in the music video for "Devil Is a Lie" by fellow Virginia rapper Tommy Richman. After teasing it at multiple shows, Shepardson released "That One Song" in July, a song sampling "Entombed" by Deftones. In the weeks that followed, "That One Song", along with the majority of Nettspend's other popular songs, were removed from streaming platforms. On October 3, Shepardson released the track "F*ck Swag" alongside a music video directed by Cole Bennett. Two months later, on December 6, Shepardson released his debut mixtape, Bad Ass F*cking Kid. He embarked on a promotional tour of the same name, bringing out English singer PinkPantheress at his Los Angeles show.

2025–present: Early Life Crisis

On February 21, 2025, Shepardson announced his "Invert" tour on social media. Vans sponsored the tour and ran from March 14 to April 16. On March 11, Shepardson made his runway debut with Miu Miu on the last day of Paris Fashion Week alongside Cortisa Star. On March 18, Shepardson teamed up with Xaviersobased to release "Impact". On August 22, 2025, Nettspend released a two-track EP, titled Gone Too Soon, which featured tracks "Stressed" and "Her Friends". On October 28, 2025, Nettspend was featured in a holiday ad for Vans. On February 13, 2026, Nettspend announced that his debut album, Early Life Crisis, would be released on March 6, following a delay. Following the album's delay, Nettspend made his second runway with Gucci in Milan, Italy, alongside Fakemink. On March 6, Nettspend released Early Life Crisis. On April 30, Nettspend released a compilation album, titled Him, exclusively on SoundCloud. On June 13, during Summer Smash, Nettspend announced that a collaborative album with OsamaSon titled NXO was on the way. Him was officially released onto streaming platforms on July 3.

Musical style and influences

Nettspend's musical style stems from trap, a subgenre of hip-hop. His music has also been characterized as jerk, a hip-hop subgenre which consists of "pitched-up, layered vocals and bass that will make your speakers sound broken", according to Pitchfork. Most of Shepardson's songs are under two minutes long. According to The Fader, he commonly employs "distorted 808s", "loose piano riffs", and "glimmering synths" in his music. His music has been described as "a symphony of stimuli" by i-D, and "post-post-rage" by The New York Times. Shepardson's lyrics frequently reference drug use, and his concert visuals have featured imagery referencing substances such as ketamine. His public image and lyrical themes led a member of his team to compare his appeal to "if Harry Styles had access to promethazine."

In an interview with i-D, Shepardson named Chief Keef, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Michael Jackson as influences.

Discography

Studio albums

External links