{{Short description|American rapper}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Nems | image = | caption = | birth_name = Travis Doyle | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|12|21}} | birth_place = Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York | alias = | genre = Hip hop | occupation = Rapper, content creator, entrepreneur | years_active = | label = | associated_acts = | website = }} '''Travis Doyle''', commonly known as '''Gorilla Nems''' or simply '''Nems''', is an American rapper, content creator, entrepreneur and web series host, from Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Known for his appearance on MTV2's ''Fight Klub'', catchphrase "Bing Bong", and ''Don't Ever Disrespect Me'' series,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saponara |first=Michael |date=2022-07-23 |title=Nems On His Rise From Rikers Island To Hanging With Travis Scott |url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.71959/title.nems-interview-travis-scott-coney-island-bing-bong-rikers-scram-jones-sean-price-kay-slay |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=HipHopDX |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Nems Talks Follow Culture & Thanks Trash Rappers |url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.51740/title.nems-talks-follow-culture-thanks-trash-rappers |website=HipHopDX |access-date=13 September 2022 |date=12 June 2019}}</ref> he is also founder and owner of the Brooklyn-based brand, ''Fuck Your Lyfe'' (FYL).
After winning MC battle competitions in New York City, he appeared in MTV2's ''Fight Klub'' league in 2006, where he recorded the most wins (25 wins) by any MC in the league's history.
Nems again rose to fame in 2021, when his catchphrases "Bing Bong" and clips of him interviewing people in Coney Island, went viral on TikTok. Over half a million videos used original sounds from different clips of his interviews, and clips with the ''#bingbong'' hashtag have over a billion views on social media.
==Personal life== Travis Doyle was born on December 21, 1982, in Coney Island, Brooklyn, where he grew up with his mom in O’Dwyer Gardens housing projects.<ref name="Ref1">{{cite web |title=The Bing Bong Rapper, Gorilla Nems — Mayor of the Coney Island |url=https://ra.co/dj/nems/biography |website=ra.co |access-date=20 October 2022}}</ref> On March 15, 2024, he converted to Islam.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Popular American rapper Bing Bong accepted Islam |url=https://www.jugantor.com/international/788779/%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE-%E0%A6%97%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%A3-%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A8-%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A7%9F-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A8-%E0%A6%B0%E2%80%8C%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%82-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%82 |work=Jugantor}}</ref>
==Career== Nems started his career in early 2000s with battle raps. At the time, he won numerous MC battle competitions in New York City, like EOW and Braggin’ Rites. In 2006, he appeared on MTV2's Fight Klub league, where he recorded the most wins by any MC in league history. He won a total of 25 battles in Fight Klub league.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=Nems |url=https://www.cjmhiphop.com/artists/nems/ |website=Creative Juices Music - NYC Hip Hop - Nems Bing Bong - IDE - Alucard - Jise - UG - Defiant III |access-date=13 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://unionheights.com.au/amp/nems-gorilla-monsoon/ Nems Gorilla Monsoon]Union Heights {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913195945/https://unionheights.com.au/amp/nems-gorilla-monsoon/ |date=September 13, 2022 }}</ref>
After his appearance on MTV2, he released numerous mixtapes– FYL Valium Won, Free Nems, and FYL Valium Too– signed to an indie label Psycho+Logical-Records, and toured the United States. In 2008, he released another mixtape, Super Marvelous, after which he joined Creative Juices Music to record his debut album, Prezident's Day (released in 2010). Since then he has released many albums and EPs, including Filthy Fly Shit, Coney Soprano, Broke Safety, Fuck Your Love, Gorilla, The Planet Of The Apes series, and Skinny Nems.<ref name="auto"/> In 2019, he released his second album "Gorilla Monsoon", with 14 tracks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rapid album review Nems Gorilla Monsoon |url=https://audioapartment.com/blog/rapid-album-review-nems-gorilla-monsoon/ |website=audioapartment.com |access-date=29 October 2022}}</ref> He then released "Bamboo" in 2020,<ref>{{cite web |title=Bamboo |url=https://open.spotify.com/album/2aYHBJcm5Ti9Wv7HvP3S7A |website=Spotify |access-date=29 October 2022 |language=en |date=28 February 2020}}</ref> and "Congo" in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nems - Congo |url=https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/403953-nems-congo.php |website=Album of The Year |access-date=29 October 2022}}</ref>
Nems has collaborated with many notable artists such as Fat Joe, Styles P, Ghostface Killah, Kool G Rap, Ill Bill, Sean Price, Jedi Mind Tricks, Termanology, Statik Selektah, Torae and D12. Nems has also been featured on various notable works, including two tracks of Ghostface's 2014 album 36 Seasons and La Coka Nostra’s 2016 album To Thine Own Self Be True.<ref name="auto"/> Furthermore in a special episode, Rap City '21, popular rapper Fat Joe called Nems to be "the next Fat Joe".<ref>{{cite web |title=Fat Joe Calls DaBaby 'The New 2Pac' & Names 'The New Fat Joe' |url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.65149/title.fat-joe-dababy-next-2pac |website=HipHopDX |access-date=15 September 2022 |date=12 October 2021}}</ref>
===Bing Bong=== Nems created the catchphrase "Bing Bong" in early 2021, while showing off his new merchandise on the social media. The term became viral when he used it while hosting an episode of Sidetalk.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://variety.com/2022/music/news/bing-bong-viral-tiktok-rapper-nems-interview-1235154980/ | title=The Story of 'Bing Bong': How Rapper Nems Took His Viral Phrase from the Streets of NYC to the White House | date=January 15, 2022 }}</ref> It was further popularized by the viral "Bing Bong" trend on TikTok where users would recreate various different quotes from ''Sidetalk''. Celebrities including President Joe Biden, The Jonas Brothers, John Legend, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, Jack Harlow, and Avril Lavigne joined in on the trend.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 6, 2021|first=Janine |last=Puhak|title=Lil Nas X Drops Epic Celebrity TikTok with Olivia Rodrigo, Avril Lavigne, Jack Harlow and More|url=https://people.com/music/lil-nas-x-drops-epic-celebrity-tiktok-with-olivia-rodrigo-avril-lavigne-jack-harlow/|access-date=December 9, 2021|website=PEOPLE.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Lil Nas X taps Olivia Rodrigo, Avril Lavigne and more celebs for funny TikTok|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/lil-nas-x-taps-olivia-rodrigo-avril-lavigne-more-celebs-t242175|access-date=December 9, 2021|website=TODAY.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Byrnes|first=Jesse|date=December 17, 2021|title=Jonas Brothers promote vaccines with Biden|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/586360-jonas-brothers-promote-vaccines-with-biden|access-date=December 17, 2021|website=TheHill|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=December 17, 2021|first1=Tomás|last=Mier|title=Bing Bong! Jonas Brothers and Joe Biden (Or Should We Say Byron?) Promote Vaccines with Viral TikTok|url=https://people.com/music/jonas-brothers-promote-vaccines-with-joe-biden-tiktok/|access-date=December 17, 2021|website=PEOPLE.com|language=en}}</ref> Over half a million videos used original sounds from different clips of his interviews, and clips with the ''#bingbong'' hashtag have over 1 billion <ref>{{cite web |title=Bing Bong! Nems Pulls Up To AllHipHop's New Podcast! [Exclusive Pictures] |url=https://allhiphop.com/features/nems-bing-bong-fyl-chuck-creekmur/ |website=AllHipHop |access-date=20 October 2022 |date=17 March 2022}}</ref> views on TikTok.<ref>{{cite web |title=Here's Why You Keep Hearing "Bing Bong" On Your TikTok For You Page |url=https://www.bustle.com/life/what-does-bing-bong-mean-viral-audio-tiktok |website=Bustle |access-date=15 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *Nems [https://web.archive.org/web/20220527164907/https://video.vice.com/en_us/video/the-king-of-coney-island-bing-bong/62618f0b922a541c5d7b5cd2 on] the Vice News *Nems [https://www.validatedmagazine.com/music-1/2021/9/19/the-coney-island-mayor-gorilla-nems interview with Validated. Magazine] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Nems, Gorilla}} Category:Rappers from Brooklyn Category:Living people Category:1982 births