Getting to Know Guardin, the Artist Giving Emo-Rap Its Heart Back

Nicholas Jordan Kerr-Carpenter, known to most as guardin, grew up in the small town of Hornell, New York — but his music has reached far beyond it. Long before he was touring stages or building an independent following, he was a teenager stitching together beats on free software, pulling loops from online forums, and experimenting late into the night. His first uploads to SoundCloud came around 2012, marking the early steps of an artist still finding his voice.

Influenced by the raw emotion of early-2000s emo and alternative bands — names like AFI, Taking Back Sunday, and Hawthorne Heights — alongside newer artists like Oliver Francis, Guccihighwaters, and Sewerperson, guardin shaped his own hybrid sound. In 2016, he dropped hydroponic, the first track to feature his vocals, officially stepping out from behind the production screen and into the spotlight.

By 2018, he joined Oliver Francis on The Overdrive Tour, reaching new audiences and gaining traction with his growing catalog. A brief deal with Photo Finish Records followed in 2019, but by late 2021, he returned to independence. These days, he continues to write, record, and release music on his own terms, while also helping foster new talent through Acid Castle, the collective and label he co-founded.