Pneumatika

Pneumatika was a rapcore project by J.P. Hicks that fused hip-hop flow with intense trap and metalcore brutality.

Started in 2020, Pneumatika emerged as an outlet for confronting the chaos of modern America: Christian nationalism masquerading as faith, immigrant children in cages, police brutality, societal division, and the exhaustion of trying to process it all. The project was never intended to be a full band or touring act. It was an experimental space to scream and rap about things that needed to be said.

The sound blended rhythmic hip-hop delivery with metalcore screaming over trap beats and heavy instrumentation. Think Dropout Kings meets Thrown, with no apologizes for the aggression or the message.

In 2025, Pneumatika released the EP Apostate, featuring collaborations with Dropout Kings, RobenX, James Garcia (Young Wicked), and Wrekonize. The six-track release tackled false prophets (“Masquerade”), border cruelty (“Sinsister”), manufactured division (“The Lost”), being the outcast (“Empty Vessel”), and systemic violence against Black communities (“The Hunted”). “Voice Within” closed the EP with a meditation on depression born from witnessing endless injustice.

Pneumatika concluded when Hicks shifted focus to J.P. Hicks, a new direction centered on metal fusion and experimental instrumentation. The project served its purpose: it said what needed to be said, and then moved on.

Genre: Rapcore | Trap Metal | Experimental Hip-Hop Metalcore
Active: 2020–2025
Location: Nashville, TN
Release: Apostate (EP, 2025)