New Music & Video Release - Who Shot Scott shares new single 'Peaked In High School' - 7th May 2026
WHO SHOT SCOTT by Conor Pritchard
Artist Name - Who Shot Scott
Release Name - Peaked In High School
Release Date - 7th May 2026
Genre - Alt Hip-Hop, Punk Rock, Garage Rock
Label - Tenfold Records
WHO SHOT SCOTT reasserts his presence as a genre-blurring hip-hop artist and producer on ‘PEAKED IN HIGH SCHOOL’ – a high-octane, UKG-laced cut that signals a pivotal turning point in his forthcoming debut album HAIRY.
Driven by blasting garage-inspired rhythms, heavy synth work and flashes of lush guitar reminiscent of late ’90s UK R&B, the track captures a new sense of authority from the artist. Where previous material sat in insecurity, ‘PEAKED IN HIGH SCHOOL’ flips the lens – reclaiming formative experiences and reframing them as a source of power.
About the track, WHO SHOT SCOTT shares:
“To me, this track is a sincere empowerment song beneath all the frantic energy. Growing up, the thing I was bullied for most was wanting to make music. Kids would stand outside my house blasting my early tracks on speakers for the whole neighbourhood to hear, laughing at me. There were parts of school I couldn’t walk through without facing intense ridicule. All these years later, art and music is still my life, and I am still just as in love with it as I’ve ever been (if not more). In a strange way, I’m grateful to those early experiences - they built silience in me that I’ve come to appreciate deeply. Every slight, every moment of embarrassment… I’ve repurposed it into something powerful. The final line, “The subject I’ve become is a result of all of you,” really couldn’t be more true.”
Midway through, ‘PEAKED IN HIGH SCHOOL’ shifts gears – introducing melodic guitar lines and smoother, garage-inflected textures that nod to early 2000s UK influences, adding a dynamic sense of movement that mirrors the track’s emotional arc.
The single arrives alongside a music video directed by long-time collaborator Connor Pritchard. Stripping back modern polish in favour of a gritty, ’90s-inspired aesthetic, the visual sees WHO SHOT SCOTT performing into a handheld camcorder, his image refracted through the static of an old television set – a fitting extension of the track’s themes of self-reflection and reclamation.
With HAIRY set for release on June 5th, 2026, ‘PEAKED IN HIGH SCHOOL’ joins previously released singles ‘PROBLEMS IN MY HEAD’, ‘FAST CAR’ and ‘BAD GIRLS’ – as well as ‘LFTBU’ and ‘FRENCH FEVER’ – as part of the wider vision shaping WHO SHOT SCOTT’s long-awaited debut album. Built on the scars of adolescence and the transformation of that pain into power, HAIRY is loud, unfiltered and impossible to box in – a record that thrives in extremes, unafraid to make the listener feel, laugh and groove in equal measure.
For WHO SHOT SCOTT, the project stands as both a reclamation and a debut statement. Following two APRA Silver Scroll nominations, a Japan tour, and a feature placement in the global trailer for Borderlands 4, he continues to resist any “music industry optimised” version of himself. Instead, HAIRY leans into raw edges and contradiction – a specificity that ultimately becomes universally resonant. Bold, unashamed, and increasingly undeniable, it cements WHO SHOT SCOTT as one of the most fearless voices emerging out of Aotearoa right now. If ‘PEAKED IN HIGH SCHOOL’ is any indication, he’s not just revisiting the past, he’s rewriting it entirely on his own terms.
Alongside a UK tour in May and showcase appearances at The Great Escape 2026 and NXNE Toronto 2026, his trajectory continues to accelerate. The speedometer is climbing, and he just might win the race this time.
ABOUT WHO SHOT SCOTT: A boy fled Iraq in the arms of his mother when he was just two years old. Their journey took them through Moscow before finally arriving in New Zealand, where Zaidoon Nasir would grow up navigating the dualities of life between cultures. Settling in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau, he embraced video games and US hip hop like so many of his new peers. Little did he know that within that sense of belonging he would also be confronted with what it meant to be different - in skin, in hair, in heritage. A truth that would eventually drive him to find his voice through art and music.
That voice became WHO SHOT SCOTT, an artist and music producer unafraid to fuse raw vulnerability with sonic explosivity. Over five EPs, he has crafted a fearless, genre-blurring sound, part alternative hip-hop, part punk energy, part electronic experimentation, celebrated internationally for its “filthy and frantic” urgency and emotional depth.
Rolling Stone Australia named him one of the Top 8 New Zealand artists tipped to take over, truly cementing his reputation as a disruptive new force in the scene.
His single ‘LONERS ANTHEM’ spent four weeks at #1 on the NZ College Radio Network charts and was voted the most beloved track of 2022. His work has been playlisted by MTV and streaming editorials, synced across television, gaming, and advertising, and championed by radio throughout New Zealand, Australia, the US, UK, and Europe. EPs ‘MERCY III’ and ‘BRAIN (SIDE A)’ both broke into the North American College Radio charts, expanding his reach even further and exemplifying the fact that his stories are felt universally.
Recent milestones include two APRA Silver Scroll award nominations, an international sync in the trailer for Borderlands 4, and a successful Japan tour. He has opened for genre heavyweights Snoop Dogg and Yung Gravy, performed at WOMAD, Rhythm & Vines, Soundsplash, SXSW Sydney, BIGSOUND, and Music Matters Singapore. With over 300,000 monthly Spotify listeners and a dedicated cult following across the US, Canada, Central Europe, UK, and Australia, WHO SHOT SCOTT continues to build momentum as one of Aotearoa’s most dynamic voices.
Every song carries the weight of his journey, turning past shame into pride, alienation into human connection, and pain into power.
HAIRY - WHO SHOT SCOTT Due June 5th Pre-Order | Pre-Save
LFTBU
BAD GIRLS
FRENCH FEVER
PROBLEMS IN MY HEAD
FAST CAR
I'M YOUR ALIEN
EVERYDAY STRUGGLE
EW HAIRY ARAB
PEAKED IN HIGHSCHOOL