October 18, 2025 • 34 mins
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https://nikenamusic.com
Bio
Nikena is a Caribbean-born artist whose music radiates love, authenticity, and cultural pride. Love serves as the heartbeat of her artistry, inspiring every lyric, melody, and performance. Her singles “Hold Me” and “Surprise” each explore love from distinct perspectives, one through vibrant Caribbean rhythms and the other through soulful R&B tones, yet both remain unmistakably her.Nikena’s creative process is as authentic as her sound. She records herself twice, first in her home studio where ideas flow freely, and then in a professional studio for the final cut. Writing often takes place at home or in peaceful outdoor spaces, allowing her to stay comfortable and inspired throughout the process.“When I’m writing at home, I can just be myself and play around with the song however I want. Whenever something comes to me, morning or night, I can immediately bring it to life,” she says.Songwriting is Nikena’s favorite part of creating music. She recently experienced a full circle moment that reminded her how far she’s come as an artist.“I was printing my lyrics the other day, and it hit me. I used to do that for other artists growing up. Now I’m doing it for my own music,” she reflects.Her single “Hold Me” holds special meaning in her catalog, blending dancehall and pop in a way that celebrates her Caribbean roots. The song’s vibrant percussion and gentle melody reflect both her heritage and her personal evolution.“As someone of Caribbean descent, it’s important for me to fully express who I am without holding back. My culture shapes my identity as an artist. Authenticity matters to me, every song I write comes from personal experience,” she explains.The accompanying music video for “Hold Me” captures the essence of Caribbean energy, from club scenes and colorful outfits to wine-based choreography, all visualized through Nikena’s creative vision. Similarly, her R&B-infused single “Surprise” takes a more intimate approach, showcasing her emotional depth and versatility as both a writer and performer.Creating her debut album This Is Me, set for release in October, has been a deeply rewarding journey. The process taught Nikena patience and trust in her creativity, understanding that inspiration arrives in its own time.“It had been about five years since my first single, and I realized there’s no better time than now to pour my heart into a full-length project,” she shares.Originally planning to release an EP, Nikena chose instead to craft a complete body of work that reflects her growth, resilience, and joy as an artist.Her love for performing is another driving force. From open mics and outdoor festivals to intimate showcases and listening parties, each stage experience fuels her passion for connection.“I love seeing people have a good time. It’s fulfilling to share that energy with them,” she says.For Nikena, authenticity is everything. She continues to evolve as an artist who leads with love and self-belief.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/creator-to-creators-with-meosha-bean--4460322/support.
Youtube
Amazon
https://nikenamusic.com
Bio
Nikena is a Caribbean-born artist whose music radiates love, authenticity, and cultural pride. Love serves as the heartbeat of her artistry, inspiring every lyric, melody, and performance. Her singles “Hold Me” and “Surprise” each explore love from distinct perspectives, one through vibrant Caribbean rhythms and the other through soulful R&B tones, yet both remain unmistakably her.Nikena’s creative process is as authentic as her sound. She records herself twice, first in her home studio where ideas flow freely, and then in a professional studio for the final cut. Writing often takes place at home or in peaceful outdoor spaces, allowing her to stay comfortable and inspired throughout the process.“When I’m writing at home, I can just be myself and play around with the song however I want. Whenever something comes to me, morning or night, I can immediately bring it to life,” she says.Songwriting is Nikena’s favorite part of creating music. She recently experienced a full circle moment that reminded her how far she’s come as an artist.“I was printing my lyrics the other day, and it hit me. I used to do that for other artists growing up. Now I’m doing it for my own music,” she reflects.Her single “Hold Me” holds special meaning in her catalog, blending dancehall and pop in a way that celebrates her Caribbean roots. The song’s vibrant percussion and gentle melody reflect both her heritage and her personal evolution.“As someone of Caribbean descent, it’s important for me to fully express who I am without holding back. My culture shapes my identity as an artist. Authenticity matters to me, every song I write comes from personal experience,” she explains.The accompanying music video for “Hold Me” captures the essence of Caribbean energy, from club scenes and colorful outfits to wine-based choreography, all visualized through Nikena’s creative vision. Similarly, her R&B-infused single “Surprise” takes a more intimate approach, showcasing her emotional depth and versatility as both a writer and performer.Creating her debut album This Is Me, set for release in October, has been a deeply rewarding journey. The process taught Nikena patience and trust in her creativity, understanding that inspiration arrives in its own time.“It had been about five years since my first single, and I realized there’s no better time than now to pour my heart into a full-length project,” she shares.Originally planning to release an EP, Nikena chose instead to craft a complete body of work that reflects her growth, resilience, and joy as an artist.Her love for performing is another driving force. From open mics and outdoor festivals to intimate showcases and listening parties, each stage experience fuels her passion for connection.“I love seeing people have a good time. It’s fulfilling to share that energy with them,” she says.For Nikena, authenticity is everything. She continues to evolve as an artist who leads with love and self-belief.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/creator-to-creators-with-meosha-bean--4460322/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
If you love entertainment, current events, and Hollywood, do miss
Creator to Creators Hosted by the filmmaker Mio Shabine, known
for the shutter Hit documentary or Noir and the acclaimed
film Anatomy of an Anti Heroo Redemption.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
This show features interviews with filmmakers and creatives from around
the globe. Join the fun with guest celebrities and gain
valuable insights. Subscribe now and follow Creator to Creators.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Creators to Creators.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Today, today we have a special guest, Nikina.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Welcome, Welcome, Thank you absolutely so. I love going back
to the beginning. I always say the beginning charge our
trajectory in life. You know, our little habits we pick
up along the way follow us into our adulthood. So
tell me a little bit about your childhood. What was
that like and when did you, you know, fall in
(01:04):
love with music.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
My childhood was very simple. Well, I grew up in Jamaica,
so I lived on a farm. I had no technology,
I had a bunch of animals around me. I was
just submerged in nature. That was just my life. I
would go to like what we would call when I
(01:27):
was growing up the bush and so we would pick mangoes, avocados.
We would climb the trees and that was our playground,
our yard, and just the bushes. We'll just go there
and just find fruits and just make fun toys from
(01:48):
like lemon and like juice boxes and like pull it around.
That would be our little trucks and stuff. So I
didn't grow up, you know with a lot. My early
childhood days was just you know, being very creative and
how I had fun with my cousins. We would also
(02:09):
do activities like just going to the river and just
you know, catching like crayfish and things like that by
ourselves and just all those little things. It's just like
what made my childhood like super fun, and I think
that's the root of who I am.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
Nice.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Yeah, when when when you know, for me and I
find that that's really really cool. When I went to
film school and I got a film of the movies
and all of that, but it was one It was
when I went to the library one summer and I
rented like the Alpha Hitchcock Presence series and I was
(02:51):
just like, I want to be a filmmaker, Like that's
what I want to do. When did you have that
kind of moment for yourself, like with music. Was it
a particular song, was it, I don't know, someone that
inspired you to get into music, and like you just
kind of was like, yeah, I want to do this
for like the rest of my life.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
I had a moment like that when I was a child.
I had a moment when because like I said, I
grew up in the country. So my first time like
being in a town is when I passed like my
common entrance, which is like a standardized examp before you
go to high school. So like we'll take that in
(03:31):
Juna High and once you pass it, you get to
go to high school. So my high school was in
the towns. So when I went to high school, my
first time actually it was my second time seeing like
a newspaper. So the first time when I actually had
like a hold of a newspaper and like saw it
was when I passed my common entrance and my name
(03:53):
was in the newspaper. And you know, in Jamaica, like
you would have to go in the newspaper to see
what school you're going to. So like, yeah, all the
students' names we listed under all the schools, and my
school was camperdown, and so I look in the newspaper
and that was my first time like seeing a newspaper.
(04:17):
So once I started going to high school that September,
I saw the newspaper again. And when I I like,
they handed it out in class, like I had like
a drama class or something, and so they were giving
out the newspapers and I looked into the newspaper, lived
in the newspaper and it was a picture of Aliyah
(04:38):
and it was a picture of Aaliyah one of her
songs and like her lyrics like on the other side,
and she was just like this big, nice, beautiful picture,
and I'm like, oh, wow, she's a singer and who
is she? And I remember hearing the song for the
first time, and I'm like, I want to be like that.
So that was my first moment in my childhood in
(05:00):
my adulthood. The other moment was at work. I work
as a nurse and I was at the hospital giving
care to a patient and the family member came in
and I was introducing myself and kind of like going
over what's the plan of care for the day, et cetera.
(05:21):
And the lady said, do you have a do you
sing and I said no, and she's like, you have
a singing voice. And I was like really. And at
that time, I had written my first song, water, but
I hadn't produced it, I hadn't recorded it yet. So
the lady told me, she's like, oh, you should sing,
you should record yourself. She didn't know I was writing
(05:42):
and I had a song to produce, but so she
said you should really like get into singing. And so
that was that moment when she said that, and I
thought about it, and I'm like, listen, I have a
song at home. Why don't I just go to the studio.
So I came home and the next day I called
my sister up and I'm like, what's that studio again?
(06:03):
And I went there and the rest is history. So
I guess those two those two moments were the defining
moments where someone actually kind of like saw it in
me and I kind of connected to that because I
knew over the years it had been something that I
thought about growing up. Yeah that's beautiful.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
That is so cool, and I love that you had
a song to produce and you're like, well, I'm you know,
it's tower and ever kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Yeah, it was that thing. And it was funny because
it was right before COVID or just as COVID was happening. Yeah,
so it was like that time where people were like,
you know, we were spending a lot of time, but
I worked a lot during COVID, but I just kind
of was at that time was more like reflective, like
(06:57):
what do you want to do with your life? Like
what do you have any skills? Like you know, and
I'd always been writing songs over the years and just
recording them and keeping them on my iPads, my iPods
and and just not doing anything with time, but that
moment kind of really notched me, like and I listened
to it.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah, that's so beautiful. I love those moments in life.
Like it was like, aha, I'm always like all right,
we're gonna get it, Like even if we don't know
how to go about it, we just will figure.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
It out along the way. So right right, that's that's
that's amazing.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
You know.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
I love to get into your song Surprise and you
know hold Me from your upcoming album This is Me.
Tell me a little bit about you know, just the
process and where this you know came from and and
like what inspired it all?
Speaker 4 (07:54):
So it was inspired by. So the project is called
This is Me. And when I first started making music,
it was a it was challenging for me because I
didn't know what I wanted to sound like. It took
me some time to get used to my voice. And
(08:15):
then like once you start doing music or being a
creative and like showing the world this is this is
my songs, this is what I do, it kind of
just opens up like this whole kind of worm like
I'm now like thinking about, well, what do I want
to sound like, you know, and I'm I'm looking at
(08:37):
other people and I'm thinking, well, they sound nice, and
you know. So it's just you just kind of go
down that road of self discovery and I'm now I'm like, well,
I thought I knew myself, but now this is kind
of like it's a whole different ballgame because this is
not just me singing in the shower and singing for
(08:58):
my friends and my family doesn't mean I was singing
for the world. And now that I am doing this,
I'm more I'm thinking about it more. I'm thinking about
my voice more, I'm thinking about my songs more, my lyrics,
everything more. And you know, you'd hear comments from people
like oh maybe you should sing a song like this
or sing like that person or this person and or
(09:22):
these person are singing these type of songs and they're
making it and you know, and I had to sit
back and I was like, wait, these songs are coming
from my heart, like like I dream about them. They
come to me while I'm doing dishes, while I'm doing laundry,
while I'm cleaning my house. These where these songs are
(09:42):
coming from. These songs are me. So this is why,
and these songs are me. I'm not sitting down creating
these melodies. They're just coming to me, like as I'm
doing chores, as I'm driving to work, They're coming to me.
So I decided to call the album This Is Me
because it's just everything. It's my inspiration, it's just whatever
(10:05):
is flowing through me. It's just a me. So I
decided to name my album that and be proud of
just who I am, the sounds that I create, and
my journey and who I am as an individual, and
just being proud of me.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
I love that you mentioned that you record yourself twice,
once at home and then once in the professional studio.
How does that dual process help shape the final sound
of your songs.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
So I love recording at home first because that way
I get to I get to play around. I'm more
free when I'm at home. I get to play around
my melodies. I get to structure the song my way
without the pressure of being in a studio, because studio
time costs money, and as an independent an artist, you know,
(11:00):
you gotta you gotta, you gotta be careful with just
being in there too long. So so at home, I
can just my studio is in my bedroom, so I
could be laying down and just kind of like dreaming
something and wake up and just hum it on my
phone and just roll over and just like you know,
(11:21):
jot it down, not job, but like recorded right there,
and then when I wake up, I can kind of
like make sure it sounds good and everything like that.
But I do have the freedom to create whatever and
however I want for as long as I want at home,
and then clean it up once I'm done at home,
(11:45):
get my harmonies, my everything in place, so that when
I go to the studio, I spend less time. I
already know the structure of my songs. I already know
where all my ad lips are on my harmony and
it's just to go lay it down, and I do
leave room for improvision at the studio. I do kind
(12:05):
of like make up some stuff while I'm there as well,
but it's just like I'm not you know, I'm not
doing that for six hours or you know, it's it's
definitely less time at the studio saves me a lot
of time at the studio. And there are times when
I create at home and I really want to get
(12:28):
the song out, but I haven't like I'm missing a
bridge or but I'm like I've been sitting on this song.
I want to get it out. I have to go
to the studio. So if I don't have the last line,
I will go to the studio. Anyway I would have
like ninety five percent of the song done, I'll go
to the studio. I just trust the process and more
(12:52):
then likely it'll come to me, and which usually is
what happens. I will get that line while I'm in
the studio playing around.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Nice do you also like, you know, I'm super like
involved in the whole thing when I when I create something,
even though I'm like saying I'm shooting or something like that.
A movie, I'm in there. When they're doing the soundtracks,
I'm like, super, I'm everywhere all the jobs. Are you
(13:22):
like that When it comes to producing your music, are
you like, Okay, I had this sound and I want
to just hear what you guys come up with.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Yes, yes, yep. For the most part, I leave it
up to my producers, so I kind of create the
sound like I know the sound and I would I
would tell them this is what I want. I would
give them kind of like examples references, and they will
come up with something. But let's say they send me
something back and I don't like the drums or I
(13:53):
don't like that, you know, I would say, hey, can
you switch this drum out or put this here? Put
that there, and kind of like created to my liking.
But for the most part, the producers usually have that
instrumental n down and it's just little twists that I
would have to make an instrumental. But when it comes
(14:15):
to my vocals and the structure, I am all in.
I'm like, I want this here, I want that there,
I take this out, put this here. I'm I'm all
in the creative process. Like I'm very very hands on
in the production of my songs, in the production of
my music videos, I just I go through everything with
(14:37):
a fine tooth comb and I make sure everything is
exactly how I envision it to be.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
That's awesome, that's cool.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
I love that you're super involved, Like I know, there's
some artists that are just like, I'm just gonna sing
and you guys handle the red right.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
I love that because I feel like it's yeah, if
it's you you want to want to be, you know,
put yourself in all of it.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
When I immerse yourself, yeah in all of it?
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Yes, yes, and I do that.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
Yeah, Yeah, that's cool. You rechally.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
You mentioned you know, a full you know, full circle
moment while printing your own lyrics. Can you share more
about what that moment meant to you personally?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Woo?
Speaker 4 (15:27):
It was.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
So.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
I love going to the libraries. I still do to
this day. It's such a peaceful place for me. And
when I was when I moved to the US, I
was like twelve thirteen and on the weekends I would
just go to the library just to read like little
teenage romance novels.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
And also.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
That's why I write so many love songs because I
love it to read all those books with the boy
and the girl on the front and the pink books,
and like, I would just go there and pick them
all up and read them. And I also used to
go and print out lyrics of like all the artists
that I liked at the time. So, you know, just
(16:12):
a twelve year old girl in America, like just being
exposed to different sounds and types of music. So I
fell in love with like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and
Brandying those people Ali of course, and I just started
printing out all their lyrics. Every Saturday, I would go
(16:35):
to the library and back then you'd have to wait,
like you wait on a line to get a computer.
So i'd wait in the line. You get thirty minutes
at the computer, and I would research all the songs
that I like, and I would print them all out
and take them home with me and read them and
(16:55):
stuff them in my book back. So I would them
in my book back. It's a funny story with me
stuffing them in my book back because one time my
book bag wasn't closed and I was crossing the street
and they all just like oh no, blew out, and
I was like, oh, my God, like picking up all
my lyrics and so so recently when I was writing,
(17:22):
I have this new thing that I like to now
print out my lyrics, like I write them on my phone.
Usually I write them with my you know, with pen
and paper when I want to be more creative and
like kind of just like a rough draft and get
things out and then I'll save them on my phone.
But then I recently I decided, hey, why don't you
(17:43):
just print them out and you can edit them, you know,
you can have them in your hand. It's something about
having them in my hand and I can look through
them like a paper, you know, like I'm correct creating
a paper or something, and I'll go through them and
how does it look? Does it look good?
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Do it?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
You know? How did how are the words like, you know,
connecting with you as you're looking at and holding it.
So I did that and I and when I printed them,
I just had that moment. I was like, oh my gosh,
I'm holding my own lyrics and so that was surreal.
(18:21):
It was just like I never thought that that would
be something, you know, I always envisioned it, but it
just came came to pass without me even thinking about it.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Yeah, that's really Yeah, that's awesome and your lyrics, Yeah,
it's beautiful. Love is a central part to your music,
which I love. And how has your understanding of love
changed over time and how does that show up in
(18:56):
your songs?
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Oh, man, love, My understanding of love has changed over time,
like drastically. I was someone that was more strict in love,
and I didn't really understand it initially, and I want
(19:19):
I was more strict and I wanted to kind of
control love. And as I write more about love and like,
you know, study the people around me, that I realized
that love is freedom. Like it should be free. It
shouldn't be so held tight and constraint, and it should
(19:42):
be something expressed freely and it shouldn't have any boundaries
and it shouldn't well yeah, I love that that part,
but that that's another a story. But I just feel
like love should could be it should be something that's
(20:05):
expressed freely. It shouldn't be something that you say, well,
i'll love you if you love me. It's just if
you love someone, you just love them without reason, just because. Yeah.
So I struggled initially with writing about love because I
wanted it to be perfect and I've come to understand
(20:28):
that love isn't perfect. I wanted the person to hold
my hands and do this and do that, And over
time I realized that love has its ups and down,
but it doesn't make it any less love. You know,
love is is how you not well, not just how
you show up for people or how you are in
(20:50):
like a romantic relationship, but it's how you are with yourself.
And so I started focusing more on loving me. And
I find that once I focus more on love in myself,
and it doesn't have to be in any materialistic way,
(21:11):
just the simplest way, like what do you like to eat?
Or what is this that you're eating? Is this good
for you? This is not good for you? Like what
is this that you're listening to? We're talking? Who is
this us you're talking to? Like those things, Like everything
that comes in me has to be loved, because I
want to be able to express a pure love. So
I really really focus and I preach love all day
(21:33):
every day to people because I just I just love
it and I'm trying to understand it more and more.
I don't you know, I'm not going to say I'm
an expert or anything, but I think it's I think.
Speaker 5 (21:46):
It's definitely not.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
Yes, right, but it's a learning process, and I think
it's I don't think you would ever come to that
final like, oh I got it, this is I think
it's just you learn in different situations of how to
navigate love with different people, with yourself, and you learn
to be more patient, you learn to be more kind
(22:08):
with love, and you learn to be more free. So
I think I think I think that's how love has
changed for me, where I'm just starting to just let it,
let it be, not be so strict about it.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
Beautifully said beautifully.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Oh thank you, absolutely, thank you.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
I love that that what you said about loving yourself,
that's absolutely important. I think a lot that that's the
key because if you love yourself, then you can love
others for sure.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
Yes, yes, awesome, Yes.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Both Hold Me and Surprise explains love from different angles.
What do some of you like those two songs that
reveal about like different sides of you.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
Hold Me reviews like that, it's very exciting. That song
is just like meeting you know, that person for the
first time. That side of me was when you know.
I grew up in Brooklyn, New York and used to
always party back in the day. Yes, I used to
(23:19):
always party back in the day. And you know, you
know it if you saw the video, I'm not sure,
but it has like this basement vibe kind of scenery.
So I just wanted to like touch on that, just
like you know, young love meeting someone for the first time,
them seeing you, being attracted to you, you're attracted to them.
So I just wanted to get into that creative space
(23:42):
and creating something like that because I always used to
like videos and songs that talk about that love, like
I see the girl walking down the street or I
see the guy.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
You know.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
I like those songs, So I think hold me kind
of like touches on something like that.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
Nice nice, and I really love Surprise as well.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
They sent it.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
To me and I was like, wow, you sounds it's
like you know you said speaking of Aliyah. I literally
kind of had those like vibes when I listened to it.
Who I was like, cool, that's cool. You have like
a very light I don't know, just I can't explain,
but it was this. I was like, oh wow. So
(24:23):
when you said I was like.
Speaker 5 (24:25):
I could I could see that, I.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Could see you. I can see it yeah, thank you.
I appreciate it. Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
I love to ask this question, and there's no wrong answer,
but the three levels of influence, money, power, and respect.
And if you could choose only one of those things,
which one would you choose?
Speaker 5 (24:46):
And why?
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Money, power, and respect?
Speaker 5 (24:52):
To no wrong answer, I promise.
Speaker 4 (24:55):
You no wrong answer answer, all right? I would I
want to I'm like stuck between two. I'm stuck between
power and respect. All right, So I'll choose. I'll choose
(25:26):
which one would I prefer? You said, which one? Which one?
Which one of the influences? Which one would I choose?
I would choose respect? Okay, I'll choose respect because I
feel like it's just fundamental to to like who I am.
(25:47):
Like I just I respect myself. And I feel like
if you have respect in the world, no matter if
you have power or money, that goes a long way.
If you respect yourself and if you respect others, it
goes a long way. It's and with respect you can
also have power, you know. I feel like being respectful
(26:10):
and having respecting yourself is in itself power because I
feel like people think, oh I can just carry myself anyhow,
or I can do anything to people and that would
make me look strong and mighty. But no, it's when
you actually meet people at their level, humble yourself and
(26:31):
have respect for people and have respect for yourself is
where true power comes through. I think that's powerful to
to have respect and be respected and respect other people.
So I'll choose respect because even then, you know, with respect,
then you can you can become wealthy. You know, you can,
you can have money. But I think that that's I
(26:56):
think I wish a lot of more people would have
respect and because that's powerful, because that can change, That
can change the generation, It can change how people think,
it can change how people move around you, how how
you influence people, and how people are attracted to you.
So I think, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
I think so I love that great answer, great answer,
Thank you definitely. You know you said love. Uh, you know,
artistry stems from love. How do you protect that love?
Speaker 5 (27:29):
And energy? And such an industry that's so demanding.
Speaker 4 (27:39):
I try to do a lot of I do a
lot of meditation, I do a lot of praying. I
try not to get indulged in things that are not
concerning my craft, and I try not to gets consumed
(28:02):
by things that will interfere with my craft and interfere
with my being, my perception of myself, and my perception
of other people. So by doing that, I kind of
protect me, my being, me as a person. And when
(28:25):
I'm protected, I feel free to create. I don't have
to feel like I have to prove myself or I
have to be this kind of way because I am
who I am and I'm comfortable in who I am,
and so I stay grounded in my philosophies on life,
(28:47):
I stay grounded in my faith. I stay grounded in
just meditation and just trying to improve myself day by day,
just for.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
Me, beautiful. I love that.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
What do you want people to to take away? Uh,
you know, listeners to take away? What message do you
want them to once they listen to this your music?
What do you want that message to be.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
I want the message to be just go for it,
and also be be true to who you are. I
know this word is used a lot lately on social media,
but like be authentic, because when I created this album,
(29:43):
it was me first getting to that place of acceptance
with my work and just being authentic with my sound
in my music. So be okay with who you are
where you are in life. If you're a person that
loves loves, that's okay, that's cool. Create from that space
(30:08):
whatever it is that you want to do, whatever it
is that you like to do, whatever it is that
moves you as a person in your heart. I want
my listeners to take away that it's okay to do that,
(30:28):
because I think sometimes I really my whole goal as
an artist is really to speak to the younger people
coming up, and I just want them to understand that
you can do what you do and you can do
it in a way that can inspire other people. So
(30:49):
if my song, if I write a song about love
and it touches someone else, or it heals a relationship,
or it reminds somebody to do something or to show
up differently than my you know, goal accomplished. So I
just I want listeners to take away to be themselves,
(31:10):
to stay true to who they are, and just enjoy life.
Just enjoy life, enjoying music. Yeah, that's beautiful.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
Enjoy life and joy music.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
I like that.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
It's a great message messagespecially for for like the time
that we're living in now. It's a lot of stuff
going on and and you know, music, it's great that
you're making music about love in such a kind of
dark time, you know, globally. Yeah, and it's a lot
of craziness happening in the world. So thank you for
for your gift.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
Thank you. I appreciate that. And it's it's you know
that that kind of reissue or me And and thank
you for saying that, because you know, sometimes you feel like,
oh you're too you're too lovely. You know why why
you want to do everything about love? You know, because
I've I've gotten that, like I've gotten you know, you know,
(32:16):
I've heard and I've you know, I've Sometimes people wouldn't say,
you know, directly, but they would say it like and
you know, you just see the things that people like
and that they gravitate to, and sometimes you wonder, like,
you know, it's love enough and it's love good. But
love is always enough and it's always good, and it's
always something that is going to be dear to me
(32:38):
and true to me, and I'm gonna always express I
just I want to live a life that expressed love
and I get to do that through music. So it's
a win.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Win, absolutely, absolutely, Yeah, where can people find you and
and listen to? Then all the things that you have
coming up, all the new music that you have dropping.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
People can find me on all streaming platforms like Spotify, iTunes, YouTube.
My videos are on YouTube and I have yeah thank you,
and iTunes, Apple Music, you know, Amazon Music. Everywhere that
(33:22):
you stream my music is there. It's also on Instagram,
uh TikTok. I have a website Nikina music dot com.
So you know, my fans can go on my website
and they can buy merch if they want. They can
see my bio pictures, listen to music, and stream and so. Yeah.
(33:46):
So those are some of the platforms that my music
are on.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
Yeah, awesome, everybody go and follow support.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
Thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Thank you for sharing your your journey and your story
with us.
Speaker 5 (34:01):
It was a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (34:04):
Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure
talking to you too.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
Thank you, and thank you all for listening and always
remember to live, love, laugh.
Speaker 5 (34:16):
We'll see you guys next time.
Speaker 4 (34:17):
Bye bye, Hie.
If you love entertainment, current events, and Hollywood, do miss
Creator to Creators Hosted by the filmmaker Mio Shabine, known
for the shutter Hit documentary or Noir and the acclaimed
film Anatomy of an Anti Heroo Redemption.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
This show features interviews with filmmakers and creatives from around
the globe. Join the fun with guest celebrities and gain
valuable insights. Subscribe now and follow Creator to Creators.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Creators to Creators.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Today, today we have a special guest, Nikina.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Welcome, Welcome, Thank you absolutely so. I love going back
to the beginning. I always say the beginning charge our
trajectory in life. You know, our little habits we pick
up along the way follow us into our adulthood. So
tell me a little bit about your childhood. What was
that like and when did you, you know, fall in
(01:04):
love with music.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
My childhood was very simple. Well, I grew up in Jamaica,
so I lived on a farm. I had no technology,
I had a bunch of animals around me. I was
just submerged in nature. That was just my life. I
would go to like what we would call when I
(01:27):
was growing up the bush and so we would pick mangoes, avocados.
We would climb the trees and that was our playground,
our yard, and just the bushes. We'll just go there
and just find fruits and just make fun toys from
(01:48):
like lemon and like juice boxes and like pull it around.
That would be our little trucks and stuff. So I
didn't grow up, you know with a lot. My early
childhood days was just you know, being very creative and
how I had fun with my cousins. We would also
(02:09):
do activities like just going to the river and just
you know, catching like crayfish and things like that by
ourselves and just all those little things. It's just like
what made my childhood like super fun, and I think
that's the root of who I am.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
Nice.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Yeah, when when when you know, for me and I
find that that's really really cool. When I went to
film school and I got a film of the movies
and all of that, but it was one It was
when I went to the library one summer and I
rented like the Alpha Hitchcock Presence series and I was
(02:51):
just like, I want to be a filmmaker, Like that's
what I want to do. When did you have that
kind of moment for yourself, like with music. Was it
a particular song, was it, I don't know, someone that
inspired you to get into music, and like you just
kind of was like, yeah, I want to do this
for like the rest of my life.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
I had a moment like that when I was a child.
I had a moment when because like I said, I
grew up in the country. So my first time like
being in a town is when I passed like my
common entrance, which is like a standardized examp before you
go to high school. So like we'll take that in
(03:31):
Juna High and once you pass it, you get to
go to high school. So my high school was in
the towns. So when I went to high school, my
first time actually it was my second time seeing like
a newspaper. So the first time when I actually had
like a hold of a newspaper and like saw it
was when I passed my common entrance and my name
(03:53):
was in the newspaper. And you know, in Jamaica, like
you would have to go in the newspaper to see
what school you're going to. So like, yeah, all the
students' names we listed under all the schools, and my
school was camperdown, and so I look in the newspaper
and that was my first time like seeing a newspaper.
(04:17):
So once I started going to high school that September,
I saw the newspaper again. And when I I like,
they handed it out in class, like I had like
a drama class or something, and so they were giving
out the newspapers and I looked into the newspaper, lived
in the newspaper and it was a picture of Aliyah
(04:38):
and it was a picture of Aaliyah one of her
songs and like her lyrics like on the other side,
and she was just like this big, nice, beautiful picture,
and I'm like, oh, wow, she's a singer and who
is she? And I remember hearing the song for the
first time, and I'm like, I want to be like that.
So that was my first moment in my childhood in
(05:00):
my adulthood. The other moment was at work. I work
as a nurse and I was at the hospital giving
care to a patient and the family member came in
and I was introducing myself and kind of like going
over what's the plan of care for the day, et cetera.
(05:21):
And the lady said, do you have a do you
sing and I said no, and she's like, you have
a singing voice. And I was like really. And at
that time, I had written my first song, water, but
I hadn't produced it, I hadn't recorded it yet. So
the lady told me, she's like, oh, you should sing,
you should record yourself. She didn't know I was writing
(05:42):
and I had a song to produce, but so she
said you should really like get into singing. And so
that was that moment when she said that, and I
thought about it, and I'm like, listen, I have a
song at home. Why don't I just go to the studio.
So I came home and the next day I called
my sister up and I'm like, what's that studio again?
(06:03):
And I went there and the rest is history. So
I guess those two those two moments were the defining
moments where someone actually kind of like saw it in
me and I kind of connected to that because I
knew over the years it had been something that I
thought about growing up. Yeah that's beautiful.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
That is so cool, and I love that you had
a song to produce and you're like, well, I'm you know,
it's tower and ever kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Yeah, it was that thing. And it was funny because
it was right before COVID or just as COVID was happening. Yeah,
so it was like that time where people were like,
you know, we were spending a lot of time, but
I worked a lot during COVID, but I just kind
of was at that time was more like reflective, like
(06:57):
what do you want to do with your life? Like
what do you have any skills? Like you know, and
I'd always been writing songs over the years and just
recording them and keeping them on my iPads, my iPods
and and just not doing anything with time, but that
moment kind of really notched me, like and I listened
to it.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah, that's so beautiful. I love those moments in life.
Like it was like, aha, I'm always like all right,
we're gonna get it, Like even if we don't know
how to go about it, we just will figure.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
It out along the way. So right right, that's that's
that's amazing.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
You know.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
I love to get into your song Surprise and you
know hold Me from your upcoming album This is Me.
Tell me a little bit about you know, just the
process and where this you know came from and and
like what inspired it all?
Speaker 4 (07:54):
So it was inspired by. So the project is called
This is Me. And when I first started making music,
it was a it was challenging for me because I
didn't know what I wanted to sound like. It took
me some time to get used to my voice. And
(08:15):
then like once you start doing music or being a
creative and like showing the world this is this is
my songs, this is what I do, it kind of
just opens up like this whole kind of worm like
I'm now like thinking about, well, what do I want
to sound like, you know, and I'm I'm looking at
(08:37):
other people and I'm thinking, well, they sound nice, and
you know. So it's just you just kind of go
down that road of self discovery and I'm now I'm like, well,
I thought I knew myself, but now this is kind
of like it's a whole different ballgame because this is
not just me singing in the shower and singing for
(08:58):
my friends and my family doesn't mean I was singing
for the world. And now that I am doing this,
I'm more I'm thinking about it more. I'm thinking about
my voice more, I'm thinking about my songs more, my lyrics,
everything more. And you know, you'd hear comments from people
like oh maybe you should sing a song like this
or sing like that person or this person and or
(09:22):
these person are singing these type of songs and they're
making it and you know, and I had to sit
back and I was like, wait, these songs are coming
from my heart, like like I dream about them. They
come to me while I'm doing dishes, while I'm doing laundry,
while I'm cleaning my house. These where these songs are
(09:42):
coming from. These songs are me. So this is why,
and these songs are me. I'm not sitting down creating
these melodies. They're just coming to me, like as I'm
doing chores, as I'm driving to work, They're coming to me.
So I decided to call the album This Is Me
because it's just everything. It's my inspiration, it's just whatever
(10:05):
is flowing through me. It's just a me. So I
decided to name my album that and be proud of
just who I am, the sounds that I create, and
my journey and who I am as an individual, and
just being proud of me.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
I love that you mentioned that you record yourself twice,
once at home and then once in the professional studio.
How does that dual process help shape the final sound
of your songs.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
So I love recording at home first because that way
I get to I get to play around. I'm more
free when I'm at home. I get to play around
my melodies. I get to structure the song my way
without the pressure of being in a studio, because studio
time costs money, and as an independent an artist, you know,
(11:00):
you gotta you gotta, you gotta be careful with just
being in there too long. So so at home, I
can just my studio is in my bedroom, so I
could be laying down and just kind of like dreaming
something and wake up and just hum it on my
phone and just roll over and just like you know,
(11:21):
jot it down, not job, but like recorded right there,
and then when I wake up, I can kind of
like make sure it sounds good and everything like that.
But I do have the freedom to create whatever and
however I want for as long as I want at home,
and then clean it up once I'm done at home,
(11:45):
get my harmonies, my everything in place, so that when
I go to the studio, I spend less time. I
already know the structure of my songs. I already know
where all my ad lips are on my harmony and
it's just to go lay it down, and I do
leave room for improvision at the studio. I do kind
(12:05):
of like make up some stuff while I'm there as well,
but it's just like I'm not you know, I'm not
doing that for six hours or you know, it's it's
definitely less time at the studio saves me a lot
of time at the studio. And there are times when
I create at home and I really want to get
(12:28):
the song out, but I haven't like I'm missing a
bridge or but I'm like I've been sitting on this song.
I want to get it out. I have to go
to the studio. So if I don't have the last line,
I will go to the studio. Anyway I would have
like ninety five percent of the song done, I'll go
to the studio. I just trust the process and more
(12:52):
then likely it'll come to me, and which usually is
what happens. I will get that line while I'm in
the studio playing around.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Nice do you also like, you know, I'm super like
involved in the whole thing when I when I create something,
even though I'm like saying I'm shooting or something like that.
A movie, I'm in there. When they're doing the soundtracks,
I'm like, super, I'm everywhere all the jobs. Are you
(13:22):
like that When it comes to producing your music, are
you like, Okay, I had this sound and I want
to just hear what you guys come up with.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Yes, yes, yep. For the most part, I leave it
up to my producers, so I kind of create the
sound like I know the sound and I would I
would tell them this is what I want. I would
give them kind of like examples references, and they will
come up with something. But let's say they send me
something back and I don't like the drums or I
(13:53):
don't like that, you know, I would say, hey, can
you switch this drum out or put this here? Put
that there, and kind of like created to my liking.
But for the most part, the producers usually have that
instrumental n down and it's just little twists that I
would have to make an instrumental. But when it comes
(14:15):
to my vocals and the structure, I am all in.
I'm like, I want this here, I want that there,
I take this out, put this here. I'm I'm all
in the creative process. Like I'm very very hands on
in the production of my songs, in the production of
my music videos, I just I go through everything with
(14:37):
a fine tooth comb and I make sure everything is
exactly how I envision it to be.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
That's awesome, that's cool.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
I love that you're super involved, Like I know, there's
some artists that are just like, I'm just gonna sing
and you guys handle the red right.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
I love that because I feel like it's yeah, if
it's you you want to want to be, you know,
put yourself in all of it.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
When I immerse yourself, yeah in all of it?
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Yes, yes, and I do that.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
Yeah, Yeah, that's cool. You rechally.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
You mentioned you know, a full you know, full circle
moment while printing your own lyrics. Can you share more
about what that moment meant to you personally?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Woo?
Speaker 4 (15:27):
It was.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
So.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
I love going to the libraries. I still do to
this day. It's such a peaceful place for me. And
when I was when I moved to the US, I
was like twelve thirteen and on the weekends I would
just go to the library just to read like little
teenage romance novels.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
And also.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
That's why I write so many love songs because I
love it to read all those books with the boy
and the girl on the front and the pink books,
and like, I would just go there and pick them
all up and read them. And I also used to
go and print out lyrics of like all the artists
that I liked at the time. So, you know, just
(16:12):
a twelve year old girl in America, like just being
exposed to different sounds and types of music. So I
fell in love with like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and
Brandying those people Ali of course, and I just started
printing out all their lyrics. Every Saturday, I would go
(16:35):
to the library and back then you'd have to wait,
like you wait on a line to get a computer.
So i'd wait in the line. You get thirty minutes
at the computer, and I would research all the songs
that I like, and I would print them all out
and take them home with me and read them and
(16:55):
stuff them in my book back. So I would them
in my book back. It's a funny story with me
stuffing them in my book back because one time my
book bag wasn't closed and I was crossing the street
and they all just like oh no, blew out, and
I was like, oh, my God, like picking up all
my lyrics and so so recently when I was writing,
(17:22):
I have this new thing that I like to now
print out my lyrics, like I write them on my phone.
Usually I write them with my you know, with pen
and paper when I want to be more creative and
like kind of just like a rough draft and get
things out and then I'll save them on my phone.
But then I recently I decided, hey, why don't you
(17:43):
just print them out and you can edit them, you know,
you can have them in your hand. It's something about
having them in my hand and I can look through
them like a paper, you know, like I'm correct creating
a paper or something, and I'll go through them and
how does it look? Does it look good?
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Do it?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
You know? How did how are the words like, you know,
connecting with you as you're looking at and holding it.
So I did that and I and when I printed them,
I just had that moment. I was like, oh my gosh,
I'm holding my own lyrics and so that was surreal.
(18:21):
It was just like I never thought that that would
be something, you know, I always envisioned it, but it
just came came to pass without me even thinking about it.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Yeah, that's really Yeah, that's awesome and your lyrics, Yeah,
it's beautiful. Love is a central part to your music,
which I love. And how has your understanding of love
changed over time and how does that show up in
(18:56):
your songs?
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Oh, man, love, My understanding of love has changed over time,
like drastically. I was someone that was more strict in love,
and I didn't really understand it initially, and I want
(19:19):
I was more strict and I wanted to kind of
control love. And as I write more about love and like,
you know, study the people around me, that I realized
that love is freedom. Like it should be free. It
shouldn't be so held tight and constraint, and it should
(19:42):
be something expressed freely and it shouldn't have any boundaries
and it shouldn't well yeah, I love that that part,
but that that's another a story. But I just feel
like love should could be it should be something that's
(20:05):
expressed freely. It shouldn't be something that you say, well,
i'll love you if you love me. It's just if
you love someone, you just love them without reason, just because. Yeah.
So I struggled initially with writing about love because I
wanted it to be perfect and I've come to understand
(20:28):
that love isn't perfect. I wanted the person to hold
my hands and do this and do that, And over
time I realized that love has its ups and down,
but it doesn't make it any less love. You know,
love is is how you not well, not just how
you show up for people or how you are in
(20:50):
like a romantic relationship, but it's how you are with yourself.
And so I started focusing more on loving me. And
I find that once I focus more on love in myself,
and it doesn't have to be in any materialistic way,
(21:11):
just the simplest way, like what do you like to eat?
Or what is this that you're eating? Is this good
for you? This is not good for you? Like what
is this that you're listening to? We're talking? Who is
this us you're talking to? Like those things, Like everything
that comes in me has to be loved, because I
want to be able to express a pure love. So
I really really focus and I preach love all day
(21:33):
every day to people because I just I just love
it and I'm trying to understand it more and more.
I don't you know, I'm not going to say I'm
an expert or anything, but I think it's I think.
Speaker 5 (21:46):
It's definitely not.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
Yes, right, but it's a learning process, and I think
it's I don't think you would ever come to that
final like, oh I got it, this is I think
it's just you learn in different situations of how to
navigate love with different people, with yourself, and you learn
to be more patient, you learn to be more kind
(22:08):
with love, and you learn to be more free. So
I think I think I think that's how love has
changed for me, where I'm just starting to just let it,
let it be, not be so strict about it.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
Beautifully said beautifully.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Oh thank you, absolutely, thank you.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
I love that that what you said about loving yourself,
that's absolutely important. I think a lot that that's the
key because if you love yourself, then you can love
others for sure.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
Yes, yes, awesome, Yes.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Both Hold Me and Surprise explains love from different angles.
What do some of you like those two songs that
reveal about like different sides of you.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
Hold Me reviews like that, it's very exciting. That song
is just like meeting you know, that person for the
first time. That side of me was when you know.
I grew up in Brooklyn, New York and used to
always party back in the day. Yes, I used to
(23:19):
always party back in the day. And you know, you
know it if you saw the video, I'm not sure,
but it has like this basement vibe kind of scenery.
So I just wanted to like touch on that, just
like you know, young love meeting someone for the first time,
them seeing you, being attracted to you, you're attracted to them.
So I just wanted to get into that creative space
(23:42):
and creating something like that because I always used to
like videos and songs that talk about that love, like
I see the girl walking down the street or I
see the guy.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
You know.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
I like those songs, So I think hold me kind
of like touches on something like that.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
Nice nice, and I really love Surprise as well.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
They sent it.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
To me and I was like, wow, you sounds it's
like you know you said speaking of Aliyah. I literally
kind of had those like vibes when I listened to it.
Who I was like, cool, that's cool. You have like
a very light I don't know, just I can't explain,
but it was this. I was like, oh wow. So
(24:23):
when you said I was like.
Speaker 5 (24:25):
I could I could see that, I.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Could see you. I can see it yeah, thank you.
I appreciate it. Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
I love to ask this question, and there's no wrong answer,
but the three levels of influence, money, power, and respect.
And if you could choose only one of those things,
which one would you choose?
Speaker 5 (24:46):
And why?
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Money, power, and respect?
Speaker 5 (24:52):
To no wrong answer, I promise.
Speaker 4 (24:55):
You no wrong answer answer, all right? I would I
want to I'm like stuck between two. I'm stuck between
power and respect. All right, So I'll choose. I'll choose
(25:26):
which one would I prefer? You said, which one? Which one?
Which one of the influences? Which one would I choose?
I would choose respect? Okay, I'll choose respect because I
feel like it's just fundamental to to like who I am.
(25:47):
Like I just I respect myself. And I feel like
if you have respect in the world, no matter if
you have power or money, that goes a long way.
If you respect yourself and if you respect others, it
goes a long way. It's and with respect you can
also have power, you know. I feel like being respectful
(26:10):
and having respecting yourself is in itself power because I
feel like people think, oh I can just carry myself anyhow,
or I can do anything to people and that would
make me look strong and mighty. But no, it's when
you actually meet people at their level, humble yourself and
(26:31):
have respect for people and have respect for yourself is
where true power comes through. I think that's powerful to
to have respect and be respected and respect other people.
So I'll choose respect because even then, you know, with respect,
then you can you can become wealthy. You know, you can,
you can have money. But I think that that's I
(26:56):
think I wish a lot of more people would have
respect and because that's powerful, because that can change, That
can change the generation, It can change how people think,
it can change how people move around you, how how
you influence people, and how people are attracted to you.
So I think, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
I think so I love that great answer, great answer,
Thank you definitely. You know you said love. Uh, you know,
artistry stems from love. How do you protect that love?
Speaker 5 (27:29):
And energy? And such an industry that's so demanding.
Speaker 4 (27:39):
I try to do a lot of I do a
lot of meditation, I do a lot of praying. I
try not to get indulged in things that are not
concerning my craft, and I try not to gets consumed
(28:02):
by things that will interfere with my craft and interfere
with my being, my perception of myself, and my perception
of other people. So by doing that, I kind of
protect me, my being, me as a person. And when
(28:25):
I'm protected, I feel free to create. I don't have
to feel like I have to prove myself or I
have to be this kind of way because I am
who I am and I'm comfortable in who I am,
and so I stay grounded in my philosophies on life,
(28:47):
I stay grounded in my faith. I stay grounded in
just meditation and just trying to improve myself day by day,
just for.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
Me, beautiful. I love that.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
What do you want people to to take away? Uh,
you know, listeners to take away? What message do you
want them to once they listen to this your music?
What do you want that message to be.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
I want the message to be just go for it,
and also be be true to who you are. I
know this word is used a lot lately on social media,
but like be authentic, because when I created this album,
(29:43):
it was me first getting to that place of acceptance
with my work and just being authentic with my sound
in my music. So be okay with who you are
where you are in life. If you're a person that
loves loves, that's okay, that's cool. Create from that space
(30:08):
whatever it is that you want to do, whatever it
is that you like to do, whatever it is that
moves you as a person in your heart. I want
my listeners to take away that it's okay to do that,
(30:28):
because I think sometimes I really my whole goal as
an artist is really to speak to the younger people
coming up, and I just want them to understand that
you can do what you do and you can do
it in a way that can inspire other people. So
(30:49):
if my song, if I write a song about love
and it touches someone else, or it heals a relationship,
or it reminds somebody to do something or to show
up differently than my you know, goal accomplished. So I
just I want listeners to take away to be themselves,
(31:10):
to stay true to who they are, and just enjoy life.
Just enjoy life, enjoying music. Yeah, that's beautiful.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
Enjoy life and joy music.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
I like that.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
It's a great message messagespecially for for like the time
that we're living in now. It's a lot of stuff
going on and and you know, music, it's great that
you're making music about love in such a kind of
dark time, you know, globally. Yeah, and it's a lot
of craziness happening in the world. So thank you for
for your gift.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
Thank you. I appreciate that. And it's it's you know
that that kind of reissue or me And and thank
you for saying that, because you know, sometimes you feel like,
oh you're too you're too lovely. You know why why
you want to do everything about love? You know, because
I've I've gotten that, like I've gotten you know, you know,
(32:16):
I've heard and I've you know, I've Sometimes people wouldn't say,
you know, directly, but they would say it like and
you know, you just see the things that people like
and that they gravitate to, and sometimes you wonder, like,
you know, it's love enough and it's love good. But
love is always enough and it's always good, and it's
always something that is going to be dear to me
(32:38):
and true to me, and I'm gonna always express I
just I want to live a life that expressed love
and I get to do that through music. So it's
a win.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Win, absolutely, absolutely, Yeah, where can people find you and
and listen to? Then all the things that you have
coming up, all the new music that you have dropping.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
People can find me on all streaming platforms like Spotify, iTunes, YouTube.
My videos are on YouTube and I have yeah thank you,
and iTunes, Apple Music, you know, Amazon Music. Everywhere that
(33:22):
you stream my music is there. It's also on Instagram,
uh TikTok. I have a website Nikina music dot com.
So you know, my fans can go on my website
and they can buy merch if they want. They can
see my bio pictures, listen to music, and stream and so. Yeah.
(33:46):
So those are some of the platforms that my music
are on.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
Yeah, awesome, everybody go and follow support.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
Thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Thank you for sharing your your journey and your story
with us.
Speaker 5 (34:01):
It was a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (34:04):
Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure
talking to you too.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
Thank you, and thank you all for listening and always
remember to live, love, laugh.
Speaker 5 (34:16):
We'll see you guys next time.
Speaker 4 (34:17):
Bye bye, Hie.
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