Nezi is On The Way ! !

Chicago born, Arkansas raised, and current Brooklyn resident Nezi is On [her] Way!

The independent artist recently released her single ‘On the Way’ and we were lucky enough to catch up with her and get to know a little more of who she is as an artist! So lets jump right into it!

Ben: First of all let me go ahead and say thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us today! Lets jump right into it. . . Tell us about yourself, who is Nezi?

Nezi: I am someone who is direct & sassy, but sensitive and emotional at the same time. I’m a singer/songwriter born in Chicago but raised primarily in Arkansas. However, I currently live in Brooklyn. I moved here to pursue my music career but I enrolled into NYU first to get my masters degree in Music Business. I wanted to learn the business side of the industry first.

Ben: Do you have any experience and knowledge on what it truly means to be in the music industry?

Nezi: Yes ! Aside from my education in music business, I was able to get my foot in the door when I first interned at a publishing company then my second internship was at Roc Nation. Both were definitely eye opening experiences and i got to really experience the roller coaster that is the music industry.

Ben: When did you actually get into music and songwriting?

Nezi: I was about 7 years old when I first got into it. My mother was in the church choir and I remember hearing her sing and I wanted to follow in her footsteps. She had a very strong ‘Aretha Franklin’ kind of voice. One day I decided to give singing a try and when I did I said to myself “I guess I can sing” haha. Ever since then I wanted to make my mother proud, however for a while I was shy about my vocals. It wasn’t until about four or five years ago that I really took music seriously.

Ben: What is the writing process for you like?

Nezi: Most of what I write is not only from personal experience but maybe an emotion or feeling that I personally haven’t experienced yet but want to. Some days I write to a beat, other days I write for self-expression. It all depends on my mood. I constantly read alot of poetry, it actually inspires me and even helps me with writers block. One of my favorite poets is Langston Hughes.

Ben: Who inspires you and who would you like to collaborate with?

Nezi: Theres plenty that inspire me like Jazmine Sullivan, Whitney Houston, and Mya however I would have to say Brandy is one of my biggest inspirations! She’s like a blueprint for me, in a way I study her artistry. My first album was “Never Say Never” given to me by my cousins as a joke at first. The album was all scratched up and my mother played it for me and since then she’s become an inspiration for me. As far as collaborations go, the first artist that always comes to mind is Lucky Daye! It would be a literal dream come true to be able to work with him. I would also love to write for H.E.R.

Ben: Tell us about your single ‘On The Way’ and do you have any upcoming projects?

Nezi: I wrote ‘On The Way’ Feb 9 while I was in a long distance relationship. During that relationship I felt lonely and like I wasn’t being taken seriously. I didn’t want to write a typical “anti-love” song so instead I wrote about being in the flirting stage with someone and getting to know them. Quite the opposite of what i was going thru. I wanted to express the feeling of longing for someone and the joy being on the way to them! I didn’t want to be bitter. As far as upcoming projects, i have an EP dropping at the end of the summer and while I cant speak too much on it, I can say it is a very relatable EP! I talk about the journey of dating and being in love.

Ben: Thank you once again for taking the time to do this interview with us! Any final words or thoughts to wrap up?

Nezi: To anyone reading or listening I would just like to tell you to keep going! Keep creating! Create to express! Create to keep your sanity!

‘On The Way’ is available on all streaming platforms! Make sure you check it out and keep an eye out for that EP!

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