Niiasii - An Alter Ego and Future Inspirational Icon
Fearless, eclectic, and focused — three words that accurately describe Virginia-based singer-songwriter, Niiasii’s personality. With two bodies of work under her belt, she aspires to leave a lasting impact on the world, touching everyone with her sound.
Image courtesy of Niiasii.
Described by Niiasii as a form of escapism, her musical career also embodies an alter ego. “In my daily life, I’m a really shy person… but when I go on stage or I’m writing a song, that’s my time to really just transform into another person. And that’s when I become Niiasii.”
Discovering her talent at a young age, Niiasii (pronounced nee-ah-see) has been slowly, but surely preparing for a music career. “I decided to audition for our school's talent show [in elementary school] and after that, I was just like, hooked. I just fell in love with music.”
She was originally a part of a girl group, NHA, which further introduced her to the industry. “I kind of had a better understanding of the industry a little bit and what comes with it, the hard work that comes with it. That just kind of fueled my passion for it.”
The passion led to further discovery of other artists who have left an imprint of Niiasii’s artistry and style of music. “I already knew about Prince, but I really, really started understanding what he was talking about… the way that his music made me feel made me realize I want to be able to create things to make people feel the way he makes me feel.”
I just hope that I’ll reach a point in my career where I can just touch everybody in a really, really positive way.
Niiasii’s soulful and exuberant, yet modern music surely accomplishes her goals. I Wanna Get Out, the first track on her 2020 EP The Art of Changing Form, has since garnered over 75,000 streams on Spotify.
Overwhelmed by the feelings of a newly introduced pandemic and personal reasons, she was able to finish writing the song in only 10 minutes.
“One night, I feel like I just got so fed up. I went downstairs and [I] was just playing YouTube beats. I started writing about how I feel like ‘Stop telling me what I can and cannot wear, stop telling me I can’t do this, and I can’t do that.’ I called my producer and sent him what I had.”
The track starts off with a voicemail from her mother, who has since been a major supportive person in Niiasii’s musical journey. “[I think] her seeing the level of which I'm so like, in love with music… it kind of made her be like ‘Okay, regardless of where you are, as far as your streams… it doesn’t matter [because] I understand that this is what you love to do… so I’m gonna support it.”
Two years later, her well-received EP pushed her in the direction of pursuing music full-time.
Just knowing that my music was able to connect to people, and people actually hear me and they like what they hear. It’s like, the most crazy thing, the most beautiful thing ever..
For her most recent album Exuviated, she wore the producer hat for the first time, producing three songs, including the acoustic version of I Wanna Get Out.
“]Producing] was definitely a different experience. I feel like the songs that I produce are the songs that I feel most connected to as far as expressing my feelings. shy girl blues was a really personal and vulnerable song for me because it talks about what it’s like for me to be such a shy person and the feelings that come along with that.”
Her vision for her music and career are very clear; “I’m planning to finally move away from this small town and I’m going to go to L.A. I’m hoping that I will have polished myself enough as an artist. I know I just gotta make this happen.”
What’s up next for Niiasii? She wants to create records that have longevity, as her predecessors (think Prince, Beyonce, Erykah Badu) have accomplished in their careers. As she matures in her career, she also hopes to own a farm to provide healthy alternatives for individuals in food desserts — further proving her commitment to growth as an influential artist and individual. She’s currently working on more music with the hopes of releasing another body of work soon.
Make sure to keep following Niiasii’s journey!
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