nija charles: Getting to know the 3x Grammy award winner with the release of her debut solo project
Born in New Jersey and now based in Los Angeles, Nija has countless Billboard hot 100 hit records under her belt without releasing her own body of work. The talented 24-year-old singer/songwriter has written for the likes of Beyoncé, Cardi B, Drake, and Ariana Grande to name a few. One of her favourite songs that she has written so far is No guidance just because of the place it holds within the culture of hip-hop music.
Credit: Brian Ziff
Making hit records has become second nature for Nija as she continues to grow and take the industry by storm with her ability to effortlessly bend genres which can be seen on her single – “Ease My Mind (Come Over)” from her debut project ‘Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You’. ‘Ease My Mind’ mixes RnB with drill in what seems to be a match made in heaven and just shows the creative mind of Nija which makes her one of the most sought-after songwriters in today’s era of music.
With the release of her first solo project, Nija wants to get rid of the stigma which follows songwriters when they transition to making their own music. Nija expressed her feelings by saying that “There’s a stigma against songwriters turning into artists because usually, they give all their sauce away.”
For herself, Nija has always done far more than what is expected of her. “But I’ve always made sure I went above and beyond people’s expectations, so don’t say I didn’t warn you about that.” – an omen to those who haven’t heard of her name before his release. Her debut project breathes life into the music industry which has produced generic artists, who follow the latest trends to capture the audience’s attention. However, Nija has once again set the bar and this time it isn’t for anyone else’s career development but her own.
To start her catalogue off with ‘Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You’ almost justifies her reasons for contributing to the music industry behind the scenes for so many years. “I’m taking the power role,” says Nija. “There’s vulnerability in the music but it’s a different approach. Instead of, ‘Oh you hurt me,’ it’s like, ‘Damn you did that to me? That’s crazy. I’mma move on but you fucked up for that.’”
‘Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You’ executively produced by Jack Rochon is a well-balanced body of work. The RnB project takes influences from Hip-hop and pairs it with Nija’s no-nonsense approach to life.
Nija started the process of making ‘Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You’ by playing a demo version of ‘heard about us’ to Beyoncé while working on the carter’s album ‘Everything Is Love’. Shortly after listening to it, Beyoncé complemented Nija’s voice by saying that she has the most beautiful tone in the world. Being a big believer in signs and that everything happens for a reason Nija saw Beyoncé’s words as validation and used them as fuel to start her solo career something which she has been thinking about for some time now.
Growing up Nija Charles wanted to become an engineer like her mother and music was just a hobby. School was ultimately a big part of her life, as she become a teenager Nija started to understand what she wanted out of life… Her thought process was that the job that she wanted to have must bring her fulfilment and joy. Being a part of the music industry then became her ultimate goal, she didn’t know how but all she knew was that she loved listening to music- seeing music being made was so astonishing to her. Nija then heard of the Tisch School of the Arts in New York and went to their high school program and essentially went to school just to be around music. Her love for music is what made her want to be in the music business.
Having fully immersed herself within the industry and its culture at the age of 25 years old Nija has advice for younger creatives who are looking to break out into the music industry. “I gave myself a rule when I was in college, to make one song every day. I stayed consistent with that and it helped a lot, it made me perfect my craft and improve to the point where I would want to create a better song than I did yesterday. I wasn’t in competition with anyone else, the goal was always to beat myself. Another piece of advice I would give is that you trust your gut (my mantra that I live by) there will be other people that don’t see the vision. A lot of times humans won’t think something is good until someone else validates it and you just have to trust yourself. If you feel that it's good and it's ready, then that’s all that matters.”
With the release of ‘Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You’ Nija wants her fans to be confident and become the person that is in control and not let someone get them down. She feels that the role she plays within her music is to bring the same level of control that female rappers have in their music to the world of RnB. She wants her audience to be confident in knowing themselves.
After having such a glamourous career, many would wonder where Nija sees herself in the next 5 years. “My artist career would have gone to the point where I feel like I’m touring all the time, hopefully, a few diamond records, being top of the charts, a number one album, and having my publishing company going crazy. Helping to build other superstars and getting to be a part of other ventures. I hope that by the time I’m 30 that I have established myself as a mogul. That is what I hope to see by the time that I am 30.”
Nija has achieved so much in the music industry and her accolades speak for themselves. The mindset that continues to push her into trying new things and never becoming comfortable in the space that she takes up will take her so far in her solo career.
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