Monique Nikkole‘s 2024 has been memorable. She acquired her first Grammy nomination for her work on Antonio Vergara’s blues album “The Fury.” She carried out spoken phrase on the outro, a full-circle second since she started in poetry earlier than music.
How does it really feel to be Grammy-nominated? The place have been you if you discovered?
As a recording artist. That’s the tremendous bowl. It’s surreal nonetheless, you understand, it’s sinking in, however I’m insanely completely satisfied about it. And I used to be on Instagram, sadly. You’d assume as a result of I’ve been a voting member for years, I’d get a heads up, nevertheless it was simply a type of issues. I didn’t stand up to look at the nominations come down. I type of slept in and received up and I’m scrolling by way of Instagram and I used to be like, oh my God, wow I’m Grammy nominated. And that’s how I discovered. I do know it sounds loopy, however I simply didn’t see it coming.
Why do you’re feeling like so many individuals beloved your very first single “Say Sure“?
I believe as a result of it was a music about love at a time the place music has taken a flip the place it was simply going outdoors of affection. It was a whole lot of intercourse. The whole lot was very lustful. Like, music wasn’t truly attending to the roots of the guts. And likewise, up till that point, there weren’t actually any new wedding ceremony songs since, like, “Right here and Now.” However then right here comes Monique Nikkole with “Say Sure.” And it’s speaking a couple of lady that was so busy in her profession that she denied the proposal initially after which she regretted it. In the event you ask me now, I’ll say sure.
Who have been your musical inspirations?
Actually, I grew up on a whole lot of legendary vocalists. Like, they’ve that artwork, that factor that makes them distinctive. They sing, like actually sing. It’s their voice. Stephanie Mills, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, I like some Jennifer Hudson, Melissa Morgan. I like Chante Moore, Minnie Riperton. These are the those that intrigued me, they made me need to sing. I grew up singing, so Mariah Carey after all too.
What was the inspiration behind your newest single “Queen of the Hustle?”
Effectively, my brother, as a result of I’m a serial entrepreneur outdoors of music. I’m an actual property investor. Health queen. I do a whole lot of issues. So, he mentioned you the queen of the hustle. You want to make a report about being the queen of the hustle. In order that got here from him. However then in the course of the midterm elections when Roe vs. Wade received rolled again, it took me in one other route. So, as I used to be writing it and as soon as I got here into the studio with the ten,000 pages with Marco and Jay Scorching. J Scorching produced the monitor and that was the inspiration. It was us as girls holding our personal, which now we have been. And the way dare you now attempt to roll again the rights for us that have been enacted in 1973. You recognize, you’re not gonna simply push us again. So that’s the way it got here collectively. It was imagined to be nearly hustling, nevertheless it’s about sustaining your self and your rights as a girl, you understand, and that’s just about the story behind it.