![Bay Area Rapper NIVO Makes Waves With Latest Release "Peace" [Exclusive Interview]](https://www.respectmyregion.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/122184409_167402115015489_1378891352620146913_n1.jpg)
NIVO is an interesting artist rising out of the Bay Area who has been working in Silicon Valley for the past few years as a software engineer. Hip-hop has always been his passion and he even used to sell beats in college.
During the quarantine last year he poured himself into recording, creating a ton of material to give us in 2021. NIVO deliberately keeps his bio vague, leaning into a mysterious persona as an artist. He has collaborated extensively with, Sobhhi, one of the most streamed R&B artists in the Middle East. Together they have a joint EP called Luxury Casual and are the first two artists on the label/collective Nuit Sans Fin (night without end in French).
Both artists are currently in Dubai right now and are planning a tour post-pandemic. Until then NIVO is keeping the fans happy, dropping bangers like his latest track “Peace.” A combination of a fast paced, almost racey, beat with his smooth melodic rapping style that makes for an intriguing concoction.
NIVO Exclusive Interview
RMR: What was it that made you want to keep some aspects of your bio vague and create this mysterious persona?
NIVO: Honestly, it wasn’t my intention to be vague. In terms of my bio, I wanted it to just be concise because it’s the first thing people see and they have short attention spans so I wanted them to know exactly what I’m about, which is my music. Dark Pop music is like my custom genre and tag line that describes my artist brand. It’s futuristic, dark, but danceable – kind of drawing from Japanese trap as well as UK drill and top 40 all in one sound and visual experience.
RMR: How did you get linked up with Sobhhi? And how has being with a label/collective helped improve your pursuit in music vs when you were on your own?
NIVO: Sobhhï and I linked up in 10th grade English class, when he liked the way I rapped a poem. He came up to me and said he had a studio in his room, and invited me and some other friends to come back and make a song. The next night we made our first song together, and we’ve been making music together ever since. As far as Nuit Sans Fin goes, this was a brand Sobhhï came up with 2 years ago and decided to make it the umbrella collective for all things music, video, fashion etc. that he released. Currently I’ve been releasing my solo work under NIVO, but all the collaborations I do with Sobhhï, like the LUXURY CASUAL Album, are under the Nuit Sans Fin label.
Working with the Nuit Sans Fin label has been a great learning experience for me. Sobhhï really has his finger on the pulse of building out brand consistency and tying together multiple releases as if they’re all part of the same story/message that the brand is telling. I take a lot of aspects from the nocturnal vibe that he’s built with NSF and added it to my own personal brand and added my own twist to it by adding more colors and more of a futuristic theme.
RMR: What made you want to transition from just focusing on the beats in college, to becoming a full fledged artist? Did you always have that drive and it was just more about the confidence? or was it a late spark?
NIVO: I think it was definitely more about confidence. I always had the drive to be a full-fledged artist but it wasn’t until I got a few songs under my belt till I really started realizing that this where I wanted to take my career and double down. Ultimately I spent 90% of my career really finding my sound, which is why I wasn’t really releasing music the way I did in 2020
RMR: How did the quarantine affect your music making process and should people be expecting any major differences from your music now compared to your music pre-covid?
NIVO: It didn’t really affect my process at all. If anything it just forced me to lock in more. My process has always been real simple, stack catalogue, release, market online. So, being forced to stay inside was just like, I have nothing to do but continue with my process. Ultimately at the end I was able to release a lot more music in 2020 than I have in all the previous years combined.
RMR: How do you want to be looked at as an artist? What do you believe you do to stand out in the crowded world that is hip-hop?
NIVO: My goal is to really create a new genre that goes beyond hip-hop. I want Dark Pop to be a new lane that I pioneer and popularize as a whole new sound in the music industry altogether. If I can ultimately be remembered for that than I think I’ll be able to call myself successful.
NIVO – “Peace”
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