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music
NIIA’s “Obsession”
Photographed by Elias Talbot. ![Photographed by Elias Talbot.](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472bc0d4ce71b9f39d53c0f_flaunt%2Bmagazine%2BNIIA%2BEliasTalbot1-film2.jpeg) Photographed by [Elias Talbot](https://www.instagram.com/eliastalbot/?hl=es). [NIIA](https://instagram.com/niiarocco), the urban-noir artist, has spent the last ten years finding her unique soundscape of contemporary yet nostalgic jazz that pieces together her personal human deposition. The classically trained pianist and singer, takes a more genuine approach on creating her narrative, emphasizing “craft over hype.”  Taking a brave stance against her instinct to hide, she wrote her confessional sophomore project _II: La Bella Vita_ releasing this Valentine’s Day_,_ which is a continuation of her first album _I._ While her first project highlighted the allure of falling in love, _La Bella Vita_ depicts heartbreak and the feelings that come after.  Not wanting to waste her darkness, NIIA takes her feelings and beautifully turns them into something purposeful.   NIIA gave a taste of her forthcoming project with her release of “Whatever You Got,” where she pairs her velvet like vocals with groovy trip-hop beats to portray her longing for a playful distraction. Her latest single, “Obsession,” is an ode to the Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed,” where NIIA relieves some of her frustration with people emulating her.  Mariah Carey herself blessed the track with her stamp of approval.  With NIIA’s euphoric vocals, lush arrangements, and soulful musings, she invites her listeners to sit in the darkness with her.  Flaunt had the wonderful and enlightening opportunity to connect with NIIA and how she transcends her pain into art.  Photographed by Elias Talbot. ![Photographed by Elias Talbot.](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472bc0d4ce71b9f39d53c0b_FlauntMagazineNIIA.jpeg) Photographed by [Elias Talbot.](https://www.instagram.com/eliastalbot) **Can you describe how your musical journey began?** I come from a really musical family, it was just kind of natural for me to start studying music.  My mom was a piano player, so I was forced to play piano and stuff like that.  I thought that everyone was musical to be honest.  I kind of started with piano and then started singing for my self.  Then, my mom realized that I was a pretty good singer and then it kept going from there.  I have aunts and uncles who went to music school and are opera singers and jazz players.  It was just kind of a natural transition to studying music. I think that as I got older, it was the only thing that made me feel good about myself.  I was a really introverted kid, so playing music and singing was my little outlet.  I went to New York for New School, the conservatory for jazz voice and then the music industry just started revealing itself to me.  I never really got into music to be famous or as a job.  My family’s mantra was craft over hype: the craft over the showmanship side.  Once I learned that I could do this for my life I was like I want to do that.  Then, I moved to LA and kind of just started going for it and learned the showmanship side of what that means, Bringing the craft skill set, but also learning how to be an entertainer and not just standing awkwardly on stage.  **I like how creating is very authentic when you have that mindset.** Yeah, that is what I kind of always thought before going into the scene of the music world.  I realize that there is a lot other things I needed to learn besides just being able to sing very well.  But I’d say my natural progression is always from my family, which is introducing me to music and having music always around. **It sounds like you were always destined to be a musician.** It is funny though because I think back and I am like what did I think I was going to do with this.  I would probably just be a voice teacher and just teach music, which is totally fine. I have given some voice lessons here and there.  It is funny because I was just so immersed in it that I didn’t even really see or think about what my end goal was.  **How would you describe your sound?** I studied classical piano when I was younger and then I kind of switched into jazz because of its freedom. I think that my jazz background had a lot to do with the kind of music I started to write and I think what is important for me is to have my music remind you of the past, but still feel current. It is like pulling from my favorite vocalists and musicians.  I would say it is jazz based, but there is this jazzier female vocal that I am trying to dabble with and include. It’s also what sonically works with my voice and that is where production really plays into it.  The sound of my voice doesn’t really work with all kind of production sounds.  So, it was really honing in on what the drums sound like and having these lush strings that can compliment the tone of my voice and really make some kind of emotional current jazzy R&B. **You have spent over the last decade charting the path towards contemporary urban elegance mixed with future sounds.  Do songs that you made in the earlier stages still connect similarly as they did when you initially wrote them?**  It is funny, because some of the songs from my first album and even my new songs coming out were definitely demos from years ago.  And it’s weird when you realize how long you can work on one song for.  Just because where I started was singing jazz standards, which are about like heart ache and falling in love, I tend to write about feelings all the time is just how my emotions are.  I’ve only grown up singing other people’s sadness. Once it started to be my own music and my own lyrics it kind of carried in because it was all I knew how to sing and emulate.  I think it has always been there and now I’m always aware of it and can lean into it a bit more, while taking risks with my lyrics. Photographed by Elias Talbot. ![Photographed by Elias Talbot.](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472bc0e4ce71b9f39d53c17_FlauntMagazineNIIA.jpeg) Photographed by [Elias Talbot.](https://www.instagram.com/eliastalbot) **What is your inspiration and vision for you up and coming sophomore album, II: La Bella Vita?** I just finished my first album and I was just so anxious and miserable to be honest.  I really wanted to create new music, but I didn’t want to know what it would be about because I was going through a shitty relationship and didn’t know what to say or if was going to be what I talk about.  I went to Italy and brought some players and we made the music first.  I knew I wanted to dig deeper to this Italian cinematic landscape for the music.  I just sat with the music and got annoyed by it because I didn’t know what the direction lyrically was going to be.  At some point I was like, “Fuck it, I’m going to write about what I’m going through.”  It was a lot of stress, pain, and anger.  I think it was kind of cool to find these lush arrangements and add this different narrative with the lyrics.  It was kind of pushing my limits of what I’m used to and getting more comfortable with the lyrics and trying to get the music more like a score in a way.  **As this is a continuation from your first album entitled I, how would you describe your progression in music and as an artist?** In my first album, I didn’t really want to write about falling love, but then again you have to write what you know and I couldn’t not write about it.  This time, the same thing happened, I was miserable and stuck in this relationship and I didn’t know how to get out having all of these feelings of regret, anger, and bitterness.  Everyone is talking about self care and doing your own thing, but how do you do that if you are fucking miserable the whole time or your pissed? It is all about finding the things that everyone feels, but sometimes it is the process. It is finding ways to pull from that and those in between moments and it just kind of happened where this next album naturally became the next level of where I was.  It wasn’t intentional, it just kind of happened.  **What is the narrative behind your upcoming release, “Obsession”?** This one is one of my favorites and I think my coping mechanism through this whole situation and time in my life I use escapism to kind of deal with shit. I think since our world is a scary place right now it felt even harder to write and stay positive especially because my personal relationship was falling apart so eventually when I started writing about how I was feeling I started to feel better.  Obsession to me is where things weren’t great and I started to be annoyed by things that really should matter like being jealous and annoyed by people who were copying me and just more irritable.  So, this track is so fun and bubbly.  And I am always looking towards Mariah Carey for inspiration, who is one of my favorite singers of all time.  A lot of the song reminded me of some of her music and I was like Mariah Carey doesn’t get bothered by anyone or anything.  She is just so fucking cool.  No one pisses her off and she could care less.  So, I kind of took a page out of her book and wrote a song about being annoyed by other people but find a way to do it in a cheeky way.  **How does it feel to have Mariah Carey’s stamp of approval on this track?** I mean, it’s a dream a come true.  It’s bizarre; my mascara would be down my face trying to hit her high notes when I was younger.  It’s really cool and her music is so amazing.  I think that sometimes because she is so talented we don’t really listen to her all her lyrics as much as we should.  She has some really cool lyrics and messages.  The whole concept of someone being obsessed with you whether it’s seriously or petty is so accurate and holds true to now.   Photographed by Elias Talbot. ![Photographed by Elias Talbot.](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472bc0e4ce71b9f39d53c13_FlauntMagazineNIIA.jpeg) Photographed by [Elias Talbot.](https://www.instagram.com/eliastalbot) **What do you hope your listeners will take home with them?** For me, since I have always been shy and introverted, I really struggled with putting myself out there and really sharing myself.  Even visually everything looks so nice and I try to stay mysterious and not play it safe and keep things in a bit more.  With this experience of what I went through and with this album I want people to know I have issues with people copying my stuff too and I can get angry and jealous and be a bitter crazy person.  I think it is true to who I a really am sometimes and I think that’s okay.  I’m trying to be a bit braver, then just showing parts of myself that I would hide to look more put together.  I hope they just kind of see me for what I went through and now I am in a different place which is great, but hopefully they can identify with it.  If people are feeling bitchy or made, go through it.  Because I can’t just put on a mask, listen to Lizzo, and feel great all of the time.  At times we feel like shit and in those moments it’s okay.  Hopefully my music will be what you play when you feel like shit and want to kill someone.  **What track are you immensely proud of?** I think the song that I really love that I am still like I can’t believe I wrote it is a song on my new album called “If You Won’t Marry Me Right Now.”  It was one night in my little makeshift studio where all the lyrics vomited out of me.  I think it is definitely one of my most transparent songs of dealing with what you thought was going to happen and having your whole life thinking that you wanted this and having it not happen and what you do with that feeling.  Vocally, it is just something that I am proud of.  It is a more challenging song to sing, so I am hoping that everyone who thought they were going to get married who is not can hear it and know they are better off.  **What is your process writing like?** I used to try to sit at the piano everyday and just kind of write something, but sometimes I couldn’t even look at the piano.  I think the more drama that was happening in my real life the more that I was stuck to figure out what to write.  I was writing all these really emo notes on my phone, just kind of thoughts poems, or things that rhymed.  When everyone was getting mad because I haven’t turned in one demo, I kind of looked at my phone and saw a whole narrative here.  It was all the shit I didn’t say to my ex boyfriend was angrily written in my phone.  So, I just started pulling from my notes.  Usually it is always music first and then lyrics. That is how it happened, but I think pre-writing was something that I don’t usually do; it usually just happens in the room when we are working on it.  This time I kind of prewrote everything.  It was this emotional narrative on my phone and I just started going back to it and transferred them to song writing style.  Ive been writing without realzing I have been writing.