Nikki Jean is a hip hop artist through and through, but her music may not always appear that way from a distance. A singer/songwriter who got her start in the extended family of the legendary Roots crew as a member of the band Nouveau Riche, Nikki’s big breakthrough came when she wrote and sang the hook on Lupe Fiasco’s hit single “Hip Hop Saved My Life” in 2007. She’s collaborated with Lupe throughout his career ever since, but that was only the beginning for her. Her debut solo album ‘Pennies in a Jar’ put her in the co-writing chair with over 30 members of the American Songwriting Hall of Fame, including Carole King, Burt Bacharach, Lamont Dozier, Carly Simon, Thom Bell, and Barry Mann, and she’s kept busy ever since, most recently releasing her Beautiful Prison on her hometown of Minneapolis’s powerhouse indie label Rhymesayers Entertainment. Songs covered in this episode:

"Hands Up" ('Champagne Water,' 2014)

"Hip Hop Saved My Life" (Lupe Fiasco 'The Cool,' 2007)

"Red Black & Blue (2012 Tulip St. Demo)" ('Beautiful Prison,' 2019)

"People and Planes" ('Beautiful Prison,' 2019)

"Madonna (And Other Mothers in the Hood)" (Lupe Fiasco 'Tetsuo & Youth,' 2015)

"How To Unring a Bell" ('Pennies in a Jar,' 2011)

"Take You Out" (2013)

Nikki Jean:

nikkijean.com

instagram.com/seandammit

twitter.com/seandammit

instagram.com/thequestionshiphop

Email: [email protected]

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