Nikki Jean

**Nicholle "Nikki" Jean Leary** is an American singer-songwriter. She was the lead vocalist of Philadelphia band Nouveau Riche from 2005-2008 and released her debut studio album, *Pennies in a Jar*, in 2011. She is a frequent collaborator of Lupe Fiasco, appearing across his three studio albums *Lupe Fiasco's The Cool* (2008), *Tetsuo & Youth* (2015), and *Drogas Wave* (2018). In 2008, she embarked as an opening act on the Glow in the Dark Tour alongside Fiasco, Kanye West, Rihanna, and N.E.R.D.

## Background

> I believe people have the power to save their own lives. Whatever you imbrue your dreams with has the power to save your life. To the extent that Hip Hop ever did, it still does. But it's really not what Hip Hop gives to you, but what you put into it is what you're going to get out of it.
>
> Nikki Jean to *AllHipHop*

In 2007, the record producer duo Chris & Drop contacted Jean after hearing her music and introduced her to Fiasco. Afterwards, Lupe contacted her, where she was featured in his single "Hip-Hop Saved My Life," writing the hook. When asked about the inspiration behind it, she responded, "Lupe! He gave me the track and said I want to write the song about this. Write the hook. It was really that. He already knew—he had the whole story of the song mapped out before I even wrote the hook. He was like, here's the track, here's the concept, write the hook and that was it. You gotta give him what he wants." She added about working with artists, "In terms of people in hip-hop to work with, I can't think of anyone whose work I respect more than Lupe's. He's really... The more you see his work, the great conversations, and how his mind works. I really believe he's one of the geniuses of our time."

In 2014, she told *AllHipHop*, "Lupe is an amazing lyricist. He still has amazing concepts. He has to be allowed to grow and change as an artist. Some people will feel that, some people will not." Concerning the collaboration sessions, she explained, "We're both out here in L.A. quite a bit. Lupe recorded a lot of the album here. Every once in a while I would get a text that said, 'Hey can you come to the studio?' It would always be like 'Come to the studio now.' [laughs] I think it just worked out that way. He made a number of amazing tracks. One of my favorite songs is not even going to be on the album. I'm not on it, but I'm sure people will get to hear it in the future. He made so many songs for the album, and it's just kind of the luck of the draw so many of the songs I'm part of made the album. I'm really happy to be part of it." When asked about how she met Ab-Soul, she replied that she listened to Ab beforehand: "I always felt like Ab was really genuine, very smart, and thoughtful. I was really inspired by him. [...] "Drift Away" was a really good song, so I decided to cover it." She continued, "When I started working with Lu again he told me Ab was on the album. I told him, 'I covered one of his songs.' He said, 'I know. He heard it. He liked it.' So then I said, 'So... Lu, you think you could introduce me?' He said, 'Yeah, I'll do that.'"

In another interview, Jean stated, "I was on two songs on *The Cool* and then in 2011 he did a verse for "Million Star Motel" on my album *Pennies in a Jar* [...] but we were friends the whole time. I only make music with my friends, I never want to be pimped out as a hook girl, so when people ask me to work with them I'm always like, 'Are we friends?' 'Well we could be friends' I'm like okay, when we are [friends] then I'll do it. But sometimes you become friends with someone then you're like, 'Aw, now I have to do a hook'. So Lu blessed the project for me and I love working with him, he's one of my favorite all-time collaborations."

## Gallery

**nikkijean**: "My friend and champion @LupeFiasco .. it's your birthday everyday with me. I'm grateful for your presence in the world and in my life. May you continue to thrive and our work continue to be blessed."
* February 16, 2019
* Twitter

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kyles, Yohance (December 17, 2014). "EXCLUSIVE: Nikki Jean Talks New EP, Working With Lupe Fiasco & Ab-Soul + Hip Hop's Role In Changing People's Lives". *AllHipHop*.
2. ↑ "Who Is Nikki Jean? 8 Things To Know About Lupe's Secret Weapon". *WatchLOUD*. March 10, 2015.
3. ↑ "Exclusive Interview with Nikki Jean (Part 2)". *Blogspot*. March 1, 2009.
4. ↑ Wolf, Teagan (June 1, 2018). "Interview with Nikki Jean". *WMXM*.
5. ↑ "Nikki Jean (nikkijean)". *Twitter*. February 16, 2019.