She may appear to have just suddenly burst onto our screens and eardrums but this Princess has been around for a while. The north Londoner first started her assault on the music scene in 2004 but started off rapping and accidently turned into a singer. ‘It’s funny because I used to say I’m never going to sing, I’m a rapper,’ she says with a giggle. ‘I thought I was Lil’ Kim. But then I joined a group called G-Fam in 2005 and we were working on an album. They told me that if you sing the hooks now and then we’d get a vocalist to sing it after and they didn’t. So when we did shows I was forced to sing but it built up my confidence.’
With her confidence built and singing not a challenge anymore it’s interesting to hear that she also felt that there were no differences to the experiences or obstacles between male and female artists. ‘The only difficulty being a female as opposed to being a male artist is when I go to performances I have to make sure I have someone to go with me. It’s really important that you have a chaperone with you or someone to accompany you. I don’t really look at people as female or male artists I just look at us as artists together.’
With the track Frontline resonating across the clubs in the UK and Europe and her star status rising, it’s fair to ask is she not worried about becoming a one hit wonder. ‘The only thing you can do to not become a one hit wonder is to do yourself and not try to do what is happening right now. All along my music career I’ve still stayed true to myself and I’m doing music I like. That’s the only thing you can do really focus on what you enjoy and keep doing you.’
Influenced by the likes of Nina Cherry, Salt ‘N’ Pepper and genre’s such as 80s pop. Princess Nyah is definitely one of the UK artists to watch out for in the coming years.
When speaking about her track Frontline you can see how happy she is to be able to make music and the music she likes. However, the Frontline is not just a song but an actual location her office in Seven Sisters. This location is not only where she handles her music career but also two clothing lines. ‘One of my best friends and I used to travel twice a year to New York. We saw the Billionaires Boys Club t-shirts and we were like they’ve always got cool stuff for guys and they don’t have anything to empower women. We decided we wanted to design Billionaires Girls Club t-shirts for ourselves and then we got loads of interest so we turned it into a business. Now instead of just having a t-shirt we have a social networking site that is exclusive to ladies and it’s called B-girls club.’
Princess Nyah is an excitable and determined individual and she has now expanded her clothing brand to include a second line called Binghi’s Boutique. With an ever progressing music career and a jam packed live performance schedule it seems that the 27-year-old Harlesden native is an unstoppable force. Being surrounded by strong family relationships keeps her grounded and very humble and left plenty of room for her to develop her career even further. ‘Growth I think is really really important. Especially with anything you do if you don’t have room to grow you almost put yourself at the top of your game and then where would you be reaching too.’
Nyah’s Crazy, Sexy, Cool answers
Name something crazy, sexy and cool about yourself?
Crazy – My bubberly personality, anyone who spends more than 10mins with me will agree!
Sexy – My tutu and corset everyone always loves them
Kool – The Minx i get done on my nails its just the best
What’s really cool about your music?
Something thats cool is my willingness to explore something new and try stuff perhaps others wont!
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done?
I’m boring Denise lol, nah the craziest thing i have done is ride a vespa in the dead of winter for a music video.I nearly got knocked over and nearly got crushed by a van. I thought riding a ped in Napa was the same! NO it wasnt lol.
Princess Nyah’s single Big Boys is out on 28th September taken from her forthcoming EP Diary of a Princess. www.myspace.com/nyahprincess or www.binghisboutique.com
Words by Denise Kodia