I woke up this morning feeling great. I'm in better shape than I was for my video shoot, and I have another week to get it looking even better before I leave for the Grammies. AND I had a great talk with my manager about my future. AND For the first time since I started working with my trainer Candy, I'm not SO sore after my workout that it hurts to move. AND as if all those things weren't enough to ensure that my day kicks ass in a wicked way, I got a call from a writer for Vyne Magazine today... they want to do an article on me! Sigh. Its one of those rare days when being me actually feels like it's paying off :op
Lately I've been reminding myself to stop and smell the roses. It's hard, because I'm always moving and rushing. However, I think I need to slow down and enjoy this part of my life, because the "burgeoning" part of an artist's career only happens once. I haven't been a starving artist for a long time, but I was an UNKNOWN artist for years. Now that I'm getting a little recognition, it feels great. But adjusting to the changes that are happening in my life as a result is the most challenging part, I think. I have exactly 7 days before I go to LA for my Grammy party performance. This is going to be great for my career. I'd better hurry up and adjust.
I can remember a time when I couldn't get press to do a review of one of my projects to save my life. I had a mixtape hosted by Lupe Fiasco a few years ago (it was bad ass) and the press feedback on it trickled in SOOO slow. At the time, I attributed my inability to get coverage to me being "slept on" and misunderstood, because that was around the time people were saying "Hey Nikki, I don't want to get involved with your project because you're not urban enough." But now, I get an inquiry from a media outlet every week. I now know that it's difficult for press to cover an artist that doesn't have much going on, and at the time doing commercials and ghostwriting was all that I was doing. It feels good to be in a position where writers want to help me tell my story :o)
But anyway...
I got a call from Vyne Magazine and I'm meeting with one of their writers today to do an interview. The way that he heard of me was crazy. He asked somebody who's opinion he respected "Who;s hot on the music scene in Chicago?" And that person said that someone he knows who works for Sony told him about me, so he looked me up and actually dug my music. How awesome is that??? The writer who I spoke to is SUPER cool, and I'm really geeked about the interview. I've been checking out
their site, and I am really impressed. You know those douche baggy little fashion websites that mingle political issues and world events with over styled "fashion statements" that are really just well presented blow jobs to their advertisers? Well, Vyne Mag is the opposite. They have good writing, the articles are an interesting read. The fashion isn't just played up versions of current trendy shit, either. So I'm honored that an actual cool lifestyle/fashion mag wants to cover me :o) I feel uber cool, in spite of the fact that I still use the word uber.
Lately, my talks with my business manager have begun to make a definite shift toward me touring and doing more shows over seas. Because he manages several big name artists and has been doing so for years, he knows those markets well. We've recently had to deal with some true fuckery. So as soon as I finish my album he's getting me out of Chicago ASAP. LOL. Doing business here can sometimes be a drag. Since the entertainment industry here doesn't have a well established collective sense of business, people tend to treat artists like disposable, interchangeable hump toys. My manager isn't from Chicago, and he hates having to deal with things that are petty and not lucrative. We're still negotiating the terms for my contract with the label, and he's handling the rest of my business in Chicago as well. He's SO over it. I'm glad I have him, because heaven knows I got tired of dealing with the bullcrap all alone.
It feels good to be me today. I have exactly one week before the label flies us out to do the Grammy events and the show at the party. I'm still not "excited" about it yet, but I'm in a positive place. That's a start, right? On days like this, I have a song that I listen to that I consider to be my theme song. I recorded it a long time ago at Slang Music Group with Vince Lawrence. We never released it, but it's still one of my favorites. It's called Into the Light, it's been my anthem for years. Hopefully it will move you, too.
Good luck at your grammy party performance!