Tell us about yourself and your music
My name is Nico EL-Bey. Originally born Jordan Moffett. I was born and raised on the East side of a small city called Erie, Pennsylvania. I was adopted at 2 yrs old raised and on a street called Perry. I did 5 years in jail. While in the county I met a guy named P. Spencer. I’ll never forget his name. He was from Philly and had been incarcerated for 12 years at this time. This was in 2013. This dude rapped, sang, wrote books, and designed clothes. Straight talent. We became homies and I remembered he told me, “5 years ain’t long. You gotta find a craft and master it. Make use of this time.” I had never written a song in my life, couldn’t sing a lick, and was horrible at rapping, haha. So I decided to teach myself how to do all that. Every day I practiced songs I knew I couldn’t sing and wrote songs I knew weren’t good at the time but I never gave up. I wrote Fade Away in 2016, haha. And just now getting the chance to let the world hear it. I feel like the best way to describe my music… Fun, but serious. Attractive but ugly in a good way. But most of all… Different. My new EP, called “E60” is out now on all major platforms. And I feel like this is my introduction to the world and I’m extremely excited to start this journey.
Talk to us more about your latest release
My latest project is my first one. The project is called “E60” it’s a short 5 song EP that gives you a little over 15 minutes of ear play. The EP starts with “Fade Away.” You guys should go check out the video on YouTube! But my personal favorite is probably “Holy Ghost.” A smooth R&B vibe with a soulful punch. This song I’m breaking down how much of a spiritual connection I have this woman just off of physically being around her. It’s like I’m falling in love with her aura, you feel me. I just really love the beat. And the lyrics are for sure a vibe. All of my close friends also like “Summah Walk Er.” This song is more of a dark, wavy type of feeling, where I give you 3 minutes of straight bars. I was just showing my versatility in this one. A good song. “Wait On It” is was one of the songs that got the most attention from my team. Damn.. how could I describe this one? I’d say just the hook alone is so catchy to me. It gives off a Caribbean night out vibe, if that makes sense, haha. I chose to cap off the EP with “I’ve Been Told.” Now, this was the first song recorded on the project. I thought I was gonna shoot the first video to this also. But after thinking about it, decided to go a different route. And who knows? Still might shoot a video. When I wrote “I’ve Been Told,” I wanted an anthem in away. I feel like I got it. One of my favorites too honestly! Top to bottom; “E60” is an amazing listen, and on all major platforms now
What inspired you to write this release?
While I working on “E60” I was in a transitioning stage. And to continue to maintain the music I had to keep my head on right or else I would prove everybody right.; that I was gonna mess up again and fall back to the bottom. I know they say you shouldn’t care what people think about you but honestly, everybody does and that’s where we get our motivation from and our inspiration from. You want to be great and you want everybody to see that you became great. It’s just a part of life. You want to show off the things that you’ve earned. What’s the point of getting them if you can’t. I feel like I have this talent, but I’m not the only person in the world with talent, so making it in music would be the last thing everybody expected and I’m just trying to do the unexpected. Most of all take care of the people that I do love!
Describe the writing and recording process
I started writing “E60” in January. It was released on July 3rd. As far as breaking down the writing process. I have written on paper over 500 songs easy. Now as far as finding a top engineer to build the beat with me. I had just moved to Pittsburgh, hadn’t stepped in a booth yet. So my network was wack. So I did what every artist has done and bought the beats online. I just found a beat that caught my attention. Now finding those beats and choosing them was a process in itself. I let the feeling of the beat dictate what I wrote to those songs. If that beat made me think about “her” I wrote something I thought “she” would like. And I mean no specific “she” and that’s the part that makes the writing fun. “She” could be anybody I want. And vice versa for the hip hop and rap songs. The “Summah Walk Er” beat was dark but still hip hop, you feel me. So when I wrote, I wrote nothing but bars. I felt adding thing else would’ve taken away from the feeling I wanted to be perceived by the audience and fans. “Fade Away” was the last song recorded on the EP. But that song was written in 2016 while I was in jail. So I had to build a beat around it. 3 hours in the studio me and my producer built that beat. Recorded. And that was all she wrote!
Any plans to release a video?
As an indie artist, how do you brand yourself and your music to stand out from the rest of the artists out there?
Honestly. Just put a load of money into promotion and network. Network and promotion are key. Because sometimes it’s not even about your talent, it’s about who you know.
Who have you been listening to lately?
I have favorite artists in almost EVERY genre. Can’t even answer that. I’d be going on for days, haha.
Who are your biggest influences?
I’ll have to say a guy named P. Spencer. Don’t even know if that was his real name but he the reason I started making music.
Tell us about your passions
My passion is music. Every part of it. But mainly the writing part. There’s nothing in this world to be more beautiful than writing a good song.
What else is happening next in your world?
Success, peace, and happiness! I’m gonna probably be dropping another video off the “E60” project. And I’m currently working on my next project.
Thanks for an awesome interview, Nico EL-Bey
Connect with Nico EL-Bey
Website: https://album.link/us/i/1521594860Facebook: http://NicoELbeyInstagram: http://nicoelbey814Twitter: http://NicoELBey1LastFM: https://album.link/us/i/1521594860Youtube: http://youtu.be/gPNamAQMP1ELinkedIn: https://album.link/us/i/1521594860Soundcloud: https://album.link/us/i/1521594860Reverbnation: https://album.link/us/i/1521594860
