Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to E. Nikk Halliday. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
E. Nikk, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Risk Taking was an option on the table when no other options were available. Coming from a envirnoment where financial hardships were common, in my eyes the only way to get past such and stand out were by taking Risks.
Most Folks may not have agreed with the risk i took to get where i am today, but they were all strategized in preparation for the next step. I’ve been so focused on my goals since the age of 19, I’m 31 years now and still going strong. All of the risk i took in my lifetime had meaning to them, As an Engineer/Creative I’ve Strategized most of my life. The best part about this is when your vision actually play out the way you planned. Overtime, I’ve managed to earn the name “De Mogul” from my immediate peers, They’ve witness me build business, make legal and illegal plays to pay for my music career that still goes on til this day. So Risk Taking is no stranger to me.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
First Of, I’m a dreamer. I believe that anything is attainable through consistency, Discipline for the timely Input, and Self Motivation. Those are the Core Values that I operate on. I believe that applying those 3 Core Values to my daily live is what allowed “E. Nikk” to be born. Although I am not where I want to be yet to say i can ‘take a rest’. I am highly confident that I’m closer than I was last year. So am an Ambitious Introvert with dreams that i want to bring to life. Somehow I become more vocal about life when I’m in the studio, and i considered that a weird phenomenon. The music I create is completely different from most of these American Hip Hop Artist, and a big factor that contribute towards this is, I Rap in my Accent. StriaghtUp! I feel like this uniqueness displays the ultimate rare form of myself in comparison to others. My choice of topics is something else that stand out about my creative work. From rapping about Indentured Servitude on Student Loans all the way to down to a females emotional intelligence vs a Male Logical Intentions are just some of the board yet captivating topics that i vocalize in my music. I am most proud about being able to Juggle and Build a successful clothing line while still making a name for my self in the music industry. This required lots of personal time that took away from friendship i couldve gained. But it was a necessary sacrifice. I am currently the CEO of DreamNLive, LLC a floruishing brand in the caribbean, Specifically the US Virgin Island and St Kitts. I am still trying to climb this mountain of success but at times I look back and try to be proud of what my self and my team has built.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
A story from my journey that illustrates my resilience, is when i first started doing music. I had no one that believed in me. Mainly because of my Intellectual ability and my educational background. So lots of folks immediately categorized me as one who IS NOT a creative. I dealt with lots of difficulties, many of which includes; producers that were not willing to feed me beats without overcharging me. Individuals to Mix and Master my music, No one to help me promote/market, No one took me seriously. I was completely frustrated going from person to person looking for help, asking for help. Until one day, I decided I going to do it ALLLLLLLL by myself. So, I decided to stop recording music for a couple years and started learning how to produce my own beats, from there I thought myself how to mix my own music, afterwards I eventually thought myself how to master my own music. This was the greatest investment I’ve made on myself. It took me about 2-3 years to fully get it all down pack but the most difficult part during that period was not being demotivated. All this time i was still building my own clothing line. Fast Forward Years later now. I am now releasing all of my own music, I write, produce, mix, master, market my own craft. This way i feel really in tune with what i created. Now in 2023, the same individuals who refused to work with me 6 years ago, who refused to give me a helping hand is now contacting me as I am in process of gaining my own wave since I’ve built my own foundation with own sound.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I believe that non-creative will struggle to understand the feeling of bashment or neglect. I Imagine 90% of Non-Creatives has a boss they have to answer to, lets say 40% of those work in an office like setting. The best way for them to understand this is if their boss tell them to create a presentation which took them 4-5 days to complete. Their boss would only watch about 30 sec of the presentation before provide negative heavy critique without fully allowing the presenter to go through the entire presentation, much less having a care of how much time went into creating that presentation. This is what i believe to be the a perfect analogy for non creative to understand what creatives sometimes go through. From taking all the hours to record a song and even more hours if you took the part i did, where i mix and master my own music just for the end result to be individuals turning a blind eye without taking the time to actually listen.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dreamnliveclothing.com
- Instagram: enikk211
- Twitter: enikk211
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@enikk211
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd2HjzN7jUk