We were lucky to catch up with Nathalie Noboa recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nathalie, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

The best investment I have made starts at funding my artist development throughout these past 10 years or so. However, it definitely took a combination of both time and money to invest in my learning.

Let’s start at the beginning, raw talent, no experience, and no training, the years were ahead of me and in my favor.
Gaining experience out on the field was a journey for sure. Often women go through an unacceptable amount of gatekeeping and being objectified to reach their goals. I too had my challenges within a predominantly man-governed and high-risk environment that we call the music industry. Let’s just say I didn’t know that getting a return on this investment was going to take insane amounts of sweat and tears. I began at 19 to attend open mics all around the city and sort of intern for the open mic hosts, to gain industry knowledge. I wanted to show others I had what it takes to be an artist. I would continue to attend all sorts of open mics for years to come, as well as start to gain connections with working musicians and artists of all sorts from around the globe who decided to make NYC home.
Over the years I would visit and still do take plenty of trips to Atlanta, and Los Angeles to connect and network. None, the less many cold, hot, and tired nights I would make the sacrifice of practicing stage presence and performance until the talent became undeniable and others wanted to build with me. This not only helped me grow as a musician in my hard skills but also in soft skills such as discernment and confidence in my abilities to attract healthier like-minded creators. This would serve as a very important pillar in my artistic development and led me to many more opportunities throughout the years.
Training my voice, and songwriting was huge. I began the investment of my time and money at the age of 20 when I would take my first official vocal lessons with an amazing ex-med student and Julliard graduate. There I began to learn how to truly control, nurture, and harness the power of my voice. I would go on to train my body to move by singing as well and taking dance lessons of all kinds from mentors in the house scene. I would later return to these lessons and take up a big writing workshop where I would be voted most improved, and it affirmed to me and my classmates that for me this was no hobby. In the spring of my writing camp, I was 25 and wrote hundreds of songs in a matter of weeks, I practiced daily with my classmates and attended more open mics where I began to become extremely well-known as a great freestyle writer and vocalist. It began to be hard to tell for others if I rehearsed, but the truth is I didn’t, no song was the same, I had begun to master channeling the moment and using any subject to story tell in the timing of the live bands. This was again, day-in and day-out dedication. I even used my savings to take 3 months off and study every single day speeding up my skills by years. The reality of the work life is that it can consume portions of the time you’d rather be practicing, so I kept my bills lower and kept training. That was a huge deal, and I feel the rewards of it to this day.

I learned many lessons from the snapshot I am sharing in this interview.

Some of the most important ones are never settle. There’s a reason why you burn deep for something.

Trust your visions and continue to comb through connections until the alignment is undeniable.

Obviously, I want you to Invest in yourself!! We don’t always have tons of money, I surely didn’t, but we have will. Apply for all the resources you can find in school, your city, and our government.

You deserve a fighting chance, and for that, you’ll need to have to fight, ironically.

Over the last 10 years, I spent almost 100k in investing in a better me and surely more than 10,000 hours in a better creative me! That includes getting my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology minor in Marketing, studio sessions, trainings, production of the songs & visuals, caring for my mind and body, travels to events, and more! For a young girl on her own that was an insane amount of money, but here we are, growing and feeling more in our skin than ever!

I want to close this out with a huge thank you to the Canvas Rebel team for choosing me to be who they asked these very thought-provoking questions.

Cheers,
NOBOA

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hey there!

My name is Noboa I am a Singer/Songwriter, Creative Entrepreneur, and CEO of Neptune by NOBOA a scented candle brand.

I was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Raised by Dominican immigrant grandparents, who were teachers on the Board of Education by day and Entrepreneurs by necessity during the end of the day and weekends. I have a deep love for her New York heritage and for furthering my knowledge of being a positive and impactful artist throughout my career.

Raised by a community of Teachers, Social Workers, and Healers, for me, the development of my career as an Artist has been rooted in mind, body, and spiritual wellness for myself and my community. For this very same reason, I focused my studies on Psychology and Marketing not only in college but previously to my degree. Additionally, I have studied eastern philosophies such as Yoga and taught at a girl’s group home in the Bronx before returning to music.

As a singer, I have been described to have agile vocals and melodic inclinations that were influenced by my earlier year of listening to a meld of musical genres.

Artists such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Shakira, Alicia Keys, Donna Summers, Tony Braxton, Beyonce, Amy Winehouse, Gilberto Santarosa, Fela, La India, and too many more made their mark in my musical taste.

I desire to fuse “the message with the movement”, desiring to create an audience of supporters who enjoy dance and performance-embedded music.

Furthermore, I embrace my Afro – Latina and New York culture to deliver warm and dynamic recordings.

I began to perform and sing at the age of 3. I have performed on stages such as The Apollo, Nublu, Bowery Electric, The Shrine, Sourmouse, Baby Brasa, and more.

I recently released a funky dance track, called “AWAY”, on December 9th, 2022, and I can’t wait to share more with you guys this year!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noboa___/
Listen to my latest single “Away”: https://ffm.to/noboa
Artist Websites: Thenoboa.com
Candle Website: Neptunebynoboa.com

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Pivoting is a lesson within itself.

As an Entrepreneur, you have to understand how to distribute energy. You often do so much on your own, you really have to understand when to let something go.

Story time:

It’s during the pandemic it’s 2021 and I am participating in a weekly residency at a very popular venue at the time. The venue and I had been working together for almost a year now. Unfortunately, the budget wasn’t enough to meet the needs of my team and I at the time. At this point, I decided it was time to accept that this was costing us energy, time, and money. I was still completing my degree, managing my candles, and performing at the same time. It was a lot, I also had to manage my media and communications on a daily, and I was exhausted. I would go on to end the show in 2022 fall and begin focusing my energy on finishing the final semester of my degree, graduating successfully in December 2022, and walking in May 2023.

After graduating I actually focused the rest of the beginning of the 2023 winter on setting up myself to return to recording by resting and enjoying my life again, I stopped anything outside of my recovery that included candles.

Shortly after this big break, during this spring after much-needed rest and recovery, I would go on to begin a more suited residency with a less mentally taxing setup for my life. I kept this residency for the summer, and by the fall returned to recording tons of inspiring songs with a new and refreshed feel.

Additionally, I ran an Airbnb for the summer and enjoyed travels to places like Jamaica, Cuba, and Los Angeles, while covering costs back at home!

The real lesson here was to pivot without attaching negative connotations to yourself. I am happy to inform your music has grown immensely and candles are slowly making their return, as are performance options, and thanks to my pivot it’s all continuing to evolve in quality, so happy I chose self-love. Do not judge yourself, things take time, and sometimes need time to breathe.

Pivot, pivot, pivot! It shows strong adapting skills, and it’s a true sign of a wonderful Entrepreneur in my opinion!

Cheers,
NOBOA

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Inspiring others makes this journey worth it.

When I see how the music, posts, and my words, and my moves impact others I feel a sense of being where I am supposed to be. When another does not feel alone and can see who they want to be in me or a reflection of themselves through me, that relatability is drive. We both feel seen now.

Additionally, adding dimension to the lives of others and showing what’s possible continues to have a very big impact on me. I am very full when I see myself and those I work with supersede their expectations on projects.

I hope I inspire brown humans and marginalized communities of all kinds to walk with confidence and stand in their essence knowing they are enough and deserve to be loved, may they go big! You’re not alone, I’m rooting for you!!

Cheers,
NOBOA

Contact Info:

• Website: Thenoboa.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noboa___/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/THENOBOA/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noboahaus/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NOBOA___
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NOBOA___
• Other: Scented Candles: Neptunebynoboa.com