We were lucky to catch up with Nayan Kessee recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Nayan, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Our mission is to make quality content and products that promote our brand of growth and evolution in street fashion, and gang culture. Our mission is to take our story and make it global. We plan to be the biggest label in terms of cultural impact and album sales.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Nayan Keezy is a premier hip hop artist with top grade lyrical skills and in depth and detailed bars about street life, fashion, and business. Top Side Entertainment is the recording label started by friends and family from Inglewood specifically Morningside park or Crenshaw section of the city. We have sold products from clothing to music. I started writing music at 14, then I stop writing and just began to freestyle all my music. After going to prison from 2006-2016, Nayan Keezy wrote over 500 songs, most of which were confiscated by the police, forcing him to start over when got released. All products are focused around the Top Side brand, and promote the luxurious lifestyle of successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs. We have accumulated over 85k subscribers on YouTube, over 40k followers on Spotify and 18k followers on SoundCloud. Instagram has been a struggle due to his page being deleted from rap beefs, but with his latest endorsement from HBCU Howard, the Inglewood native is looking to take on a more professional image and not engage into rap beef. With 3 projects all streaming millions, he is sure to make a huge impact on the music industry.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My first project was set to drop 11-22-2020. At the beginning of the year I made up my mind that this would be the year I start my music career. I had several songs with over 100k views and a music video that hit 1M in its first 3 months of release. Cash Money West is a label founded by Birdman and Wack 100. Cash Money West A&R Pooh Ridah took interest into my following at the time which was 75k on Instagram, and also my attention to detail in music, having the lyrics that painted the dark picture of street life. With multiple songs doing numbers on YouTube and Spotify the pair seemed like the next underground hip hop movement to take success mainstream. Unfortunately in August of 2020 Pooh Ridah was murdered at a party he was attending with some friends from Top Side, the Inglewood label and movement. The loss sent a terrible message to artist looking to build with Ridah, and the sorrow was felt throughout the music industry in Los Angeles. With no management, no A&R, and no real connection to Cash Money West, the artist was left to fend for himself or stop making music. Chaun Don who is the younger cousin of Pooh Ridah took a liking towards the young MC which led to several meetings at Atlantic records with former Atlantic A&R Gary Leone who failed to sign him. Even though he didn’t get signed to any major, he consistently dropped project after project and took his YouTube channel to almost 90k subscribers from 15k when he initially started in 2020. He has also been enrolled in college full time earning a total of 4 college degrees. He started college in prison and earned a total of 3 degrees while attempting 7 college degrees at the same time between 2 colleges. He managed to get accepted into a university from prison while being incarcerated on a max level 4 270 prison yard where he spent his last 3.5 years of being locked up at. Through all this adversity he has managed to succeed and lead by example on how being resilient can help you reach success even when it’s not immediately available.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I had to unlearn is there will always be someone better or bigger than you. I had to unlearn the fear and comfort that it’s no need to try and fail because it’s always someone who will do it right. When I was sitting in prison I realized I could be the best, I could be the biggest. I learned that no matter what someone else has done it’s always a way to go beyond that. If you place limits on yourself out of intimidation you don’t give it your all and never reach your potential. If you have no limits and have no fears or insecurities about your capabilities you attack with everything knowing that you are the example and there is no one better or bigger coming to take your place. The only person taking your place is you when you break the records you set. I unlearned that it was people better than me because I learned how to be the best version of me. It’s going to take a whole lot to top that guy.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @nayanthekeyzz
- Facebook: Nayan Kessee
- Twitter: @nayanthekeyz
- Youtube: Nayan Keezy Top Side
- Soundcloud: Nayan Keezy
