We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Nixon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Taylor, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Growing up, my parents have always tried their best to place me in the right programs around the right people and in safe environments. My mother especially has worked tirelessly to provide for me and my twin brother. She made sure we had whatever we needed and wanted. Circumstances forced my mother to be independent, resilient and self sufficient which I wish she didn’t always have to be. Like a mother would, she quickly sacrificed her interests and pleasures to make sure we had school supplies, clothes, basketball dues, AAU dues, graduation dues and more. She has definitely instilled in me the power of hardwork and diligence.

My father has done a great job supporting me throughout my life. Every interest I took to, he would support. I remember when I told him I wanted to play basketball and he took me to the neighborhood court. My jumper was horrible. I was so awkward handling a ball but he said “we’ll work on it.” Although him and I didn’t work on it as much as I would have liked to, I still managed to play division 2 woman’s basketball by my freshman year of college. Progress was definitely made. The same is for music. I told my dad I wanted to be a singer when I was 7, so he went to the library and bought me books on how to sing and write. Obviously that goal of becoming a singer has transformed in to rap. The point is, he’s always been ready and willing to support me. When I’m discouraged or down, he finds a way to send random messages encouraging me. I won’t even have to tell him that I’m discouraged. It’s like he can feel it because the messages always come when I need them the most.

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

The best word I could use to describe myself would be curious. I am curious about God, music history, education, microeconomics, macroeconomics, entrepreneurship, media, music production, human connection, healing family trauma, human behavior and so much more. I express this curiosity and my findings through music. At the age of 20, I uprooted from my hometown of Columbus, OH leaving friends, family and everything I’ve known to resettle in Atlanta. Here I began to connect and build my brand within the music scene. After 7 years of internal and external wars, I finally finished my education at Georgia State University this past Summer 2022. Starting out, it was very rough. I tried to prevent taking out additional private student loans so I opted to stay with relatives in Atlanta.

I experienced many challenges financially, socially and physically including not having transportation to and from school. I would ride my bike to the bus station to catch MARTA. The bus would take me to the train station where I would catch it and take it downtown to school. I did this every weekday to be present for my classes. I did not have money for food so I would bring tote bags to GSU with me and visit their food pantry, weekly, to stock up on toiletries, canned goods, feminine products and more. The bags were very heavy so I would place them on my handlebars which made it harder to steer but my backpack was usually on my back so I had no other choice.

Despite these hardships, music served as an escape for me. I made a few connections within the city and was able to get my foot in a few studios. I networked with individuals who I then went on to collaborate with. I have built relationships, lost them, built more, lost those and am still building. A lot of my failure in business relationships was due to being around individuals who didn’t have my best interest. There are a lot of sharks in the music industry and being in Atlanta by myself, I had no protection, no guidance. I was very naive and trusting and unfortunately a lot of people took advantage of that. Throughout all of this, I have managed to remain poised as well as build impeccable character and resiliency. Life’s blows have challenged my sense of integrity and curious nature but I am still the same little girl that came to Atlanta to pursue her dreams. Of course I am much wiser, stronger, business savvy and protected now. But I am very proud of my tenacity and resiliency. My music is not about sharing it to the world. I only share it because I figured I could help someone with my story. My music has and continues to be a surviving mechanism for me without having to turn to alcohol, sex or drugs. I turn every heartache into a song. I turn every loss into a melody. I express my discontent for my circumstances through each verse. I don’t care if people don’t like what I have to say or expect me to create more upbeat music. My music is heavy and I know this. But, it is my truth and it resonates with my soul. That’s what matters and my commitment to that is what I am most proud of. I hope to make more upbeat music in the future, but for now, I am still healing and releasing music that reflects that is ok.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to create music that is real in a world where “real” seems to be fleeting. Kids don’t play outside anymore. Gaming is the new playground. Daily human interaction is being replaced by robots, machines and technology. Mainstream hip-hop is saturated with clout, wannabes, egotistic, narcissistic amateurs with little respect for life or the culture. My journey has been hard because I am real. My road has been that much more treacherous. My nights have been that much more lonely. Especially as a black woman, I am tried everyday. I could easily go make a couple million on only fans right now and compromise myself and what I represent. I could easily sleep with someone and be the next “big thing” but that is not my purpose. I am here to represent for the real ones who still exist. We are tired, weary and drained. People need to know that someone exists that will tell their story because their story is real and they live it everyday. The other stuff is fleeting with time. Impacting someone’s life in a positive way is a memory that will last forever. That and the need to express myself is the only reason why I continue on this creative journey. This is something you have to be willing to do without receiving anything in return. Real doesn’t always sell the most records or get the most recognition.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is witnessing your creation. I say this all the time, but having a vision and seeing it through are two totally different skillsets and require different things. As a creative, I am in the business of dreaming and implementing that dream over and over again. God visits me in my dreams and shows me all these events. My dreams are like movies and they inspire me to create. Ideas flow to me and I know they are not my own because they are just too damn good. This is the most rewarding aspect of being a creator is being a conduit for ideas and inspiration that can only come from God. I get to be the vehicle for transporting a message or an idea or a concept and it never gets old because God never runs out of ideas. I also have been gifted with the willpower, patience and skillset to execute these dreams and ideas and that to me is the closest thing to magic in this world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mailchi.mp/6796817286c5/taylornixonmusic
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamtaylornixon/?hl=en
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamtaylornixon?lang=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuK7fqtx9GrykH_8ISWq-Ng
• Other: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Q5DlkcWgksF5eADAW74NX?si=e7u0K3_AQU21nKlHPDQgMg&nd=1 Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/taylor-nixon-996623458?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Image Credits
Phillip Swaray Kyle Nathan