The first thing you notice about Nakkia Gold is her infectious smile and enthusiasm for life. It’s not the surface-level pseudo-positivity that seems almost inescapable in Los Angeles, the kind of social media spirituality that haunts your Instagram feed. It’s a soulful joy for existence cultivated by hard work, struggles, victories, and a conscious choice to see the sunny side of life.
When asked how she stays so positive in an industry that has tested the resolve of so many, Nakkai confidently stated, “I don’t let other people’s judgment or their motives and intentions curve what I really want to do… I feel like if it’s something that I want to do I will tell somebody a hundred million times until they believe me.”
“Give me the rules so I can break them and show you and prove to you that it could be done”
Born and raised in the Crenshaw district as well as in the church, Nakkia was constantly surrounded by culture and music. Crenshaw is home to the historic Leimert Park District and one of Los Angeles’ largest Juneteenth celebrations, as well as Nipsey Hussle, Dom Kennedy, ConradFrmDaAves, and more – making it one of the cultural hubs for the black community in LA. Like many black musicians, Nakkia’s upbringing in the church is what solidified her choice to pursue music. Beginning as a songwriter, Nakkia built a name and reputation for herself and became a writer of choice for Saban Records. Saban Records bought into her vision and signed Nakkia as an artist, her first single being, “Justice” featuring Wiz Khalifa and Bob Marley.
“Me and my partner Jinx, we sat down, we wrote the song, and we sent it into Saban Records and they were like, ‘We love the record and we want to release it,’” explains Nakkia.
“So I was like, ‘Yes we’re going to get a record release, we don’t know who gonna sing it but this is so cool.’”
Later, while on a Zoom Call to discuss the song, Nakkia got the news that changed her life forever.
“We were on the zoom call with Haim Saban. He said, ‘Well we want to release it with your voice on it,’ and I was like, ‘Oh I just only wanted to write.’ So I sat there and I took a deep breath and I was like, ‘okay yeah sure let’s do it!’
…. and that’s when life really began. It was like a turning point for me.”
Her new single “Energy,” featuring Pink $weats, is part of a 9-song tape Nakkia is releasing in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning production group 1500 or Nothing. The tape was created in 2 weeks, with sessions every night, with multiple records being composed each night. The record “Energy” is a reflection of the positive attitude that Nakkia carries with her everywhere she goes.
“I want to take people out of the depression and the feeling that they might be in right now. Get out of the regular world and show people that we have control of our brains. What we want to think, what we want to do we – can do. We just think small, you gotta think big.”
Stream “Energy” below.
