Nia Andrews

With a disparate range of influences and a reverence for crafted storytelling, Los Angeles-born singer/songwriter nia andrews embodies a disarmingly honest sound. An emotive voice lilts with her jazz and soul roots and high-caliber lyricism divulges the greats she reveres: Joni Mitchell, Prince… Her live shows penetrate audiences with a musical style that paints a dreamy world; it’s sometimes audacious, at times moody, and always unexpected. nia andrews has been a maverick from her earliest of years, balancing a love of music and writing. As a youngster she absorbed jazz, soul and hip-hop, learning to play piano by ear. The self-taught musician was sponsored by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, hiding the fact she couldn’t read notes. This incited an inner battle between her raw talent and lack of classical training until she finally succumbed to the latter rival, hastily abandoning music altogether. Hoping to transfer her passion for playing to a different set of keys, nia embraced writing. Her first published works were featured in The Fader Magazine. Later, as a treatment writer, directors clamored for nia’s prolific ideas. Her concepts directly resulted in multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and launched visuals for countless recording artists and internationally-recognized commercial brands. But her love of music could not be quelled. Taking a position as creative assistant to three-time Grammy winning recording artist, Common, after just one month of touring her passion delivered when nia swapped behind-the-scenes duties for the microphone in Common’s live band, becoming his first ever background singer. Reigniting her love for music with a surprisingly new instrument – her voice – within a year nia’s talent was recognized and she performed as a background vocalist for Mary J. Blige at the 2007 Grammy Awards, and for eight-time Grammy winner Lauryn Hill for her 2007 Brazil and Europe Tours. Never one to rest on laurels, since then nia has either written for, recorded, toured and/or performed with artists including Big Boi, B.o.B, Bruno Mars, Joi Starr (Kanye West), Marie Daulne (Zap Mama), Shafiq Husayn (Sa-Ra Creative Partners), and industry-insider darling, Timothy Bloom, creating a growing buzz on LA’s music scene. Her debut performance as a solo artist in July 2010 at Angel’s Piano Bar in Santa Monica pulled an impressive record draw for the new venue. Other recent credits include: Background vocalist for recording artist Janelle Monae (2011 Grammy Awards and 2011 Europe Tour); Featured vocalist/songwriter with producer/recording artist Mark de Clive-Lowe (Renegades album, Tru Thoughts/EMI); Creative Director for recording artist Common (Universal Mind Control album, Interscope/Geffen); Featured artist for Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tape series (2009). nia is currently collaborating with Golden Globe nominated songwriter, Andrea Remanda and producer, Deron Johnson (Miles Davis, Alanis Morrisette, Seal) on her debut album… Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.