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NIKARA

@nikaramusic

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NIKARA presents Black Wall Street
The Queen of Kings County album out NOW! 🌃BROOKLYNBORN
ComposerVibraphonistEducator
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It’s out! I honestly am a bit in shock, but in a totally good way. The Queen of Kings County is my love letter to Brooklyn, from the eyes of a Brooklyn native. I first and foremost wanna thank the band for just caring enough to put your time in. Thanks so much to @coco__sanchez , @chillthrill89 , @axeltoscaofficial , @d_frazier , @lo__qi , and @alonzo.demetrius . Huge thanks to @hailey_niswanger who also plays with us, but lives on the other coast now. I asked her to send me a few horn tracks for the string parts I wrote for the interludes and she sent me like 30 tracks per song. I have to thank @kjfromva for being honestly one of the best managers and support systems. Her care, her organization, her willingness to keep pushing easily makes her one of the music industry’s best kept secrets. Thanks to @switchhitrecords for believing in me. Hugest thanks to @theofficialcarlosalomar who was so gracious with his time and his effort mixing and exec producing. Thank you to my grandfather, the maestro, the masterful @kennybarron for brining one of my songs to life along with @e.j.strickland and @tamirbass .
Huge thank you to @jamescaseysax , #AylaCobbCasey and @nozomi._______ for allowing us to play and record a tune that helped me hold onto the music at a pretty dark time when I moved back to Brooklyn from Boston. We lost a huge pillar in the music community when James departed and during the times I just wanted to give up, I thought about him and his persistence and love for the music, which was so serious that he continued to make music through his illness. Please check out his record The Kaui project. For James, I’ll be donating a portion of what I make on this album to The Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists in memory of James Casey. Big thanks to @dane.zone for mastering this for me in like record time at a time when I was like crazy stressed about finishing it. Link is in my bio and I can’t wait to see ya! (I hope you love it I hope you love it I hope you love it). 📸 by @daleknows taken in Brooklyn, New York by @nikaramusic

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2 years ago

I have so many people to thank for this it’s crazy but I’ll save the suspense for tomorrow. It’s out tomorrow yall! #linkinbio #vibraphone #originalmusic #bam #ahh by @nikaramusic

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2 years ago

Can’t even believe it…my first single EVER is out today! I can’t wait for you to hear it. I had such an incredible time composing, producing, playing vibraphone and rapping on this joint. This song profiles some of the perils of a young melanated artist trying to survive. Ricky exists in every Black man. Shoutout to Davy Levitan for inspiring one of the grooves, @justsandy____ for an incredible album cover, @kjfromva for being the dopest manager, wouldn’t get through it without her, this stuff is emotional! And huge shoutout to @d_frazier @lo__qi @coreythesanchez @hailey_niswanger @iamkhemestry.official #baebro for helping me bring all of my musical ideas to life. I’m filled with so much love right now. Link In Bio! taken in Brooklyn, New York by @nikaramusic

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5 years ago

Snippet from our last Pique-nique A.M. show on @thelotradio with special guests @melaniecharlesdflower & @nikaramusic 🧡 Replay at bit.ly/pnam079

Next show on Wed Apr 29th with @gabsdann!

*featuring*
Westside Gunn - Egypt (Remix) (feat. Doechii)
Double - Strange Things
Brandy - Angel in Disguise
@quranshaheed - Reach
Flea - Frailed
A$AP Rocky - Robbery (feat. Doechii)

(and more in the tracklist →) taken in The Lot Radio by @nikaramusic

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3 months ago

Smalls!!!! What’s going on? I cant wait to play with these friends can’t lie! @lianymateo 🎻 @anwarmarshall 🥁 @axeltoscaofficial 🎹 @smallslive 💪🏽🔥 by @nikaramusic

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3 months ago

Nikara + Melanie, or how two of Brooklyn’s best team up to reimagine a Brandy classic ✨

𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚃𝚠𝚘: 𝙼𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚎 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 & 𝙽𝚒𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗 𝚡 𝙽𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚊𝚢 𝙽𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛
Fri, Apr 24th at @publicrecordsnyc / link in bio or bit.ly/t2neversaynever
featuring live liner notes by @kulturedchild and a dj set from @quiinnette

#brandy #vocalbible #90srnb #y2kvibes #brandynorwood taken in The Lot Radio by @nikaramusic

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3 months ago

𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚃𝚠𝚘: 𝙼𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚎 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 & 𝙽𝚒𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗 𝚡 𝙽𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚊𝚢 𝙽𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛
Fri, Apr 24th at @publicrecordsnyc / link in bio or bit.ly/t2neversaynever

The year is 1998. You are arguing with your friends about Brandy vs. Monica after hearing The Boy Is Mine for the hundredth time. The CD is skipping but Never Say Never is on repeat anyway.

@brandy’s sophomore album Never Say Never became a landmark of late-’90s R&B, pairing Darkchild’s future-forward production with the singer’s intricate stacked harmonies that earned her the nickname “The Vocal Bible” and laid the foundation for contemporary R&B artists from Beyoncé to SZA.

@piquenique.nyc presents Melanie Charles & Nikara Warren reinterpreting Brandy’s 1998 album Never Say Never as part of the Take Two deep-listening series. The evening begins with an uninterrupted playback of the original record followed by a live reimagining through jazz improvisation.

Brooklyn-born vocalist, flutist, and composer @melaniecharlesisdflower moves across jazz, soul, and R&B, collaborating with artists from Wynton Marsalis to SZA, Gorillaz, and The Roots. Vibraphonist and composer @nikaramusic joins to reshape Darkchild’s sleek production in an intimate setting.

The evening opens with a special DJ set from @quiinnette, nodding to the late-‘90s and early-2000s R&B era that Never Say Never helped define. taken in public records by @nikaramusic

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5 months ago

Tonite, Friday January 16th
NIKARA Presents Black Wall Street
 LunÀtico is always thrilled to have Nikara Warren’s Black Wall Street on our bandstand! You will be too!  @nikaramusic - vibraphone, voice @coco__sanchez - electric guitar  @lo__qi - electric bass  @d_frazier - drums 
***TWO SETS: 9PM & 10:15PM*** ***$10 (CASH) SUGGESTED DONATION*** ***LUNATICO HAS A FULL DINNER AND COCKTAIL MENU SO COME EARLY TO EAT!***
 NIKARA PRESENTS BLACK WALL STREET explores the rich tapestry of Black American Music including Brooklyn’s Caribbean heritage, blending feel-good melodies, improvisation, rap, and electronic elements to create a sound that is both reflective and revolutionary.  Vibraphonist, composer, arranger, and educator NIKARA WARREN is a Brooklynite, born and raised. Granddaughter of world-renowned jazz pianist Kenny Barron, daughter of a half Trinidadian soca/dancehall lover father and a classic 90s “Brooklyn ’Round the Way” girl mother, Warren is taking vibes to the people with her infectious compositional sense, her post-modern patchwork of influences and cultural signposts, and her fearless musicality. Her quest comes from being well-versed in the vibraphone lineage, but seeking to adventure beyond it. Music critic Kira Grunenberg writes that NIKARA presents Black Wall Street “doesn’t project its versatility and creative range through scholarly jazz arrangements or covers chasing perfectionism. Instead, it offers original music converged around a stylistically fluid foundation.”
The Black Wall Street album, which was made with support from a prestigious grant by the NYFA Women’s Fund for Music, is a deeply personal homage to Warren’s hometown of Brooklyn. “This album emerges from the complex realities of Brooklyn, says Warren, “a place where dreams are pursued relentlessly against a backdrop of gentrification: affluence mixed with social struggle. Through my compositions and arrangements, I explore the rich tapestry of Black American Music including Brooklyn’s rich Caribbean heritage, blending feel-good melodies, improvisation, rap, and electronic elements to create a sound that is both reflective and revolutionary.” by @nikaramusic

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6 months ago

The boys are back in town 😉 @lo__qi @d_frazier @coco__sanchez taken in LunÀtico by @nikaramusic

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6 months ago

Ayeeee….ive got some fun merch! Check for the link in my story! I’ll also be at @barlunatico tonight playing a paired down set and I can’t wait! Gna be a vibe 💃🏽🔥❤️ taken in Brooklyn, New York by @nikaramusic

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10 months ago

@nikaramusic bringing The vibes to Break Room #livemusic #livestream #jazz taken in San Jose Jazz by @nikaramusic

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a year ago

@bebetheneosoul killing on Nina Simone's classic during @nikaramusic LEGENDARY set taken in San Jose Jazz by @nikaramusic

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a year ago