INTERVIEW:nicole blakk
Nicole Blakk is stepping into 2026 with her latest release Money On My Mind, recently spun on BBC Radio Extra by DJ Target, captures a moment of determination from an artist steadily building momentum. Blending melody with rap and drawing from personal experience.
From writing her first song in the studio with her sister to later collaborating with Dave on Fairchild from the BRIT nominated album The Boy Who Played the Harp, Nicole’s journey has been shaped by persistence and belief in her craft. With a viral Red Bull cypher bringing new listeners to her sound, she continues to carve out a space defined by multilingual flows, melodic instincts, and honest storytelling.
We caught up with Nicole Blakk to talk about Money On My Mind, the early moments that pushed her towards music, and the surreal experience of hearing her own voice on the radio.
Interview BY Zacarias charles
Hello Nicole, how are you?
Hello.
Hi, I'm good, thank you. I'm really, really happy to be here today.
Congratulations on your new record being spun on BBC Radio Extra with DJ Target, Money On My Mind. How are you feeling about that?
Really, really good.
Like, I'm just, I think just having support in general, it's just an amazing feeling. So I'm just so grateful, so happy. And just hearing myself on the radio for everyone to hear, it's just a great feeling.
How are you feeling about the response so far?
So far, it's been really good. The response has been good. Before I even put it out, with the promo, it's been a crazy response. It was really, really good. So I'm just so grateful.
Money On My Mind is the first release of 2026. What is the message behind this record?
Money On My Mind is not specifically about cash money, but it's about things that are helping me get that. It's about, you know, the bag, my mindset. You know, I need to always have a positive mindset. I need to just be giving energy to things that are going to benefit me positively. Otherwise, what's the point?
And it's okay to feel, it's honestly okay to feel, but I need to get back and just be like, you know what, money on my mind, let's do this.
When did you first realise you wanted to become a music artist?
I've had 33 jobs. I just knew that it's not what I wanted, and music has never made me feel like that.
Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?
Powers. I wrote a song called Powers, and my sister helped me write it. It was my first time, like, recording in a studio.
That whole experience of just being in the studio, that's where I came up with my name, Nicole Blakk, as well, in that session. So I'd say it was that moment, yeah.
You once said that you wish you wrote Man I Need by Olivia Dean. What connected you to that record?
I think it's just that feeling of knowing what you want. A lot of people connect it to different things. I think that's the beautiful thing about music.
And I think it's just so perfectly, like, that whole album, The Art of Loving, it's just so beautifully crafted. I think it's just the way she's written it, it's her voice. Everything about that song is just so perfect.
“If someone like Dave can recognise that I’m talented, then anything’s possible.”
You worked with the talented Dave on a song called Fairchild. This is on his album, a BRIT-nominated album, called The Boy Who Played the Harp. How did that collaboration come about?
So I was in the shop with my little cousin. I was babysitting her for the weekend, and I got a phone call from Wes, my manager. And he was like, are you indoors? Can you step outside quickly?
And I was like, yeah. I was like, what's up? He was like, OK, I'm going to tell you something. I was like, OK. He was like, you're going to be in the studio with Dave tomorrow.
And I started screaming on the street. I went and told my little cousin. She was like, I'm going to meet Dave.
And I think it didn't even feel real because, yeah, it was the next morning. I had her for the whole weekend. As we're walking towards the studio, it just felt like everything was moving in slow motion. I was trying to speed walk. I just felt like, hurry up, I want this. It felt like the longest five minutes of my life trying to get to him.
Then when I walked in and I saw him, I think my heart was just like... because I grew up listening to Dave.
Our first session was just like three hours of just discussing. The fact that he even took that time out to listen to me.
The most memorable moment to me was Dave telling me how great he thinks I am. Hearing that from him made me so much more determined, because I was like, if he, one of the UK's greats, can recognise that I'm talented, then anything's possible.
Yeah, it just didn't feel, it still doesn't feel real. Honestly, it still doesn't feel real.
One of the most amazing things that you've done is this viral Red Bull cypher that you had, which means that new listeners are discovering your music. How would you describe your sound to a new listener?
Multilingual melodic rapper. I wouldn't class myself as a rapper, but I do rap and sing. So I'd say for now, that's what I'd, in easy words, that's how I'd describe myself.
