INTroducing:NICKI KNIGHTZ

A CHAT ABOUT MUSIC AS THERAPY, IDENTITY, AND FINDING BEAUTY IN TRAUMA WITH EAST LONDON RAPPER, NICKI KNIGHTZ.

Interview BY PORTIA BRAJKOVIC

TIRADE: HI nicki, HOW ARE YOU?


nicki: I'm well! Been a challenging year mentally, to be honest, but I'm trying to remain optimistic and have some hope. I’ve been going through my Saturn return; a lot of change to say the least. But I'm here, I'm breathing and that’s all that matters.

TIRADE: FIRST UP, WHY MUSIC?

NICKI: Music has always been a way to express myself which sounds really cliche, I know. Throughout my life, I’ve always been quiet, so music gave me a voice. My elder brothers both did music growing up, so seeing them make music inspired me to try it ouT. I always looked up to them.  


I used to take my brother’s raps into school and rap to my friends in the playground. I loved the thrill it gave me. In secondary school, I started writing to beats and putting out little YouTube videos. They were getting love, but I was still very unsure of myself at the time, so the few hurtful comments I did get ended with me deleting everything. That then went on to me moving over into spoken word/poetry after a heartbreak before returning to music when I met Henny, my producer.


TIRADE: can you describe the nicki knightz universe in three words?

NICKI: Raw, Reflective, Uncompromising

TIRADE: WHO IS YOUR MUSIC FOR?

NICKI: I make music for the people who’ve been through shIt and are still carrying it. People who’ve had to grow up fast — from trauma, where they’re from, or just life not giving them a break. It’s for the ones who overthink everything, who feel heavy most days but still get up and keep it moving.

I speak from being a queer, mixed-race woman from the ends — but what’s wild is most of my audience is actually men. I didn’t expect that. But I get it. Pain recognises pain, no matter where it’s coming from. I talk about mental health, survival, trying to make sense of yourself in a mad world. That connects. A lot of the time, I’m saying things they probably feel but can’t say out loud. I’m just not scared to go there.

So yeah, it’s for the outsiders. The ones with too much on their mind. The ones still healing. Whether you’re from a block in Hackney or anywhere else, if you’ve ever felt lost, angry, or invisible — this is for you. I don’t care about fitting in or sounding clean. I care about being real. That’s who I make this for.

TIRADE: INSPIRATION CAN BE SOUGHT OUT OR IT CAN FIND US. WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

NICKI: I’m inspired by the struggle — by growing up in an environment that built me but also tried to break me. There’s beauty and trauma in the same breath where I’m from. I’ve seen so much darkness and still found a way to dream through it. I’ve never wanted to be a product of my surroundings. I’ve always wanted to transform the pain into something meaningful.

A lot of my drive comes from my older brothers. They were the first people I saw doing music — raw talent, mad potential — but life pulled them away from it. That stayed with me. I want to be the first one who didn’t stop. The one who saw it through. Every time I feel like quitting, I think about them. About what could’ve been. And I keep writing.

Weirdly, I’m also inspired by the love. By the people who connect with my music. That moment when someone messages me like, “yo, I felt that,” or says I helped them through something — that hits different. I’d be lying if I said I don’t need that sometimes. External validation does drive me more than I’d like to admit. It’s something I’m working on, for sure. But in a world that often made me feel invisible, being seen — really seen — is powerful.

So yeah. Inspiration doesn’t always come with light. Sometimes it comes from pain, from survival, from choosing not to fold when it would’ve been easier to. That’s where the music lives.

TIRADE: YOUR LATEST SINGLE, ‘COLD NIGHTS IN EAST’, HITS PRETTY DEEP. TELL US ABOUT IT.

NICKI: ‘Cold Nights in East’ is one of the most personal tracks I’ve written. It’s me looking back on my life growing up in Hackney — the trauma, the survival, and how that environment shaped me. A lot of it touches on mental health and the ways I tried to cope when I didn’t really have the tools. Drinking became one of those ways — I didn’t even realise it at the time, but I was using it to escape. That line, “Guess I’m Lynn’s daughter,” is about how we sometimes pick things up without meaning to. I love my mum, and I understand now that she was just surviving in her own way — same as I was.

There’s also the line “from the fives to the tens, upgraded to the quarter of the glens” — it sounds simple, but it’s layered. It’s me talking about going from smaller bags of weed to bigger ones, from wine to vodka, as my way of dealing with the weight I was carrying. Those little choices add up — and looking back, it’s clear I was just trying to block out pain.

The hook — “we gon’ be fine” — is like a mantra. Something you say to keep yourself going, even when deep down you’re not sure it’s true. I kept the production stripped so the lyrics could breathe. I didn’t want to dress it up — I just wanted to tell the truth.

‘Cold Nights in East’ is me processing the past, owning it, and choosing not to let it define who I become.

TIRADE: WHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT?

NICKI: fashion’s always been a big part of how I express myself — especially because I’m naturally quiet. I’m quite an introverted babe, so my clothes, my hair, my whole look… it speaks before I do. I’m into 90s and 2000s vibes mixed with UK streetwear — tracksuits, baggy fits, statement pieces. I also get my nails done with proper outlandish, wacky designs — that’s a big part of my image. I like the contrast of being masc but still rocking nails that scream for attention. It’s a way of owning both sides of myself.

Being queer and masc-presenting, especially in London, has its challenges. You grow up not really seeing people like you in music — not on stages, not in the mainstream. But instead of trying to fit into what’s already there, I’ve just built my own lane. I’m not trying to be anyone else. I’m just being myself, fully. And I think that’s rare.

There’s definitely a gap for someone like me. The way I tell my story, the way I show up visually, the way I carry softness and weight at the same time — no one’s really doing IT how I’m doing it. And I’m not doing it to stand out, I’m doing it because it’s the only way I know how to be. It’s honest. It’s layered. It’s me. And I think that’s what people connect with.

TIRADE: DESCRIBE YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS.

NICKI: It usually starts simple — I sit down, find a beat, and wait for that first line to come. Once I’ve got that, I build everything else around it. The beat normally tells me what the story is. Whether it’s gonna be vulnerable, cold, angry, soft — I let the instrumental guide the mood, then I follow it.

When the writing’s flowing, I love it. That feeling when the words just come and everything clicks — it’s like therapy. But when it’s not working, I hate it. I spiral. I start feeling like maybe everything I’ve made before was just a fluke. Like I’m not really good, I just got lucky a few times. I can be mad hard on myself. I expect every verse, every hook, every bar to be perfect. And the truth is — it’s not always going to be. I’m learning to accept that. To sit with the uncomfortable parts of the process and keep going anyway.

It’s not always glamorous or inspiring. Sometimes it’s messy. Sometimes it’s doubt. But I show up. And that’s the real work.

TIRADE: WHAT WOULD WE FIND ON YOUR SPOTIFY PLAYLIST?


NICKI: It’s a real mix, but everything I listen to has emotion and depth. You’ll find artists like Kwn, Cleo Sol, Little Simz, Doechii, Tems, Sasha Keable, Kaytranada, and Young M.A. I’m a rapper, but I’m an R&B lover at heart — always have been. There’s just something about a soulful vocal or a vulnerable lyric that cuts deeper for me. I like music that feels like it’s saying something, even in its quietest moments.

The vibe is mostly moody, melodic, and reflective — but not always slow. I love stripped-back beats I can write to, but I also mess with rhythm-heavy stuff like Kaytranada when I want to feel a bit lifted. It’s less about genre and more about energy. Whether it’s a voice, a chord, or a feeling — it’s got to move me.

And yeah, I’ve even got the Louis Theroux podcast in there. I like hearing people unpack their lives — makes me feel less alone in mine. My playlist is basically a mirror of me: layered, emotional, introverted, but intentional.

TIRADE: WHAT DO YOU DO FOR PEACE?


NICKI: Peace is rare for me, if I’m honest. My mind’s always running — overthinking, replaying things, carrying weight. But the one place I’ve consistently felt peace is when I travel. Getting away from my usual surroundings, being in a space where no one knows me — that’s when I can actually breathe.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel quite a bit — 15 trips, 11 countries, across 4 continents. I’ve touched places like Thailand, Australia, Nigeria, Germany, Spain, and Amsterdam more times than I can count. Even just being in Europe, somewhere like Greece or Portugal, gives me a sense of freedom I don’t get at home. It’s not about the holiday — it’s about the stillness. Seeing new people, hearing different languages, not being defined by anything or anyone — that’s peace to me.

Travel gives me distance — from my past, my thoughts, my triggers. It reminds me OF who I am when I’m not just surviving. That version of me — calm, present, open — that’s the one I’m always trying to come back to.

TIRADE: WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?

NICKI: Right now, I’m just focused on building. I’m half Nigerian, and that resilience runs deep in me — so I’ve got no interest in waiting around for opportunities. I’m dropping more singles to keep building momentum, letting each release speak for itself, and staying consistent with short-form content to really connect with people and build a proper buzz around what I’m doing.

I’m not chasing overnight success — I’m building something real. The goal is to let the music travel while staying true to my story and my tone. Visually, sonically, and lyrically, I want everything I drop to feel like a piece of me. I know there’s a space for someone like me — I just need to keep showing up.

I’m also working on myself heavy — mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Unlearning a lot, healing a lot, trying to become the kind of artist and person I can be proud of. What’s next is just growth — as a creative, as a human, and as a presence in this scene.

FOLLOW NICKI

Instagram | SPOTIFY