Nikki Lynette is a multi-hyphenate entertainer who sings, raps, writes, and produces music that can be heard on TV shows (via MTV, VH1, Showtime, Oxygen, Bravo, and more), commercials and video games. The artsy powerhouse blogs on the popular site ChicagoNow.com where she critiques pop culture, unfiltered. She’s appeared in a Kmart commercial and is working on her first album, Respect My Disrespect.
There’s nothing common about this talented creative who is also known as Rosey Gunz, President Badass and The Small Wonder, and has an affinity for cats. Did we forget to share, she’s also a visual artist?
Here, she talks about having tunnel vision and what it means to be iconic.
Do you most often actively seek inspiration or does it find you? Or is there a combination of the two?
I try to live in a way where I am always open to inspiration. I don’t like having to go find it. I make sure I am always having new experiences and fun so I’m always feeling creative.
What led you to art in general and to your art form(s) in particular?
I have always been an artsy person, even as a kid. I went through some really tough times in my childhood and the only thing that made me happy was imagining myself onstage singing the songs I heard on the radio. I knew then that I wanted to do music for a living. Being a recording artist with a unique perspective on music is what made me start song writing and producing.
Have you and your artistry ever been involved in traditional business? If so, how?
I have never had a day job, where you have to show up at a certain time everyday and they give you a check every couple of weeks. I don’t know anything about that life, I’m not sure if I have enough self control to be able to do that. I license my music to tv shows and movies and I do commercials, that is probably the closest thing I do to “traditional” business.
In addition to mastering their art, what other skill sets to you recommend that artists develop if they want to be successful?
It’s important to be business savvy in this industry, to know what people are doing to make money and to be able to see if it works for you or not. I have seen a lot of artists get signed to labels and get dropped, and within that time I made it so I can sustain myself pretty comfortably off of my music. It’s really easy to get screwed over of you are uninformed. The best thing that ever happened to me was getting screwed over so that I was forced to learn how the game is played. I wouldn’t do it over even if I could.
How do you stay at the leading edge of your craft?
I don’t pay attention to what everybody else is doing, I just do my own thing. My greatest strength and my greatest weakness is tunnel vision.
Do you think that there are any widely held misconceptions about art and/or artists? If so, what are they and how do you work to dispel them?
I recently wrote an article in Red Eye about how people seem to think that all indie artists are starving artists, and that’s just not true. I know plenty of indie artists, including myself, who make a living doing what they love. It’s a super old-fashioned way of thinking to assume that having a traditional job is the only way to make money. Some of us artists treat our careers like businesses, we’re entrepreneurs too.
How do you map out your goals? How do you measure your success?
I map out my goals and measure success based upon whether or not what I am doing can sustain the next thing I want to do. Each project sets up the next project. Of course, everything I work on is gonna have it’s own requirements, but sustainability the most important thing to me.
Name two of your top role models: one in the art world and one from outside of it.
My role models are Pharrell Williams and Oprah Winfrey. If you know anything about their backstories then you have no choice but to be proud of them.
Name three books, works, performances or exhibits that changed how you view life and/or yourself.
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
I, Tina by Tina Turner
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Green
Why do you consider continued learning important?
In any industry, standards and norms evolve and change, and if you don’t continue learning you can’t keep up with the times, and you’ll get left behind.
What affirmations do you repeat to yourself that contribute to your success?
I constantly remind myself that all possibilities exist in the universe, and if something I want to accomplish had already been done by someone else then it is possible for me, too.
What role does art have in the community? What role would you like to see art play in the community?
Art imitates life, so it reflects what is going on in the world. I would love to get a more balanced message, it’s unfortunate that so many negative messages seem to outshine the positive ones. I think both are necessary, the good and the bad need to be shared so that people can truly get a sense of the life that art is imitating.
What role does technology play in your day-to-day life? How do you utilize it?
I am a social media fiend. I am always plugged in, on my computer pr iPad or phone, it keeps me connected to my fans as well as aware of what is going on in the world around me.
What software, app or other technological innovation has made the biggest difference in your life and/or career?
The first production software I ever learned on was Reason, before I bought a midi keyboard I used to draw in the notes one by one and program everything super slow like that. Learning to produce gave me the ability to make my music sound exactly like I wanted it to, and that has progressed my career so much. My uniqueness is one of my greatest advantages.
Please define your personal brand.
The word “badass” is associated with me not because I chose it for myself, but because my fans gave it to me. I’m eclectic, I’m opinionated, I’m shameless, and I make no apologies for it. I believe that, despite popular belief, uniqueness is not accomplished by a bunch of people opting to be different in the exact same ways. The true path to individuality is fully and shamelessly, confidently being yourself, and I think that’s the only way to really be happy. My brand can be summarized in two sentences: “Everybody loves me. Nobodies hate me.”
What is your favorite vacation destination and why?
I like to go any place where I can swim in the ocean. I love going out deep in the water and diving down to touch starfish and coral, it’s a whole separate world that is going on right beneath ours but we know so little about it. I am fascinated by the sea.
If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
I’d erase the classism and elitism, because racism, homophobia, and misogyny would disappear right along with it.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would stop being a perfectionist. Sometimes I experience “paralysis by analysis.” I’m never satisfied with anything and for that reason I spend a lot of time trying to perfect things and that can lead to me not releasing new stuff for very long periods of time… I’m actually coming off the tail end of one of those phases right now. I’m learning to stop doing that.
What does it take to be iconic? In your estimation, who has achieved that status?
I believe an icon is a person who comes along and sets a new standard for what greatness looks like, they redefine the norms. People like Pharrell, Oprah, and Andre 3000 might be in the entertainment industry, but to me they are just as much of an icon as Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela, and Frida Kahlo because of what their accomplishments communicate to the people they inspire. Being an icon is not just about what you do, it’s about what you contribute to humanity and how you will be remembered, making it so that others who follow will be compared to you.
