What started out as a single that grew into a three-song EP has now become This Is Me, Nikena’s upcoming debut album release.
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Nikena, a Jamaican-born singer, songwriter, and dancer, lets her passion for music pour all out. She shares that she has always loved how music moves her, both physically and emotionally. Influences like classic reggae, R&B, and pop have equally shaped her style and supported her through difficult moments, joyful experiences, and everything in between. She hopes her music can one day impact others in the same way it impacted her.
Nikena grew up dancing on school teams and performing regularly. She moved from Jamaica to the U.S. at age 12 and throughout her life, music gave her an expressive outlet. She noted that she was always more comfortable dancing than singing, but she wasn’t fully fulfilled with just that platform for expression.
To fill the gap, she explored singing and writing, and soon found herself creating original songs out of the blue, as she tells us, and that turned out to be the missing piece.
She followed that combination of fulfillment and expression, and released her first single in 2019. Since then, she has continued to create, and pursue this path. Her songs reflect her spirituality, emotional dynamics, and evolving identity.
Throughout This Is Me, from overcoming heartbreak, to ushering in new love, and cultivating resilience, Nikena sews together many threads to tell her story, and uplift listeners along the way.
“Hold Me,” a vibey dancehall track, highlights Nikena’s Caribbean roots and captures the energy of her 20s as she stirs up a good time with her girls and celebrates the fun of it all. In the song and the music video, her vocal delivery and choreography showcase both her fierceness and tenderness, from the power of her presence, whether in the communal club scenes, or the intimacy with the person she magnetizes.
She often juxtaposes intimacy and seduction, with her independence and autonomy. She shares that she’s always loved to travel, and would often take solo trips to enjoy new places, experiences, and opportunities. On the flip side, she also desires sharing those experiences with someone close to her, and balancing that spectrum. In the upcoming track, “Somewhere Exotic,” she both manifests love into her life, and integrates her passion for travel.
The combination of beauty, experiencing new things, and stoking the emotive fire, her lyrics and vocals deliver on her romantic and adventurous side.
Her songs continue to channel the heart on her sleeve in the track and music video “Surprise,”where she brings you into the mystery of her love, and invites you to “come investigate.”
From the thoughtful intention behind the little things, to temptations and desires, she blends classy, sexy, sultry, and anticipation into this song.
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When asked what her favorite part of creating these works was, she shares that she loved the stages of developing her songs. From the moment they came out of the blue, to recording in her intimate bedroom setup, to listening to mixes from producers Patrick Worner and Shanti Kosmo in her car on the way to work, she enjoyed immersing herself in the process and watching her ideas come to life and evolve.
And once in the ether, through the artist, and now into the listeners’ ears and hearts, Nikena’s music has come full circle. She shares that the most rewarding part of putting out these tracks is learning from fans what ways her songs were part of their life. Whether it’s for hype during a workout, a soundtrack to dolling up for the night ahead, dancing to elevate the mood, get through a heartbreak or to share in the excitement of new love, Nikena feels grateful that she too gets to make the kind of impact on others that music has had on her.
When asked what’s next, Nikena shares that in addition to her This Is Me album release party this October (stay tuned on social media for details), she’s also a nominee and potential award presenter at the Caribbean Music Awards.
As part of her journey to lift others through her art and honor those who inspire with their talent and spirit, vote for her to be a CMA 2025 Award Presenter and help her represent Caribbean excellence on a global stage.
Listen to “Surprise” and “Hold Me” on Spotify and watch both music videos here:
Stay tuned below for the full album release of This Is Me full coming this October via Nikena’s website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music, and Apple Music.
