Atlanta is home to many different creatives and artists, including one who is a multi-instrumentalist fusion artist who combines various genres and influences to create a unique sound.
Infusing trap, orchestral, hip hop, funk, jazz, trance, EDM, Samba, Calypso, and anything she can get her hands on, Brandon-Nicole has taken the jazz scene by storm. Her talents span across drums, bass, guitar, and saxophone.
Her genre of music takes inspiration from various artists such as John Coltrane, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B, Patrice Rushen, Shiela E, Christina Novelli, Prince, Bob and Damian Marley, Cypress Hill, and The Veronicas.
Music is My Lifestyle: Meet Brandon-Nicole
“Music is everything, music is vibration,” she said.
Born into a military family, Brandon-Nicole grew up all over the world and learned to incorporate the cultural influences of the places she lived into her music.
A true prodigy, Brandon-Nicole began playing piano at age four and was teaching music by fourteen. She said what started this musical passion for her was trying to master every instrument and play it to the best of the instrument’s ability.
“The instruments themselves and the students I teach how to play them, so I need to be my best for them, for them to be their best,” she said.
Brandon-Nicole said she started her first fusion song in the eighth grade and recorded it on Windows Video Player because she didn’t know much about production. She mixed a hip-hop beat with piano.
“I love to infuse piano and trap strings beautifully, so I made it,” she said.
Usually, when she records in the studio, Brandon-Nicole says she’s “always hyped up” and keeps it “mellow.”
“I’m always happy and try to be as creative as possible,” she said. “I may be in a mindset where the creativity simply flows.”
She also learned to associate musical keys with colors and often creates beats that relate to her moods and melodies that reflect her thoughts.
In 2023, Brandon-Nicole debuted two singles, “Beachside” and “Smokin,” which cultivated quite a following and success.
‘Beachside’ is a trap and jazz-influenced track about enjoying the beach all summer. Her second single, “Smokin,” encapsulates a soulful yet contemporary sound that reflects her unique musical journey. The song also soared to the top of the digital radio charts, climbing the top for 32 consecutive weeks.
“I wrote ‘Beachside’ a few years before releasing it, and this was a time when I was obsessed with going to the beach all summer,” she said. “I was at the beach with my mom, dad, and brother, and I could hear the song while looking at the scenery.”
She also said she was walking around the house singing it for a couple of weeks and began to put it all together.
Brandon-Nicole says that’s when she knew she needed help because she still couldn’t figure out the music production side, she then called Christopher Starr, the founder of Atlanta record label CSP Music Group, to figure it out.
Starr said when he looks at Brandon-Nicole as an artist, she’s passionate about what she does, sticks with it, and doesn’t waver on other things.
“A lot of artists start, and they tend to fall off track; however, Brandon-Nicole has stayed focused and was able to take direction and guidance,” Starr said. “She’s consistently innovating herself to stay present in the industry.”
‘Beachside’ hit the top 40 on the music chart alongside some of her favorite artists. Brandon-Nicole said she refreshed the page at least ten times the day she found out because she didn’t think it was real.
“I was like, ‘That’s not real,’ but it was surreal to me, and everybody was so excited. I called my mom instantly, and she was excited. My mom called all seven of her sisters, and they called their families, it was phone tag all day, every day,” she said.
Nicole said the song is still on the charts, and since the last time she checked, it had moved to number 12. “I was really excited to see the staying power my art has,” she said.
Additionally, Brandon-Nicole said she recently wrote a song called “Love and Kindness. “ With everything going on in the world, Brandon-Nicole says people don’t know what’s right or what’s the truth anymore, and she wants to bring more positivity into the world.
“You’re watching the news, and everything is supposed to be valid, but sometimes it’s not and we can see the things we’re going through,” she said. “If we can just bring everything back to love and kindness, that could change any and everything, from the lies you tell on the news to the lies you tell your friends or family.
Brandon-Nicole says she’s been listening to a lot of Nicki Minaj and oldies lately.
“I love that girl, she’s really good,” she said. “I’ve also been picking up on Warren G and Frankie Beverly.”
Additionally, she said that Rihanna is her role model throughout her musical journey thus far.
“It must be Rihanna because I remember being in middle school when she first came out with her first hit, ‘Pon De Replay,’ and now she’s a billionaire. I’m trying to blow up like that, and she doesn’t let anybody talk her down out of what she’s trying to do,” she said.
Teaching & beyond
Beyond her music, Brandon-Nicole is committed to teaching humanitarian efforts and is pursuing a PhD in Educational Leadership.
Brandon-Nicole says what inspired her to start teaching and showing people how to play instruments is that “they need adults like us.”
“Kids, like how I was growing up, need adults like us. They don’t always have that direction, and they may have the dreams, but they don’t have the drive or don’t have the parents who know how to get them there, and they often just fall by the wayside,” she said.
Brandon-Nicole talked about a student who almost didn’t graduate due to being involved in the “wrong side” of the Black Lives Matter movement. Brandon-Nicole says the private school she was teaching at wasn’t supportive.
“He told me he ‘couldn’t do it,’ and being a black man, it was beginning to be a lot for him, but I told him we’re going to get through it, so I became organized as well,” she said. “I learned how to read music, got my bachelor’s and master’s, and wrote curriculum for at-risk students just like him.”
She’s working on her PhD and will finish in the Summer of 2025, so she can take over the school district and help students like him.
Brandon-Nicole says her goal is to ensure the future is moving in a “good direction” and ensure the next generations can read and write.
“I want to make sure they can get to where they need to go, even with adult education. I want to try to get the homeless off the streets, into jobs, and building communities,” she said. “It’s hard to pick up those pieces, so I had this thing called the Brandon-Nicole Education Foundation, and I’m trying to get that off the ground as well.”
The Brandon Nicole Education Foundation would help kids get backpack drives and other secondary programs for people looking for jobs or without a GED.
Her musical goals for the rest of the year are to finish at least one of her albums and, next year, begin exploring more bookings, not just in Atlanta but across the U.S.
“Playing is where my heart is, and I want to get back out there with people,” she said.
Brandon-Nicole advises other creatives who may struggle with confidence to do it without confidence.
“You’re going to feel dumb at first, you’re going to feel stupid and make mistakes, but you must show up in order to blow up,” she said. “The more often you do it, the better you get at it. I felt stupid trying to put an album together to get on music charts.”
She also said her father told her, ‘Girl, this isn’t even it,’ on Nicole pursuing a music career, and now she has two songs on the charts.
“We’re moving forward, and you have to keep moving,” she said. “Don’t give up on yourself, and don’t let anybody else tell you to give up on yourself, and you don’t need to waste so much time convincing others your path is your path.”
Furthermore, Brandon-Nicole said fans should look forward to more vocals and a couple of spoken word pieces.
“We’re also looking at tours, concerts, and changing the world,” she said.
Brandon-Nicole also said she wants to reconnect with people and shouts out a friend, Federico Foster, who passed away during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. She said the pandemic affected her playing and even teaching because it would be difficult to have students play instruments if they had to blow through it.
“There was nothing we could really do, even teaching was a nightmare. [Federico] was a band director in Savannah, and he was trying to keep his band program alive, he would hold after-school practices, and he would wear a mask, but there was only so much you could do. I must give him his props because he died for music, and I thought it was beautiful,” she said.
For more information about her music, follow Brandon-Nicole on social media @cloudbnicole or her official website, https://brandon-nicole.com
