"I wasn’t waiting for this moment. I thought this moment had passed me by."Keep on putting stuff out that you’re proud of and people will come.” - Aliah Sheffield
By Tinzley Bradford February 10,2021
I was minding my business scrolling on Instagram, when I stumbled across a post on Atlanta Pastor of New Birth Jamal Bryant’s IG page. It was of an artist I’d never heard of but after hearing hear song, I knew she was an artist who I definitely wanted to learn more about and quite frankly, I’m now a fan of!
Her now viral song “Earth is Ghetto” has become somewhat of an anthem for many of us as we here on Earth have been dealing with quite a bit of buffoonery and foolishness over the last year from racial injustice, to the global pandemic and having to social distance and do I even need to mention the storming of the US Capital? I’d have to agree, yeah it was definitely starting to look and feel a little ghetto down here with us earthlings and her song resonated with so many of us with the soulful tone of her voice and deep catchy lyrics:
"Earth is ghetto I want to leave Can you beam me up I'm out on the street, by the corner store You know the one on 15th, got my bright shirt on so I’m easy to see."
Yesssss Nikki, we ready to GO! It's ghetto down here! Ha Ha Ha! I can see why this singer/ songwriter and now viral sensation broke the internet! I had the opportunity to chat with the 32 year old songstress on SettlefreeTV The Tinzley Bradford Show and learned her new song is not her first, this Queen has been singing for over 10 years. In our interview, Nikkialiah which is her Instagram name shares how she went from just 700 followers which took her years to grow, to now having over 50 thousand followers on Instagram and growing as well as tons more followers tracking down the viral songbird on other platforms like her You Tube channel. Please take a moment to check out our interview below:
I must say I was inspired with the evolution of Nikkialiah. I was impressed with learning that she’d been singing for over 10 years and said she never expected this song to take off the way it has. She said she just stayed consistent in doing what she has loved her whole life, writing and singing. Her rise to fame shows that if you keep on doing what you are passionate about with no expectations, your day too will come! I asked what advice she would give anyone who has been doing what they love for a long time, and don’t feel it’s going anywhere. Nikkialiah said:
“Keep going without the expectation of it going anywhere. I didn’t expect this to go anywhere and I thought this moment had passed me by. Keep on putting stuff out that you’re proud of and people will come.” Amen Nikki!!
Now me being a dating Coach who empowers women to live a Settlefree life by refusing to settle for less than they deserve in relationships as well as friendships, you all know I couldn't let Ms. Nikki go without knowing her views on living Settlefree. I wanted to know some things Aliah Sheffield used to allow or settle for in her life that she no longer settles for.
She responded:
“Relationships and people in general. I no longer settle for mis-treatment or disrespect, or just people you’ve been holding on to who you need to let go of, Everybody has to go. Even the cat gotta go!”
Not the cat!! Ha Ha Ha! Yessss Nikkialiah is definitely living a settlefree life and with her newly found fame, rightfully so. She don’t need no dead weight laying around holding her back! None of us do! With her high demands and the entire world patiently awaiting her to release her song as a single, she got stuff to do and has no time for toxic situations.
I wanted to know what inspired this song and Sheffield said she’d been dealing with depression and a few sad moments in her life and in a recent interview with OprahMag.com she revealed there really is a corner store on 15th street in the Mexican city where she moved in the fall of 2020. And she really was wearing a bright shirt as she waited outside. "I was thinking about the fact that we have COVID going on, so I can't even go into the store." said Nikki. She said she walked home humming the melody, which she found unusually sticky. Within 40 minutes, she had finished the song and decided to upload a version to her YouTube channel and Instagram, where she had been sharing original music since last fall, under the title: "This song is for anyone who feels sick of Earth."
Well I guess it’s safe to say that the rest is history! She blew all the way up and is so deserving and one of the most humble people I have ever had the honor to talk to. Thank you for chatting with The Tinzley Bradford show Nikki , I wish you all the best and can not wait for the single!
You can follow this amazing artist on Instagram under @Nikkialiah https://www.instagram.com/nikkialiah/?hl=en and you have got to stop by Nikkialiah’s
You Tube page, I swear you will fall in love with her all over again!
Check out the full version of her original post "Earth is Ghetto" and stay tuned, she's got new and current music and will be releasing a complete album soon with this song as a single. Yessssss Bless us with more of your dope music Nikki, we love you!
Tinzley Bradford is a Dating Coach and Journalist. She is the author of the popular book "The Settlefree Dating Method for Women" https://www.amazon.com/Settle-Free-Dating-Method-Women/dp/1508460442#ace-g9766277718
