Today we’d like to introduce you to Nic Main.
Nic, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My first time touching any form of music was an electric bass so you could say I started at a “base” level.
I’m Nic “NICMVIN” Main. Never say it in vein!
I was born in Lawrenceville, bounced around Gwinnett as a youth, & then found myself in Athens, GA before moving to New Orleans, LA. I began experimenting with different instruments by the age of 9 after my mom passed away & I moved in with my father. This sparked a big inspiration to find somewhere I could express myself, my feelings & what I was experiencing. I started writing poetry about that time as my pops wanted to let me finish school in the same district before fully switching me to his county. I started developing how to write while at the same time would practice my voice to my favorite 95.5-the-beat songs while my dad dropped me off on his way to ATL every day.
This formed my passion for word-rhyming, the fascination to the lineage of syllables & really all-around tonality & delivery. We wouldn’t talk much early in the morning those traumatic first months…
I then turned 10 & wanted to do something with music. My cousin played Alto Sax. He was a big role model so I tried Saxophone FIRST THING starting off Middle School. 6th grade, I made it to first chair but quickly got swept away by Brandon Crocker. I’ll never forget that name. By then, I was writing my own small pop & RnB style poems with flow & added tone. Being influenced by my skateboarder roots & becoming a young delinquent I think my first real favorite artist outside of rock was Wiz Khalifa. I had a best friend named Taylor so it just worked.
Flash forward, I lie to my band director on Freshman day of high school saying how, “I’m a drummer!” Because my band director in junior high always “needed my second chair expertise”.
Like a skater who wants to beat on drums really cares about how well your sax section thrives? BUT HE NEVER LET ME SWITCH!
So I lied… I got put on xylophone because I can read music notes, so then I go for Drumline. This all gave me my lucky & blessed knowledge behind all my production that I do myself to this day. Once on drumline, I had experimented with guitar, piano, sax, & all percussion. Guitar led me to try many different band styles but I was always a lone wolf & wanted something DIFFERENT. I tried acoustic solo, screamo, punk rock, but it all flat-lined. Until one day I was hyped up to try & freestyle before drumline practice with the line.
This basically catered them to all push me to try writing because enough of my friends loved me enough to say I didn’t completely suck & could do something with words.
That’s all I needed. From there, I started producing on FL Studios, writing my own songs, to grow into a young independent artists fresh out of high school.
Then I move Athens, Georgia. The journey began soft & slow but eventually God brings its forces together & I found a crew known as Lunar Gang. Apollo1 & his brother Sam were from Detroit like my family & Zenlee was from Cali with a mad passion for beats. Me & A1 being the vocalists, THIS was a recipe to kick-start a modern-day “Beastie Boys” indie trio in Athens. This trickles into my first rap group that I produced & performed with up until we fizzled into two (me & A1) & then down to one – by my choice – as some groups sadly do. Finally, I produce my first project with Lunar Productions & my OG engineer C9 out of Decatur & we formed my solo name as an official artist: NICMVIN (pronounced Nic Main)
After my first lyrical more alternative hip-hop album, this new era of sound is more wavy, ambient punk-alternative pop-rap. Yes. That is a lot but definitely touches each branch of said genres & I hope that only intrigues the audience to reach out & discover what it entails. I was brought up on all sounds stemming from Classics to 90’s, early 2000’s but mainly modern-day rap/hip-hop & alternative. I was born in that small trailer park outside Sugarloaf Mills or what used to be “Discover Mills” but now live happily in the city I love; New Orleans.
Music saved my life & I would not be blessed to share it with you all if it weren’t for the pain, sorrow, love, & hate I have endured as I’m sure you all have too. Join me on a journey through the “R.A.I.N.” my latest EP arriving on all streaming platforms February 22nd. Thank you Detroit, Atlanta, New Orleans, Lunar Productions, Vibers, Starboard, VoyageATL and YOU.
~ Til Next Time ~
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing obtainable is hard and anything you really want isn’t easy. In a more simple explanation… No.
The smooth road was not something I was ever blessed with but the rough path definitely curved me in the right or most best direction for me. I got used to the gravel road.
The struggles between envy, jealousy, love, relationships, family, finances, & mental health are inevitable but I think it’s the “lessons” not “losses” type of L’s I take. I don’t know, really between learning love is endless & I won’t have to ever be codependent is a virtue was what took a lot of growth. As well as self-criticism, or interference between personal goals & people you meet in the industry. Work with people, not against people. There’s enough for all of us to eat.
The independent choice is not because I want to work hard & strategic but because it’ll be so much more rewarding in the end. Something I hope I can teach younger generations. Because I didn’t go to school. So like Cudi said “you wanna be one of them”… Well, I did. I chose that so I don’t try to complain a lot. I’m my biggest critic after all. Which leads me to mental health.
Something the older generations somehow neglected so much yet the youth are so in touch & in tune with trying to work on. So like, I try to just cater to my self-care & mental health the most. Because my vibration is the most important part. This next EP in February is about Resistance Against Inconsistent Nature or “R.A.I.N”
This simply means going through whatever it is storm you’re facing knowingly through the pain or “rain” to know that the Sun too shall shine again another day. Accountability, grace, reaction & love can go a long way.
There were times I fought with my brothers, sisters, & family. Blood, sweat, & tears for sure but I wouldn’t trade it for a thing.
The biggest struggles were;
– Losing my 5 main angels I had
– Losing the 1st intense real love (not to death, luckily)
– Putting my sister into rehab
– Learning myself
– Not giving up
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I enjoy performance a lot so stage presence is definitely a big portion of my artistry. Although I am a musician. They go hand-in-hand.
A Music Artist is defined by their compatibility between their entire presence & aura as well as the music that follows. So what does that mean? Someone can play an instrument, song-write, produce, engineer, but may not be an artist.
An artist maybe someone who paints a picture, builds a sculpture, or even a building, but isn’t a producer, instrumentalist, or songwriter. I limit myself to none of these boundaries.
I am a visionary from cover art to every key, drum, or note on my production to the outfits I portray my aura through every day. The expression of my life, trauma, feelings, & experiences revolves around the writing & songs. I simply do it all because I want to give it my all. So you hear MY all. From the beats to the recording & tracking, rough mixing to the full mix; I’m directing. I don’t engineer so shouts to my team Zenlee, 504MILLZ, Vibers, Starboard & all my visual production & production editing crews.
I don’t do this alone but I do this with a purpose. That’s a little something about us. I have built an authentic, organic community of entrepreneurs who want to give back as well as enjoy the fruits of our labor, hard work, & art.
I work with production crews in the bass scene in Atlanta to the grime core punk scene in NOLA. I rock with all crowds, & any misfits because that is what my music is for. This is also why I do this. Because not all who wander are lost.
These are the few but many things I specialize in the industry:
– Beat Making/Production
– Instrument Tracking
– Song-Writing
– Artist Development
– Event Coordination
– Merchandising
– Advertising & Promotion
– ANYTHING ENTERTAINMENT
I am my own artist. Below is the following place you’ll find me doing most of my music industry work though. Currently a tracking engineer & producer for Starboard Studios under Vibers Entertainment out of New Orleans, LA
What does success mean to you?
Success is what you personally see as a goal to accomplish so it is definitely something never-ending. When you succeed, there is always something more or the next level. Elevation is a key component in my success though because as long as I am growing, I really have no cap on my success. I want to succeed in many areas & then succeed further beyond those. Like Buzz Lightyear said or something like that. So to me, it’s not up to me. I think success is defined by the point in which you label a cap or limit on your success. So really to even define success or “my success” or even I guess my “idea” of success would actually be a fault of the matter in itself because no one should EVER define their success. That’s a label. & labels have expiration dates. & expiration dates mean there is in fact a moment when time is up.
Success has no timeline or limit, it will always be redefined in the self. So therefore, I don’t define it, it refines me.
Pricing:
- $250 – Event Booking Fee
- $50 – Beat Lease
- $200 – Beat Exclusive
- $80/hr – Tracking/Recording
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.starboardstudiosnola.com/book-now?resource=62fca1d6-88df-4764-b9f2-d7f49ae88b8d
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicmvin/?hl=fr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicholas.main.54/
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/nicmvin
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBNRVfOMkt-O5uc3FiTQ6jQ
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-163291709
Image Credits
CAMERON LADNER NICK BARRETT VIBERS ENTERTAINMENT
