Meet Nubia Soul Goddess

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nubia Soul Goddess.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve been surrounded by music since I was a little girl. Church was the foundation and starting point for me, live music was the thing that excited me about church! The organ, the piano, the drums, guitar, and the soulful singing. From what I’ve been told, I would perch myself on the organ bench beside the pastor’s wife at times while she played. However, I didn’t start taking my own piano lessons until I was about nine years old.

Ms. Georgia Brown was her name. She had big bushy gray-white hair and was sweet as cotton candy but musically as loud and funky as James Brown lol. I mean my mother paid for classical piano lessons but what I got was a funky soul elderly white woman who had so much life in her, I’m laughing right now thinking back to those memories. Between Beethoven, Bach, Mozart and others, she would slip a little “Boogie Woogie” in so effortlessly and slip right back into Fur Elise of Beethoven it was crazy! Lol.

She would say, “doesn’t it feel good to ya”! I would nod and try to keep up with her spontaneity but at that age, I had no idea that her concept of “music feeling good to me” would be my ultimate paradigm. But I didn’t stop there. By the age of 11, I was singing in my childhood church choir, an alto but I had an ear for everything and then some. I could hear the harmonies without question without guessing, and I still do. I still played piano but not as much, because as one could imagine, I was exploring music more. Soon I was entering middle school, and all I could think about was playing the bass drum.

Yes, little ol’ 5ft 2in me wanted to play a big heavy bass drum. I had no doubt in my mind that I could do it. But when the time came to meet the band director and try out instruments, Ms. Kendrick (of Monroe Co. Middle School) had something else in mind when we met. She said she had never had a girl who wanted to play drums before, cymbals yes but not the drums. So she tested me in my ability to follow her, but on snare, not the bass. That’s when everything changed. She and my mother realized that I could play by ear. I had a natural knack for it, much like when I was taking the piano lessons and singing in the church choir.

So, it was settled. I was going to play snare, and I was the first girl in the school/county to do that. School was “different” then. You didn’t see girls, not girly girls like me, playing drums, much less marching with them. And I did it well; so much so that I was section leader by the end of my middle school years. Upon entering high school, I continued playing snare, however, my capabilities had expanded still. I had dabbled with the trumpet but I could play every percussion instrument you put in front of me. High school was an entire different atmosphere because now we had football games to attend and play for and my mother was some kinda proud lol.

My freshman year went on without a hitch, but the word was spreading to our nearby school rivalies that there was a girl playing at Mary Persons High, and she was good. It wasn’t until my Junior year that I realized how good I really was. A bandmate made a bet that I couldn’t play the quints. The band directors at the time were Mr. Peek and Mr. Moore. Now they were some GREAT band directors. We played REAL music, we played fun music. We played SOUL music. Anyhow, Mr. Moore heard the bet and challenged me. He said he would borrow a set from a friend and bring it for me to play. If I could play “Greensleeves” on it, he would put a new set of quints in the band budget for the upcoming year for me to play.

My response: DEAL.

Needless to say, when the season opened, I had a fresh set of white pearl quints to play, with a new harness and a new found respect and support from my fellow bandmates. Those were fun times lol. I was drum captain 2 yrs in high school as well. The looks on our rivals faces at every game was always nostalgic. No one could believe someone as small as me would carry and play something heavier and big as myself.

Again, my mother was some kinda proud lol.

But then life happened to me. And I had a daughter at 18yrs old. I put music on the back burner for a few years. Not to mention I didn’t have any guidance to even know where to begin but singing was something I did naturally every single day. Didn’t matter where I was at. If I felt the vibe and the groove was right, I was singing.

Then one day, my godfather gave me his new CD, and a song he did on it lit a fire in me. His words were, “it’s past time that you start writing and singing again.” And he was right. It had been about five years since I had done anything involving music and I was missing the feeling it gave me.

So we made plans to go to an open mic at Apache Cafe that following week. When that Wednesday night came and we walked into the place, my nerves were on 10!!!! I honestly didn’t think I would get called because I was an unknown. But as my luck would have it, I was the 2nd or 3rd person they called. To make this long story short, it was the beginning of my singing career, a night I will never forget…

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I wish! LOL!

No, it has not been smooth, at least not entirely but that comes with the territory, especially when you are doing it for the right reasons. I’ve had many struggles. I’ve been married and divorced, I have lost everything I own TWICE. I have come close to losing my daughter. I have come close to losing my own life. I have lost friends and lovers. I’ve even lost jobs because of the music and people’s fear of me not being a reliable individual because of the music. Which was totally not the case.

If anyone tells you it’s easy, they are lying to you. PERIOD.

Please tell us about Nubia Soul Goddess.
I’m a Neo Soul Funk artist. I always have either a full live band with me or an accompaniment of live music from my band. I perform regular shows around the city as well as private events for people. I also do background vocals for others in the studio, but my studio clients come from all over the world. I’ve worked for others in genres of music of rock, soul, gospel, hip-hop, rap, spoken word, EDM, house, pop and I’ve done jingles for businesses.

I know that I have a unique sound, tone, frequency, energy, and vibration. That’s what sets me apart from others. I am big on harmonies and full round sounds in music. Everything I do has to feel right for it to sound right. I am my own biggest critic.

But I think what truly sets me apart is that I am genuine and honest in what I do. I put my heart in it. Not figuratively, literally. My emotions can always be heard in my music, and sometimes when I perform live, you may catch me shed a few tears during a show.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
My bad luck was probably when I lost everything and had to rebuild my personal life which took some time away from my music aspirations. That and grief can really delay you when you don’t have the right people in your corner.

My good luck is that I know some pretty awesome people who never left me completely alone to deal with some of the things I encountered.

Thinking to those low moments keep me motivated because I never want to go through them again. But the high moments excite me to do more and to make not only myself proud but the people who poured into me proud.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 4049161226
• Email: booknubiasoulgoddess@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialnubiasoulgoddess/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NubiaSoulGODdess/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nubiasoulgoddes
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/25UW0jnWyHbSMCmQroKTkR

Image Credit:
Jus4Love Photos, Good Look Promotional Facilities, Priceless Photos Photography, Big G Media, & Blakvision Entertainment.

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