As all of you know it is February which means it is BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
Yes, Black History Month is just about over but just because February is Black History Month doesn’t mean Black History stops here. If this series is something you all like to read then I will continue to post these throughout the year.
This young woman that you are going to read about is very inspiring to me personally because I strive to get to where she is now in her career and being that we are both the same age.
I was scrolling down my twitter feed and there she was a brand new 2X Grammy Award winning songwriter! And let me just say, THANK GOD! Finding her was a blessing because whew chile, her success is motivating!
And yes, I said a 2X Grammy Award winning songwriter! Her name is Nija Charles and she wrote not only for The Carters album, “Everything Is Love” but for Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy”. At the Grammys, The Carters took home the award for “Best Urban Contemporary Album” and Cardi took home the award for “Best Rap Album” which is the first for a female rapper to be awarded. Charles is the talent responsible for co-writing The Carters “LoveHappy” and “Heard About Us” and Cardi B’s “Ring” ft. Kehlani and “I Do” ft. SZA. But, her credits do not stop there. She also has co-writing credits on Meek Mill’s latest album “Championships” for songs like “On Me” ft. Cardi B, “24/7” ft. Ella Mai, and “Uptown Vibes” ft. Fabulous & Anuel AA. Also, on 21 Savage’s “I Am > I Was” for “a&t” ft. The City Girls (she also has a producer credit on this song).
You can see her other credits here.
Singer Elle Varner, shared on Twitter that she mentored the Future Young Moguls program that Nija attended at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU before she was an actual student there.
Nija’s career began just two years go. In 2017, she signed to Universal Music Publishing Group. Now, how did this happen? Well, Charles returned to the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music as a college student and was making beats in her dorm room. Producing was Nija’s focus as she would upload them to SoundCloud. But, her beats weren’t alone they were accompanied by Nija’s vocals and song lyrics. She would then post snippets of her music on Instagram. That is when she caught the attention of producers who didn’t think of her as being the producer but instead, the singer. Said producers would hit Charles up to topline their beats and the success goes up from there. Nija started getting flewed out by famous producers such as Diplo therefore she decided to drop out of school to pursue her career full-time. And by the looks of it, it’s working out for the best.
Although, the industry comes with its hardships especially being a young woman in a male dominated environment, Nija Charles is opening doors for artists such as myself to enter the room.
Watch her interview with ABC News here:
WATCH: This Beyonce, Cardi B songwriter started making beats in her dorm room
Originally published: 2/20/19.
