Meet Nia Hendricks in Fort Lauderdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nia Hendricks.

Nia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m a writer, singer, and songwriter. Music is what makes me feel like a kid again. When I’m singing and writing music, I feel like I’m able to connect with that part of myself that still believes anything is possible and that there’s a place for me in this great big universe.

I guess I have my parent’s good taste to thank for what sparked my interest in music. My parents always played Motown, oldies, and pop music around the house. I would try to mimic the runs to “On Broadway” or “ Give Me One Reason” as they played over our old stereo system. That’s really how I learned to sing. When I was old enough, my mother put in me in the church choir and Christmas plays and things like that and that’s where I first got a taste for singing live.

When it came time for me to start planning for college, I was super intimidated by the audition process for music programs and conservatories. I didn’t know anything about the mechanics of music, I couldn’t sight-read, I had never heard an aria in my life. A good friend of mine was going to a Christian music school in Fort Lauderdale, Ocean’s Edge School of Worship, and encouraged me to check it out. The faculty was willing to work with my lack of technical skills, so it was a good place for me to start out. Every student was required to take Intro to Songwriting. We had 10 days or something like that to finish a song and share it with the class. I had never written a song before, but I quickly fell in love with the process! I couldn’t play any instruments at the time, so I layered a bunch of vocal tracks on top of each other to create chords. When I listen back to that song now, it’s kind of mortifying! But, it’s cool to see how much I’ve grown since then.

For the last five years, I’ve been singing and writing songs. My dream is to be songwriter full-time. Maybe working for a publishing company while making my own music on the side. I just love the collaborative process and the way that two strangers can connect over shared experiences and some chords. I released my debut single, “The Edge” on November 4, 2018, and I am so excited to release more music in the near future! I hope that as people listen to me processing life in the best way I know how, a few might nod along and know they’re not alone.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Shortly after college, about 2013, I started singing at church. I was singing quite a bit—at one point six services each weekend, two rehearsals, and a midweek service. After about a year of that (and probably some poor technique), my voice started to feel really hoarse. My range was slowly decreasing and I had a lot of trouble staying on pitch. I went to the ENT and discovered that I had vocal nodules. My voice would heal with rest and time, but I was devastated! I went on complete vocal rest—no talking, no singing—three weeks at a time twice. I didn’t sing for about a year. Thankfully, the rest did me good! The nodules healed and I haven’t had issues since. The experience really showed me how much music means to me. It gave me the confidence I needed to make some changes in my life so that I could stay true to what I wanted.

Please tell us about your work.
Storytelling is my work. Music is a big part of that, but I also work in the Communications realm as a freelance writer. I think music will be a journey for me and my sound will evolve over time, but I hope that I’m always known for my authenticity and courage. There are a lot of ideas within me that I want to share that I know will make me vulnerable to criticism. But I’m willing to go there. If I can weave some kind of connection for people through melodies, lyrics, and narrative so that they feel less alone, then it’s totally worth putting myself out there.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over… I really wish I had been more confident in myself and what I wanted when I was in high school and college. I would have probably auditioned for those music programs and maybe moved to a music town. But at the same time, I’m so thankful for the family and people I have in my life right now. I’m a wife and a mother, and although it can be difficult to balance my responsibility to my family and the things I want to pursue, I’m committed to trying! I think there’s so much room at the table for women like me, and I want to prove that to myself.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/niahendricks
• Twitter: twitter.com/niahendricks_
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0EptVj895GIreKBh9IA93J?si=puvGnXQRTlaBbIlgVuw-DQ

Image Credit:
Kathleen Motoa

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