Nicole Jacobs, also known by her stage name NJ, is the latest artist to add to all your female empowerment playlists. Rising to fame in 2017 with a cover of “We Don’t Need to Take Our Clothes Off”,  NJ has since explored developing her own indie pop sound. Her latest track “Mango” is about letting a man go and giving yourself a fresh start - highlighting themes of empowerment and self love. Ahead of the release of her new EP, I caught up with NJ to find out more about her creative process. 

How has 2021 been for you so far?

“I put out ‘Mango’, and then I moved out, so I’m in my new apartment in Atlanta at the moment. I’ve been working 50 hours a week bartending. I still have a ton of boxes to unpack. Yesterday I adopted two cats! The girl’s name is Ivy and the boy’s name is Onyx.  It’s been kinda chaotic, but I’m very happy.” 

I’ve read that you became interested in music as a teenager, can you tell us about how you first became inspired to pursue a career in it?

“I’ve been singing since I was 5. I’ve always loved it and been drawn to it. When I was about 17 I started recording music, and it felt so natural to me. I fell in love with the whole process of recording and editing, but I’m still learning production.” 

Who are some of your biggest creative inspirations and influences?

“There’s this artist called Litney from the UK - she’s very bedroom pop indie. Ariana Grande’s number one - even though she’s not indie, she is the queen of pop! I’m trying to introduce more of the trap pop vibe into my music, which is where ‘Mango’ came from. That song reminds me of Ariana Grande a lot too, which is why I like it so much.” 

What do you like most about the indie pop genre?

“I just really feel like I connect with it and I’m really good at writing it. There are so many different styles and genres, but this one was kind of immediate, and I felt it really fits me as a person and my whole aesthetic. (NJ points out her stylish pastel pink keyboard, neon green acrylic nail tips and a chic cardigan with pearls on it!)”

In 2019 you released your debut track “POV”, mentioning “a love that can’t bloom”. How much has your perspective on relationships changed since then?

“I don’t know what it is, I just love writing breakup songs, even though I’m in a happy relationship. I live with my boyfriend and he’s all for it. POV was actually about my ex-boyfriend, I wrote that song while I was dating him. I knew we were not meant to be. I wasn’t happy and I wasn’t blossoming into a new person. I felt like I was being held down and like I was being drowned. Since then, I’ve just really focussed on myself and self love. Instead of tearing someone else down, I wanted my music to focus on empowering people. I didn’t want people to say: ‘I’m sad I just lost my boyfriend,’ but instead ‘I’m happy I just got rid of the person that was making me sad - now I can be my own person.’” 

Female empowerment is such a key part of your music - what does it mean to you?

“I’ve kinda been raised on the fact that I can do anything that boys can do, maybe even better. I’m the youngest of 5 kids and I have three older brothers. I always wanted to outdo them. There can never be enough written about female empowerment, that kind of music is what really gets me in a good mood. Something that a lot of people don’t realize is that when you are listening to those songs and singing the words, it really does change your whole mood. Those words stick in your brain, it’s kinda like an affirmation. When you keep saying it out loud you start to believe it, and that’s what’s really important.” 

What changes would you like to see for women in the music industry?

“Women just need to take over and get their words out. They need to be respected more, I don’t understand why girls have to fight three times as hard as a man to make it in the industry. There shouldn’t be so many negative connotations with loving yourself, women often get written off as being too cocky.”

Your song “Hypnotized” has the lyrics “I can’t stop overthinking” and is very introspective. Was this conscious or accidental? 

“I wrote this song in about 30 minutes during quarantine. My producer sent me a guitar loop, and I just wrote the whole thing to it. I’d just gotten into a really healthy relationship and wanted to write about it.  I wanted it to be about how you’re just envisioning everything in your head and you’re in a trance, you’re hypnotized. You’re feeling all these things all at once, and then you come back to reality. I’m always overthinking and over analyzing everything, but it’s important to do it in a good way.”

“Brand new” celebrates the feeling of freedom of coming out of a bad relationship - do you think that reinvention is important and why?

“That song is actually written about a friendship that I got out of. I wanted it to capture the feeling that the experience sucked, but I ended up becoming a whole new person. I wouldn’t even know who I am now if I didn’t go through that. This friendship was really tearing me down, not making me feel like I was bettering as a person. That’s what I want every day, to feel like I’m doing something that betters me mentally and physically. When I got out of the friendship, I realized that I was surrounded by all these loving people and I felt like a brand new person. When I go through a break up, I don’t like to listen to sad songs, I would rather listen to something that focuses on the positive feelings around it.”

What was the creative process like for you, working on this EP?

“The EP is called Platinum, and is named after the only slow song on there. It’s kind of the first song I ever sat down and wrote. It was about having a crush on my ex at the time, being happy and excited to get into a relationship. When I was dating him, I didn’t like the song any more, which was weird. When we broke up I went back to it and really liked the melody! I wanted to turn it into something so I reinvented it to be about loving myself instead of him. Some of the original lyrics: ‘Heart of gold, platinum mind, those eyes you know, one of a kind’ became ‘Heart of gold, platinum mind, know my worth, I’m one of a kind.’ That song is really special to me, that’s why I named the EP after it. It’s all about knowing my worth and knowing that I don’t need anyone to be happy. I want people to feel uplifted when they listen to it. It’s literally all female empowerment. I have an upbeat fun song on there called ‘Not the One’ and it’s just about wanting to hang out with someone and get to know them, without being tied down.”

“Mango” is a song about letting a man go and focusing on yourself. What do you like to do to protect your own energy and practice self love?

“I love daily affirmations, I like to say them out loud so they’re on repeat in my brain. I also love having alone time - going on a drive, going to get my hair done, writing or cooking. I used to put so much energy into everyone else, but it was just hurting me in the end. This year I really limited who I’m close to, I’m working on myself now.”

You’ve been putting all this work into your music in quarantine in the middle of a pandemic. How has that challenged the production process?

“Before quarantine I was working with a different producer. He just didn’t get my style and didn’t really understand what I wanted out of making music. I started talking with my friend Jordan during quarantine and  he sent me some beats to check out. ‘Hypnotized’ is the first song we did together. Jordan ended up doing my whole EP and he is now my producer. I think if quarantine had never happened, then I would not be where I am with my music. I wouldn’t have any of these songs, because I would have been working with someone else who I wasn’t happy with. That also inspired ‘Mango’, because I let that producer go, I let that friend go - all these people who were in the way of my creative process.”

With Valentines day coming up, how would you describe your ideal romantic date?

“I’m kind of a stay at home girl - cooking, wearing comfy clothes, hanging out with my cats and watching a movie. But I also love getting dressed up, doing my makeup, going out to dinner and taking pictures. Maybe combining those to get the best of both worlds!”

If you had to describe your vibe in 3 words what would they be?

“Uplifting, catchy, positive.”

What’s next for you?

“The EP will be coming out soon.  I have a lot in the works, but covid kinda got in my way a bit. I wanna reinvent myself as an artist and do more photoshoots. It’s always fun to come up with different outfits and poses. I just wanna keep creating - I have some singles planned for after the EP, and then an album later this year. I’m excited for the future!”

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