Niyoki
At six she was the baby-faced showstopper in her family's traveling gospel group, a pint-sized dynamo with an amazing voice and a way with a crowd. Today she is one of the freshest and most compelling voices in contemporary Christian music.
Niyoki makes music that blends infectious R&B/hip-hop grooves and soaring gospel inspiration. A jaw-dropping vocalist, experienced stage performer and accomplished producer, she is one of the most versatile and complete entertainers anywhere. Her music is joyful, hopeful, inspirational, unafraid to face the toughest tests life has to offer but unwilling to stop at anything short of triumph.
Her growth from precocious childhood to musical maturity involved a sometimes arduous journey filled with lessons in faith and persistence. Her family toured steadily, performing with artists like Shirley Caesar and the Williams Brothers, and released five albums' worth of material. Niyoki and her sisters then branched into secular music, opening for Boyz II Men and R. Kelly, among others, and touring and recording with Prince in 2002.
Having proven her ability to compete across the board, Niyoki knew it was time to go for a solo deal. She had the background, the beauty and the savvy for the secular marketplace, but decided in light of her experience to record a Christian project. The result is a CD whose world-class production and danceable grooves serve to universalize rather than dilute its straightahead message of hope and praise. It is a project that more than showcases her talent and experience.
"Sometimes I listen and think, 'How did I write that?'" she says, "but I've been through a lot and I have something to say, especially to young people struggling, looking for hope and inspiration and the strength not to give up on their dreams."
Niyoki's background is well-represented throughout. The world-class grooves make for a truly joyful noise, and family members appear in supporting roles throughout. With so much of her heart and soul infusing it, the record is as weighty as it is well-crafted, from a woman who has never lost her passion for performance or her desire to share the riches she's been blessed with.
"It makes me feel like I'm close to God when I'm using the gift that He gave me," she says, "and when I see the encouragement others feel by what He's rendering through me, there's nothing like it."
The result, captured in her debut project, is a stirring introduction to a woman whose journey in music is certainly worth sharing. |
