Ashalei Nickole presenting the visuals for her new single ‘Growing Pains’
With the support and encouragement of her loving father, Ashalei Nickole began singing at the age of five. Once she learned how to hold a note, he realized she had a gift, and would work with her every Friday night. It took off from there, and she began recording and writing music when she was 14 and her dad built a home studio. With a Bachelorβs in Recording Arts from Full Sail University, Ashalei Nickole is βlike Batman undercoverβ as she records many of her songs herself and is always heavily involved in the studio process for her music.
Ashalei Nickoleβs songs are influenced by life experiences. Sometimes itβs things she herself has been through, but often sheβll draw from experiences that have happened to a close friend. While sheβs as honest as possible in her songs, βeven if my heart is brokenβ¦ I am not my past, I always try to put a positive note to things.β Her musical influences change yearly, though right now H.E.R., SZA, Jhene Aiko, Beyonce and Jasmine Sullivan are favorites.
Now, sheβs offering up βGrowing Painsβ from the new album N.U.D.E. (βNever Underestimate Da Experience). When it came time to choose the album name, Ashalei Nickole had just cut her hair and felt super exposed β but ultimately, cutting her hair was βthe best thing I couldβve done.β She wrote the song about painful life experiences that she had to go through often by herself, and deciding that βIβm not gonna look back, Iβm moving forwardβ¦ even though youβre growing, youβre just growing through the dirt. Even though itβs painful, youβre still gonna make it through.β The βGrowing Painsβ video depicts Ashaleiβs experience living in the real Miami β itβs not the glamorous, fast-paced lives you see on TV, but itβs still video. Her two nieces that she mentors are in the video, watching as sheβs growing up as a beautiful, well-rounded black woman.
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