Exclusive Interview with Nabiha

By: Rashida McCarley

You may have heard of her single, “You- while watching “Mob Wives”   or “Trouble” while watching “Basketball Wives” on VH1, and wondered who this new talent was. You may have heard of her debut album, “Cracks- and wanted more of this Danish soul singer. Nabiha’s music is as creative as her personal style, colorful outfits, royal big natural hair and international influences. With her Danish and African roots, she weaves her international melodies into her contemporary soul/pop music. She has revamped her original “Cracks- with new songs and releases “More Cracks- that will be released in the U.S. soon. Listen to her single “Deep Sleep- here and let us know what you think.

Her name is Nabiha Bensouda and she talks to Cocoa Cure about inspiration, success and how brown girls who sing are treated in Denmark.

Who are some of your musical influences?

I find that strong female artists inspire me more than a certain genre or style. Women like Grace Jones, Missy Elliot, Madonna, Erykah Badu, P J Harvey, Kelis & Robyn, who aren’t afraid of breaking barriers and who work hard for their art, inspire me to trust in myself and do my own thing.

Cocoa Cure: How would you describe your genre of music for new fans?

Nabiha: I would describe my music in the simplest way, I make pop music! And we bring in references from/elements of urban, electronic, classic, ska, world music, and everything else I love.

Cocoa Cure: What is the music scene like in Denmark and how did it shape your experiences as a woman and an artist?

Nabiha: The Danish music scene has supported me greatly. Denmark is a small beautiful country with a huge love for music.   Both National TV & radio have been incredibly supportive, and just this last month I’ve been performing at everything from the Annual Sports Awards, to the TV program “The Voice-, and also representing the new millennia of Danish music at HRM Queen 40th Anniversary Celebration.

Cocoa Cure: Talk to us about your single “Trouble” and your album “More Cracks”. How does it differ from your previous projects and what growth does it show as an artist?

Nabiha: “Trouble- is a song about stress, a reminder to all of us to stop every once in a while and take a deep breath.”Trouble- is in fact a good example of how my everyday life changed over the last two years, so it was important to me to have it in the track list. I wanted to make the album a personal one. The songs are stories from my life, thoughts and feelings. And since I’ve always enjoyed writing songs, listening to various kinds of music, and spent time experimenting with different genres. It felt natural to bring in all those elements. Sort of everything I love, put into a 5 by 6 inches cd.

Cocoa Cure: What source do you draw from for lyrical inspiration – love, pain, etc.? Explain.

Nabiha: Both, love being the strongest factor. But I try to find different ways of telling my stories, and I also enjoy writing about everyday things we all know like fx. Not wanting to get out of bed (Deep Sleep) or stress (Trouble).

Cocoa Cure: Was your success a slow-build or did you have a “big break” moment?

Nabiha: It feels like a little of both. We’ve had up’s and downs like everyone else, but I feel things are steadily going the right way. So we continue to work hard like we’ve always done.

Cocoa Cure: How do you compare your reception as an artist in Denmark, compared to the United States as a woman of color?

Cocoa Cure: I haven’t given that much thought. I feel there is a lot of love from both places, and that people are open to both my music and my look. The rest is really up to me and my camp, so I try to focus on what I love and doing good music.

Cocoa Cure: Your song “You” has appeared on Season 2, Episode 4 of the hit reality show, “Mobb Wives”. How did that decision come about and do you feel VH1′s support is the catalyst for U.S. success?

Nabiha: I feel I am surrounded by good and hardworking people, most definitely also in the US. I have them to thank for many of the things we’ve achieved. The Basketball wives and Mob wives-synchs came on the back of MTV inviting me to do a showcase at their office in L.A, and my team doing what they do best. I am so thankful for all the airtime we get, and I definitely feel the difference on my twitter and facebook after the episodes have been aired. THANK YOU VH1/MTV!

Cocoa Cure: If someone was going through your iPod right now, what type of music would they find?

Nabiha: Everything from Crosby, Stills & Nash to the UK dub step scene! Gnarls Barkley, Santogold, Miike Snow, Frank Ocean, and lots of new tracks I’m working on.

Cocoa Cure: What is something that your fans don’t know about you?

Nabiha: I dance when I’m alone

Cocoa Cure: Lastly, stilettos or flats?

Nabiha: STILLETTOES!!!

After the whirlwind year and a half of Nabiha’s life following the release of her debut hit album “Cracks-, the dynamic performer prepares for the release of her latest offering “TROUBLE- which will come with a new edition of her album now called; “More Cracks- and takes a moment to reflect on her music, blessings, family and inspirations.

“You can change things in the world, but you have to change them in yourself first.- Nabiha’s new music is inspired by the changes that have taken place in her life over the course of the last 18 months as a result of her unique blend of pop music taking flight.

In 2010 with “Deep Sleep- and “The Enemy- both top 10 hits on Danish radio from Nabiha’s debut album “Cracks- (produced by Carl Ryden, London/LA), you could hear Nabiha’s music everywhere from TV, radio and film, with even the prestigious site Popjustice making her -˜Song of the day’ 3 times.-¨-¨The single “Deep Sleep- became Nabiha’s first gold hit. This was followed by non-stop live television and radio performances in Denmark, Germany and Poland, including the DMA/Danish Music Awards (where she was nominated for “New Artist Of The Year-), tours with James Morrison, Jason Derulo, Jamie Cullum. Additional accolades include being named “Artist Of The Year- at The Best African Achievement Awards in 2010 and several other prestigious nominations, including National Radio Awards “Listeners Hit Of The Year- & “New Talent Of The Year-.

That was only the beginning-¦In August 2011 Nabiha will release her latest Single “Trouble-, followed by the new edition of her album in September. Nabiha describes “Trouble- as a stress relief song. “This song is about me learning to deal with the new changes in my life, and keeping up with deadlines, worrying about paying the bills, and pushing myself as an artist -“ while trying to stay creative and positive at the same time.

The new music on -˜More Cracks’, is an up tempo mix of Nabiha’s signature pop sound for worldwide release, -˜More Cracks’ adds three new tracks to eight tracks from the -˜Cracks’ album. Nabiha headed to Los Angeles and London to collaborate with Carl Ryden, Tommy D (Graffiti 6), Melodye Perry (U2, Michael Jackson) and Michelle Escoffery (Anastacia) “I really wanted to work a bit more on -˜Cracks’, as so much has happened over the last year in my life, so 3 new songs have now replaced some others and I cant wait to introduce it to the world-. The plan is now in motion and is off to a great start as the video for “Deep Sleep- has been added to rotation on MTVU.

Learning to adjust to her new lifestyle as an international recording artist and growing and developing as a young woman, Nabiha continues to spread her message of positivity but never forgets her strong roots which continue to inspire her music and life.

Born the eldest of six brothers and sisters, Nabiha’s musical beginnings flourished in her home with music, dancing and singing. Nabiha’s strong positive female image was vastly inspired at home as well, “I grew up with a welcoming, loving, strong Mother and Grandmother figures who taught me a lot, I was constantly inspired by love and people around me, I feel lucky.-

As a young girl, Nabiha explored music at school by taking lessons in various instruments until the encouragement of a teacher led her to try singing, her first performance a hit, shortly followed by experiments in various genres of music including an all female ska band, rock, jazz, urban, r&b and electronic/house. All of which are woven into the fabric of her music today.

A very private person, Nabiha enjoys connecting with her fans through her music; expressing feelings through her lyrics can have an impact on another person, they identify with a situation or a feeling when they listen.

One of Nabiha’s favorite moments of connecting is being on stage while fans sing her lyrics from the audience. During “Deep Sleep- that connection gets very personal when fans sing an African lullaby Nabiha’s Mother used to sing to her as a child.

Nabiha is very proud of both her Danish and African heritages, she tries to stay connected to Africa and visits as frequently as possible. “The way people care for each other in Africa is inspiring, happy, positive, they share what little they have with you, everyone should try to visit in their lifetime.--¨-¨All of these things make up the woman and her music, Nabiha’s positive gift to the world.-¨-¨Expect a new album from Nabiha in 2012, which the artist is writing now.

If you are in the New York or Los Angeles area, Nabiha has an upcoming live US debut performance at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC on 2/21/2012 at 8:30pm & Hotel Café in LA on 2/25/2012 at 7:00pm.