WNTTLK (We Need To Talk)On this episode of WNTTLK, Nyla Symone sits down with R&B singer Nali to discuss her new EP 'No Spaces', her journey in music, connections, relationships, and personal growth while sharing fun moments through games and talks about future goals. Nali opens up about her experiences in the industry and her passion for making a positive impact on her community. Tune in and comment in the socials below.
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I go by the name of Charlamagne Tha God. And guess what, I can't wait to see y'all at the third annual Black Effect Podcast Festival. That's right, We're coming back to Atlanta, Georgia, Saturday, April twenty six at Poeman Yards and it's hosted by none other than Decisions Decisions, Mandy B and Weezy. Okay, we got the R and B Money podcast. We're taking Jay Valentine. We got the Woman of All Podcasts with Sarah Jake Roberts. We got Good Mom's Bad Choices. Carrie Champion will be there with her next sports podcast and the Trap Nerds podcast with more to be announced. And of course it's bigger than podcasts. We're bringing the Black Effect marketplace with black owned businesses plus the food truck court to keep you fed while you visit us. All right, listen, you don't want to miss this. Tap in and grab your tickets now at Black Effect dot Com Flash Podcast Festival on your moon and yours. I'm trying to get it down with you.
What's your boyseno at what's up that one?
A long? Yall?
Note, you need to talk. We need a time and people like hitch you up and be like is this about me?
People have hit me up and been like, yo, you wrote exactly what I was thinking like, I thank you for saying what I couldn't say.
When you're missing that connection, do you reach out or do you sit in the feeling and then make music from it? So reach out for the plot? What is like the hardest crash probably the one that got me into court. What's up, y'all? My name is Nali. My new EP No Space is out now. Hoh me real close? So we really close? I love you? What's not? We need to talk? What's going on? Guys? I am Nila Simone and welcome to another episode that we need to talk today. I have a very special guest in the building. I have R and B singer Nali here. How are you? I'm good, I'm good. Thank you for having me, Thanks for coming. Why why do you seem shy right now? If you are not a shy person. Well, when you saw me, I was drunk. Oh yeah, okay, that was the time. I had a great time. But you did great. I was so happy here up there. Oh period, don I love, I love. I was so happy you were there. You have great energy, and from that day I went on to listen to your catalog and just got to know you a bit more through your music. But we'll get into that. Just before we get into that, how are you feeling right now? Just current state of life? Oh? I feel good.
I'm very happy, very zen. My life is so peaceful and boring, but I'm not complaining about that. I'm grateful to be in the space that I am.
I love that for you. Yeah, yeah, I'm I'm so intigent and boring. That sounds like fun to me. Uh, what is in it boring for you? Are you like a wake up and do yoga girl? Or oh yeah, wake up, go to the gym? And then I'm just it's just really like a day full of like what side quest? What hobbies do? I feel like adventuring off too, And I'll have a dog, so taking care of my dog. First time dog on it, first time getting my own dog because my family we always had dogs. But yeah, my first puppy, and it's hard, but I love him. He's so great. He's so terrible, but he's so great. Are you training him? Trying to? Yeah? Wait? How how old is he? Now? He's two? Months. Oh all right, yeah you can. That's gonna take some time. Yeah with me. What type of dog? A porky? He's a pit bull Yorky.
It was a mistake, but you know, wait a minute, a pitbull Yorky.
That sounds like a combination. Can I see a photo?
Yeah?
I love what people ask for photos. Look at you being a mom. Oh my god, he's so cute. Nah, that's super cute. I love that for you. So I know you dropped the EP this past month, right, yeah, because it's been going on week three now, okay, drop the EP? But what are you working gone currently? We're gonna get a longer project. Okay, yeah, that's that's really what it is. I'm gonna put out.
I mean, I'm gonna have some singles, but really working towards that longer body of work right now, I'm.
Curious to see what the body of work sounds like for you. Are you currently in the process of making it? Yes? And those because like, I have so much music that I could just put out there, but then I'm always like in a new space for music, so I'm like, I want to I want to add like where I am right now in this moment, Okay, on those faces, I feel like it went from like great love to like how did we get here? Like was that intentional or these were just three records that you just wanted to get off. I mean like, I feel like these together were definitely like a storyline. Okay, yeah, that's what it was given. But these were definitely songs made on very separate occasions that I was just like, we're gonna put these together because they helped tell the story. Man, I can't wait to get into this. Have people like hit you Up? Not even songs just based off this EP, just other singles you've ropped. Have people like hitch you up and been like is this about me? Yo?
No, people have hit me up and been like, yo, you wrote exactly what I was thinking, Like, I thank you for saying what I couldn't say, And I was like.
Oh my god, what that is yo? Yeah? Being our inside like saying our inside thoughts. Yeah. I be feeling like that a lot. But okay, let's get into the first record on the EP, Hold Me Close. Now, what I just took away from it was just wanting to be held But when was the last time you had a moment where you felt like you just needed to be held, no words, just vibes, no words, vibes on this trip. My god, you are right here. Yeah, but I'm so over oh right, understandable, get me out of here? Me too? Well? Where do you want to be? Atlanta? Who? My man? Oh? Oh understood, Yeah, definitely understood. Okay, So, which R and B song instantly makes you want to pull up and just lay with your man?
Um?
I'm gonna say, yo, do you know Isaiah Haraan like any of his songs? Any of his songs? Is he from Queens? I think he's from South Carolina? Okay, no, no, no, no, sorry, there's like three Isaiah singing right now. Oh yeah, I know. To backtrack, what is stopping you from moving to Atlanta?
Oh?
Oh oh man? No, my my music career, because it's more convenient for me to be like out here. Everything is out here for me. Both cities are great cities to be in for music, though, Tell my team, tell my team. Sorry, guys, I do love y'all as well, but Atlanta's where it's at. I would have moved to Atlanta too. Oh we should all just go. We should We'll figure it out. We'll figure it out. When you're missing that connection, do you reach out or do you sit in the filling and then make music from it? So reach out for the plot, not reach out for the plot. Well before I was in a relationship, yeah, yeah, obviously, but yes, reach out for the plot. Always what's your said, lib Dammit, it's always the losers. We have to make a real of this ship. I kid you, not every toxic huh oh lion, yes, oh, lion lib Yeah, that's that's the same. But I'm not gonna put it on the woman. I really like you. N I'm not gonna put what you're a libra too. Oh hell no, I felt that energy when you walked in step out, no joke, huh No, that makes a lot of sense. Nah, my theories on libers is right, for sure. I don't know about the Libra woman. I don't know about the liver like. We're just as terrible. No, unfortunately, two of my best friends, my mom's, we were great. But sometimes yeah, it's rough. I ain't gonnack like. I don't know y'all. Okay, cool, I just didn't to blow your spot up, but you low key put it in the music, So it's okay. Let's talk about no spaces. What was one thing that instantly makes you feel like you want to drop everything and go straight to your man. I don't know, just the time away. I guess like it's just like time away. It is just oh no, what are we doing here? Like when you're together with your partners, like okay, I can I can use some time. Then you're gone. It's like, oh, what's going on? Yeah, so yeah, totally understandable. Let's go into Rip and that song is essentially about losing trust, lack of trust within the love. Yeah, it's more like.
Being in denial, about being addicted to weed.
What. Yeah, And then like it's just coming between my relationship and it's like the person's trying to make me stop smoking, and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna try to stop smoking. But then it's like when I stop smoking, I'm not feeling any type of like there's no like, oh yes, I know this is hard for you.
So it's like, okay, you stop smoking, like this is great. So it's like and then when moments get hard, she's like, nah, I'm about to smoke again.
Then it's creating more I am. I had no idea. I feel like now that I told you, when you go back and listener, ah, I see that. Hold on, what was those faces about? I just gotta make sure I know, like I'm reading these right. Well, Okay, No, spaces was more. It was more like a sexual thing. Okay, cool, I read that one correctly. Yeah, amazing. I thought that whole song was about relationships. I mean, yeah, I can see that it's a play on it, but it's not about that, Okay, got it. I like the texture of the artwork with the aliens for the cover art. It's random, but it's cute. What is it? So basically I saw Okay, I went to this like vintage store in Atlanta and they had vinyls and stuff like that's. I was going to their vinyls because I need an inspo for my project cover. And I seen this super cool vinyl. I don't I have a picture of it, but.
It was just super dope and I was like, I want to recreate this. But then I ran into Cheaty like I found him, which was the artist of the artwork, and I was like, oh my god, I love this style that you got going on. And then I sent him the picture and then yeah he made that and I was like, Oh, I love this, this is great.
Shout out to Chitty he ate with that. Yeah, he's great. All right, let's get into the Fokers. The song is classy but savage at the same time. Who had you fucked up? Oh? Definitely definitely my ex have me autoway that stuff. I was just so irritated.
I was like, Wow, Wow, this is great, this is great. Let me just pour this into the studio before I crash out.
I'm glad you did. So glad you did it. It's honestly my favorite because it's so entitated. Yeah, did you end up crashing out?
No?
I actually held it together very well, and I'm glad that I didn't, Okay, because nothing good ever comes out of that.
Yeah, but yeah, I just crashed out in the song. Have you crashed out before? Plenty of times? Really not plenty of times? Okay? All right? What is like? The hardest crash.
Probably the one that got me into.
Court for beating him up for vandalizing, for saying I'm going to do something to someone. Oh and then they got it on tape. Then they sent it to their police officer family member. Drama that is that it was deep drama, not you fucking with a nigga that should have ship to the cops. Man the tonatos at him? Whoever that is. Can we add to like tornato effects to the screen. That's so lame. Any nigga I call a cop on a girl? Was she angry? Is wag as fuck? It was? It was? It was a girl. It was a friend. Yeah, she was involved. Okay, yeah, wait a friend of his, A friend of my exes? Yea? Is she the reason why I was about to crash out? Yes, she was the reason for the crash out. Oh my god. I'm sorry me too for her and my ex But I know, well that's told me. I love the way you're handling that now. P E T T Y. Yes, such a fun record. This is actually the first song I heard by you. Oh really yeah? Oh wow? Wow? Yes, But talk to me about that record. What was the inspiration behind it? Yeah, I was just it was really late in the studio, we were trying to wrap up and I heard the beat and I was like, I want to do something to this, and that was like the first thing that came to my mind. I don't know why, but it's also just who I am too, Like I'm trying to get over that pettiness. But it's just like it's hard. It's hard. So I was like, you know, this is what's on my mind. That's what I'm going to talk about. Okay, Well, I want to play a game called petty or not. Oh okay, now say I'm gonna need you to say whether she is petty or not? Oh okay, yes, so I'll read a few different scenarios. No, this has to be a true reflection of gnolly. Okay, blocking someone after they cancel plans last minute. Have you done that? I have? Yeah, I have never done that because I'm usually the one cancelzo lands, going through your partner's phone while they're asleep. Hell yeah, oh my god. You know what, don't worry about it. I'm gonna just take I'm gonna take her hook and then whenever she does some petty woods play it. Why Okay? Keeping gifts from your ex in your house mm hmmm, haven't done it? Oh I have? Oh you have not a fan of that? Okay, watching their I G stories but not texting back. Oh yeah, you do that. I can't stay that shit. By the way, sending a VIMO request for your money back after a breakup. Yes, no, I've never done it, but I want to, she said, y'all owe me for the time spent for fet felt. Okay. Unfollowing a friend because they didn't invite you somewhere. No posting a group pic but purposely cropping somebody out. No refusing refusing to go to an event, because so when you did not like to go? But why do I like to be there? I would, I would actually want to volunteer to go. Oh, oh my god, spicy. Okay, I'm here for it. Giving back a birthday gift after an argument. M No leaving a job and deleting all your coworkers from social media. Yes, yes, she said, y'all was my work friends. This is for real, get away from me. That's funny, Okay. Stealing office supplies on your last day? Yes? Wait where did they steal office supplies from ice fort a Bridle company? Mmmm? They're posted in their their pens. Oh, just to post it. I feel like nothing else okay, Okay, I'm thinking about the event stuff, the expensive ass ship that nobody wants to buy. Ever. Okay. Posting song lyrics aimed at someone but saying it's just a vibe. Oh, absolutely, she said all the time. Okay, going live just to show your outside after someone cancels on you. Oh, going live though I haven't gone live. Maybe like a video or something. Story. Yeah, bringing your own food to a family function because you don't trust their cooking, all right, bring your own food to someone's function because you don't trust it cooka Yeah, yeah, that's funny. Okay, what's your ethnicity background? I'm Puerto Rican and Jamaican. Oh lovely, Yes, damn, that's cool. Yeah, great food. All right, we're gonna play this fill in the blank game or you gotta do this on the blank. Great. The older I get, the less I want to go outside. Oh my god. Yeah, you've been on your introvership all interview. Yeah right, I just feel like I don't know what's facing my life. Name the era? What era is this? This is grind time. We're a grinding era. Mm hmm yeah. Oh the craziest thing. Wait, have you been on tour yet? No? Baby, okay, but I see I seen you at a show. Yeah I was. I was on tour with him. But like, I'm not my personals Okay, I'm just a ten years from now. I want my legacy to be. Mmm, that's a good one. I would want my legacy to be something with the community, something with the black community in general, just providing in that aspect. I don't know something like that. Blank is one movie I can watch with the sound off. Oh White Chicks, Oh my god, I love that is a funny ass movie. Favorite quote Guanta Akwana theod Why this you want to talk about my bell? So I know that script like inside and out, that's a great one. Outside from singing, my favorite hobby is.
Ah.
Now it's turned into cooking. I really language shout out cooking with coy Man. She had the people in a front seat. It's true, but yeah, what is parked? The cooking thing roared oh and being big. I'm just like I need to eat, and being in Atlanta, there's like nowhere to eat for real. It's the same stuff American deli wah. True.
The soul food can be great. JJ's can be great, But I don't go to strip clubs.
Mm hmmm. So it was like, I need to cook. Have you been to the strip club? Not yet? That is not an adventure I have. I have partaken it yet. Yeah, right, I'm like maybe soon. Even my dad called me like, if you want some good wings, you know, go to strip club. I was like, oh, that must really be a thing. Yeahn mm hmm you mean mm hmm? Oh wow, how was? It is not really my thing either, not my tea. I'm like, do I even like? Is it should go? Though? Just because now I feel like I know what the rappers be talking about. Oh these are the wings wings. Oh, She's like, as City Wings. That makes sense. Okay, I think I think that would be a great experience for you, especially in Atlanta. That's a real strip play. I just need to go. Yeah, I'm just gonna get out the way do it this weekend. Sure period, I'm gonna do it as you will. I'm of course you will. Nobody wanted you there. If I'm going with anybody, might as well get this some one, Okay, okay, okay. He is like, apause, I'm not gonna what to do. I'm just be sitting there like you're gonna give her the money to throw? Of course? Oh all right, you didn't come to right. No. By the end of twenty twenty five, I hope too, Oh my god, I hope to.
Make at least one hundred thousand, like please, I need some money.
She said, like please, what about music wise or that is it?
Well?
I think right now I'm going to hit a million streams, like I just want more. A lot of people are listening to my music. I was looking at it was like forty one thousand listeners. I said, whoa, that's crazy that Like imagine forty one thousand people in like one area. Yeah, knowing my music, Like that's actually insane. But like, yeah, I definitely want to hit like a million on something the goal. Yeah, I can see that that's not far off. My favorite album of all time is probably I'm gonness suit. Damn, this is just popping into my head. But is that my favorite album? What's the one that's there? No names album? Which one was? It was itself? What is it called the White Background something twenty five? Oh let me look wait only because I can put it on shuffle and it's like No Escapes Room twenty five, yes, or Self No no, no Room twenty five. But Self was on there? Okay, okay, yeah, yeah, I used to be obsessed with Ace on this project. Oh my god, that's a great time. It's all this stuff. That is your favorite album of all time? I love that, Okay, one of them, one of them, Yeah, definitely one of them. I can't. I don't have like favorite anythings of all time. Okay, I can't. It's so hard to do. That's fair. But yeah, no name is up there. I love her. She's great, Okay, from time to time. It's good to do Blake, smoke some weed when you smoke Tativa high breed. But I should get into more Tativa because I'd be slumped sleep, just knocked out. Yeah, I love Sativa. Are you backwards paper paper? No backwoods, No nicotine. I'm not a fan of nicotine. To each of them, I respect it. You would never believe me if I told you, probably about that court case. But on a more positive note, I don't know just that court case. Sometimes I look back at my life and and I don't know.
I think, h smile because I think I'm very grateful for everything that all the community that I had around me growing up, and just opportunities and just connections that a lot of people did not.
Have access to. Why love that? What would you say, is like your villain origin story into music, Let's say villain. But yeah, right, I was doing music since twenty twenty and I was just like my dad was always in music, and I was like, oh my god, like you should just work with me, you know, believe in your daughter. No, I have something to give. He was like, yeah, yeah, you know, and the time is right. No whatever, man, the time was right. When the song did what it did, I guess, but I would say like that was my villain origins there. I was like, you know, I'm just gonna do this just to show you should have been. You should have been when I said not that makes sense. But yeah, twenty twenty, so that's when you went for a fledge into your artistry. Well, it was still like a hobby thing cause like it was just me a writer I was introduced to and like an engineer and it was more like a home team. So I was just finding YouTube beats and just doing anything with those. But yeah, after I met my producer, that was like twenty twenty two where that that's when I was like, okay, like I kind of want to do this for real, test it out, put music out, and I did. But then after a while I was like, oh, this is I'm paying money, Like it's not going anywhere. A girl, I'm going to school. I might as well focus on school and just take a break. Yeah.
And I was also in a very like toxic relationship where it was just like I low key couldn't even take the series because of I can't talk to this one or stuff like that. So yeah, I was just like, uh, And then the song took off and I was like, oh, look, guys, I think.
This is a sign from God. Yeah, I love that for you. What what school did you go to?
I went to wing Gate Okay, oh that's high school. I went to Hudson County. It's a community college in Jersey. Okay, am I associates Okay, okay, okay, I'm from Brooklyn.
Yes, yes, it hit me at the yo. Why is that such a triggering question for me? Were you from Jersey? No, No, I'm not from Jersey. Don't disrespect love Jersey. Do do do do do do do? Where were you going to go to school for nursing? Okay, nursing? Yeah, I didn't get to do nursing program because I couldn't do that by the time I was prepared to, because that takes a lot of, like all your time, So maybe in a few years. Girl By, Why did everybody stew that hogging up the nursing program and the women that ran the man who was telling me that in the car, I'm like, damn, what you mean? But okay, also talk to me about the song that like blew up and you proved everybody wrong. It's for you right yeah. Yeah. It was like basically I had put out I had made the song. I only made half of the song, like just first first chorus, and then I had to like leave the studio quickly because like my time was done. Like he was like all right, like I'm not gonna lie practice up. We gotta get out of here. But I was like okay.
I posted the snippet on TikTok like not expecting anything because I wasn't really getting too much views or like anything. And then this guy r J, like his Instagram handles I Breathe Music Daily.
He had basically.
Grabbed that snippet off of TikTok and put it on his Instagram page and he got like nine hundred thousand views and like people were.
Like, where's the song? And then that was around the time I quit, and my producer called me like, uh, your song's going viral right now, and I deleted Instagram and everything. So I was like, I was like, where, I don't see it, Like my TikTok is boring. He was like on Instagram.
I was like on Instagram what And then I checked and I made it Instagram and I was like, oh, and then there's people reaching out and like.
Yeah, that's fire. Yeah that is so fire. Yeah that was the time you didn't even know. Yeah no, if I yeah, if he didn't tell me, I would have just been like the song would have never even been finished. I would have just been like, Okay. So then once you got on Instagram, saw the motion, you went in, finished the record, like, grabbed a picture from whatever, put it up, and then released it. Fire. That's actually a really dope story. Yeah. And then since then, full time, full time, all in literally Dad's on the team. M m oh, I love that. H that's good man. Though you make love songs, you make a lot of toxic like songs, but it doesn't really give, like it don't give like toxic R and B. Though for some reason, Yeah, okay, I would hope not. I'm like, I don't even want to make that type of music, but I guess it's there. Though I see there. It's so spicy, but it's just naturally in your personality. So it makes sense now that I've met you. But okay, so album on the way this year, No, just more singles, singles and then like longer project, not an album but more like a just a longer EP. Okay, like what six songs? Songs? And these are gonna be love songs because you're in love. Yeah, I don't know, maybe something else could be. We be arguing. He's having a fun time. Actually, it's great. You gotta keep him on his toes. How she does it, This is good. I'm entertained through and through. You guys are cute. He's entertained too with the music. He's like, oh okay, but yeah, yeah, it could be both, you know, mix it up. All right, Well, I'm looking forward to whatever you give us this year. Oh thanks, I'm excited. I'm nervous. So it'll be like it, girl, don't be shout out to your grand Let everybody know where they can follow you if they don't already. Okay, my Instagram is the original knowlledge. Everything is the original Knowlledge, And yeah, follow me, listen to my music. It's not that bad until next time guys talk soon he's
