To follow up the success of her mixtape “Roses N’ Guns,” Nikki Lynette will release her first EP on September 14th. “The Strong Survive,” which will be available for purchase only at nikkilynette.bandcamp.com, finds Lynette flexing her skills like never before. “I produced, wrote, and performed the entire EP myself,” she says. “I even did the artwork for the cover. I am releasing it to raise money to complete my debut album. It’s gonna rock.” Three songs from this EP are being featured on shows on MTV right now. To spread the word about this project, Nikki Lynette is going on a month long road trip across the United States. She will be joined by Nathan Fisher (the comedian featured on Charles Hamilton’s song “Kat Stacks”) and the entire experience will be filmed and documented at Youtube.com/NatesVlogs in a series called “Nikk N’ Nate: State 2 State.” Check out her first viral video from this project, an acapella ode to her hometown titled “Chicago Sunrise.”

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Over the past few years, I have done pretty well for myself, ya know? Just eight years ago I was poor and could only afford to shop at thrift stores and had to steal food to eat. But now I make a decent living doing commercials and licensing music. I have a relatively comfortable lifestyle, and I worked hard for it so I cherish it. Yet, I’m not totally satisfied, because I want to release my debut album on a grand scale. I’m ready. However, releasing an album properly costs a lot of money, so I decided to drop an EP called “The Strong Survive” and sell it to raise money for my album project. I’m deadly serious about it, you guys. So much so that I am about to give up all the comforts that I am used to in an attempt to raise money for this album. I have some crazy news for you. Peep the video below. I want you to hear it from me first.

Our goal is to sell 1500 copies of my EP for $10 each. If you would like to buy a cd and hang out with me and Nate, please fill out the poll below. Also, drop a comment and suggest a location or venue where you would like to meet. We will be traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast. If your city is between that area and it is not represented on the survey, leave us a comment and let us know where you are. We aim to please )

Let me explain how this ridiculous idea got started. One day, my partner Kenny and I were going over the numbers of what it would cost to release an album independently. Kenny works with major labels everyday, so it took a ton of convincing before he was on board with me releasing my debut project independently. We evaluated the resources and relationships that we already have versus that which we don’t, and we came up with a number that we needed to raise to make it work. That number was a bit daunting for me. I didn’t necessarily want to go the route of acquiring investors and having to pay them back immediately after the album dropped. So Kenny and I decided to brainstorm on ideas and when we found one that worked we’d run with it. I started packing up the majority of my worldly possessions and decided I was gonna open up a store and sell it on eBay. (I still plan to do that, actually. Gotta do what I gotta do.)

It was early July at this point. The buzz from my mixtape was finally leveling off, and I was recording several times a week, working out, doing press, writing, and producing my album, doing commercials, and blah blah blah. I REALLLLY wanted to go do something… fun. I had been working my butt off non-stop and stashing the money in an attempt to save up for my album, with no break in sight. So one day I noticed a Tweet from my friend Nate. At the time the only interaction we’d had at that point was both of us going back and forth poking fun at each other on Youtube, in addition to a few comments on Facebook. Nathan is a Youtube Partner (which means he gets paid to create content for Youtube) as well as being an on-air personality and comedian. I’m a total groupie of his Youtube channel, NatesVlogs. So one day he mentioned on Twitter that he was going to Los Angeles. I responded:

When I said that, Nate responded:

So I retorted:

To this he replied:

Since he was being all ballsy and mouthy and shit, I sent him a direct message on Twitter and told him to email me if he was serious. He emailed the next day, and we started going back and forth about the specifics. He told me after the fun he’d had on a trip to Florida that he had taken a month prior, he really wanted to get out and meet more of his fans, so a road trip sounded good to him. I then told him about how I was trying to raise money for my album, and asked if he’d be ok with selling cd’s with me on the road. Nate is super cool so he agreed to do it, and he suggested we could film all the stuff we do and the bad ass people we meet and post it on NatesVlogs. It was as simple as that.

Next, I had to run the idea past my management team. Kenny was first, because marketing is his field of expertise, so if he said it was a no-go then I’d have to scrap the whole idea. So I hit him up and explained that I wanted to go on a road trip with some funny internet dude from California who I had never met in my entire life.

Kenny needed a minute to think about it.

When we spoke again, Kenny still wanted me to meet with some major labels, just to consider my options. So I did. After a few great meetings in New York I decided that taking a label deal might not be the worst thing in the world. But I want to create a situation where I have more leverage. That’s where my road trip idea came into play. Kenny and I spoke about the road trip again after the meetings, and Kenny said “You know what? The more I think about it, the more I like it.” So I notified the rest of my management team as well as the founders of Team Bad Ass, Connie and Travis. Nate had to come to NY for business so I begged him to move his trip a few days earlier to coordinate with mine, that way he could meet some of the members of my management and marketing team. (My people wanted to meet him before I committed to doing a month long road trip, ya know?) Nate and I had a great meeting with my partner Jon and finalized all the details surrounding the trip and the release of my EP. Kenny put me in touch with ROAM clothing, who became our first official
sponsors (I love people who put their money where their mouth is.) So it’s been decided. on August 15th, I’m leaving home for a month to go on a road trip with Nate. You have no idea how nuts this is about to be. No more spontaneous shopping adventures. No more trips to Whole Foods everyday. No more personal trainer 3 days a week. No more pricey hotel stays and spa days and concerts. I’m gonna be on the open road with A GUY I HARDLY KNOW for 30 days, eating fast food, selling my EP, and staying at whatever cheap hotels we can find. I’m totally freaked out about it. But i have to do it. I just have to. And that’s why I entitled my EP “The Strong Survive.”

The interesting thing about hanging out with Nate is the fact that he is always “on.” By that I mean he doesn’t seem to have an off switch. He’s ALWAYS filming and he’s ALWAYS doing stuff worthy of being filmed. If that requires that he makes a spectacle of himself and everybody around him, then so be it. That kinda works my nerves. So, needless to say, this is going to be…ummm… interesting. We will be posting the videos on the NatesVlogs Youtube page since Nate’s account is already a sponsored page, and we are still looking for more sponsors and working out how often the videos will post and all that other stuff.

The EP will be available for download online as well, for all of my supporters overseas and those who aren’t within the area that we are traveling. I think I’m gonna have to sell it on my site at first because I have no way of predicting how soon it will post to iTunes. The Strong Survive contains a couple of the songs that I licensed to MTV along with a few of my favorite tunes that I have been saving for my album. I wrote, produced, and performed the entire project and did the artwork for the cover. Don’t be impressed. I just did it that way to save money. LoLoL.

Ok, so now you know everything. Please support this endeavor. I’m gonna make the money for my debut album. Or I am gonna die trying.

Yeah…it’s nuts. We know.

Since I am a visual artist, I thought it might be a good idea to finally put out a line of t-shirts. I created 2 stores: The first is called Nikki Lynette’s Metropolis, and the other is The Official Team Bad Ass Store. What’s really cool about the site I’m selling the shirts on is the fact that the buyer can customize their shirt to be whatever color or style they choose. So if you love a particular graphic, you can have in on a blue v-neck or a pink tank top or whatever your heart desires. That kinda rocks, right? Check out some of the shirts below.

Get yourself a shirt (or two) and, if you haven’t already, fill out the poll below ASAP! Our goal is to sell 1500 copies of my EP for $10 each. If you would like to buy a cd and hang out with me and Nate, let us know where you are so that we can put your city on our itinerary. Also, drop a comment and suggest a location or venue where you would like to meet. We will be traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast. If your city is between that area and it is not represented on the survey, leave us a comment and let us know where you are. We aim to please )

As you might know, the title track off of my EP “The Strong Survive” is currently being featured on the season premiere of Jersey Shore. That ROCKS so hard. MTV always shows me so much support, I feel so damned lucky. Of the seven songs I’ve licensed to them so far, three have been placed on major tv shows. All three of those songs will be included on my EP. I wrote, produced, and performed all the music on the project myself. I even drew the cover art. Don’t be impressed. I literally did it that way to save money and to avoid any legal drama like what I went through with the project I released before my mixtape dropped. I just wanted to be able to sell my cd’s without owing anybody else any money. And that’s what Nate and I are doing, we’re going from city to city meeting our supporters and selling them a cd for $10 a pop.

Due to popular demand, Nate and I decided to add 5 more cities to our poll to see who would like us to come visit their hometown. Fill out the poll below. Don’t see your city? CLICK HERE to see if your town is listed.

Nate talks about our trip in the video below. WARNING: Nathan is nuts.

We will be announcing the cities that we’ll definitely be visiting later this week. So ROCK THE VOTE you guys. LoL. We’ll also be announcing which city we’re gonna begin the road trip in, Chicago or California. And for the record, Chicago is not included on the list because

CHICAGO IS MY HOMETOWN SO IT DOESN’T NEED TO GO ON THE POLL. IT’S A GIVEN. That’s for anybody who was wondering. Duh.

Planning this trip with Nate has been an interesting experience. From our interactions in New York and over the past few weeks of working out details with him over the phone, I have come to the realization that we are probably going to hate each other’s guts by the end of this trip.   I’m super pissed that I agreed to let the whole thing be taped, because I know he’s gonna get on my nerves and I am gonna come across as a major b-i-t-c-h because of it. It’s not that Nate is a douche bag… he’s just… different from me. We think differently, we behave differently in public, and we DEFINITELY work different. He is super care free when it comes to business, but my personality borders on being anal-retentive about work. I need shit handled. NOW. We were on the phone last week and he said “Uncertainty just eats you up, doesn’t it?” I thought about it and politely invited him to shut up. We’re the same age and he makes me feel like I have to be the grown up, and that bugs me and makes me wanna push him down a flight of stairs. Not a long flight of stairs that will break his neck. Just a short flight that will rough him up a bit and teach him a lesson.

 One thing that Nate loves to do is talk to strangers. I’m not kidding. And I am the kind of person who talks to strangers all the time, because if somebody is especially hot or bad ass or interesting to me visually, I’m gonna make them my buddy. But Nate is different. He’ll walk up and make fun of strangers. To their face. I swear, I have seen him do it. And they never get pissed and punch him in the eye, I don’t know if it’s because he’s a big guy or if it’s because he’s kinda hot looking or what the hell the reason is. If some big random hot looking guy walked up to me and started making fun of me, I’d light into his ass. And that’s why me and Nate videotaping everything we do is a bad idea. Because he’s gonna make me look like a bitch. Because I’m gonna either tell him off or kick his ass.

But Nate’s not a total dipshit. He was really stoked when I told him about my single being placed on Jersey Shore. I let him hear my song “The Strong Survive” for the first time when we were in New York 2 weeks ago, and it was his idea that I put it on my EP.  When I told him I was actually saving it for my debut album, he said “But the term ‘The Strong Survive’ is what this road trip is all about.” A week later I decided he was right, and not only included it on my EP but named the entire project after that song. I HATE HATE HATE when Nate is right. But don’t worry. It doesn’t happen often.

This road trip is gonna be interesting. I look forward to meeting you guys. Just so you know, if you show up, you’re gonna be in the videos we post, too. I promise to be nice. But I can’t speak for Nate.

While me not fitting in has made a few people weary to work with me in the past, these days my differences are my strengths. The fact that I don’t look, dress, or sound like a lot of other artists has gotten me some recognition that I have never had before. It’s not like I am TRYING to be a nonconformist, it just happens to be who I naturally am. Being yourself is always a safe bet, and it’s working for me. For one thing, I have been nominated for an award at The Midwest Rapper’s Ball on June 12th at The Real Theater. And as if that hometown love wasn’t enough, I just found out that I am the actual ANNOUNCED winner of the Chicago Independent Award for Female Performer of The Year. It’s a special honor. My name is currently listed on the CI Awards website as an award recipient, I didn’t find out until today. The awards ceremony will be held at The Palmer House Hilton, I get to bring my mom & sister and have special seating… it’s really going to be a nice evening. I’ve never gotten this type of recognition in my hometown before. Needless to say, I love it. 

Go Team Bad Ass.

Of course, when you don’t dress and/or speak the same as everybody else, many people tend to see your differences instead of embracing your similarities. Acceptance is something I stopped looking for long ago, you just can’t please people all the time, dammit. Fortunately for me, my talent gains my acceptance, or at least respect, within the hip hop community. After being shown a video of me rapping in the studio, the promoter who is throwing a concert for the infamous female rapper, Trina, has asked me to come open up for her at her concert in Chicago on June 17th. How bad ass is that?

That’s a pretty sweet gig for any rapper to play, right? Well… How many artists could do a straight up urban show like that & then turn around a week later and play at a rock event like Mobfest? I can! (I don’t even know how to explain how stoked I am to open for an ASCAP event at Mobfest.) I love doing live shows because I always get to meet people who are “different” like me when they come to see me perform. Some of the people might look like they blend in with everybody else, but they think & act totally different from the masses, and these are the people who tend to come to MY shows. And that rocks. 

I hope to see you guys on June 26th. I’m really excited that I am FINALLY gonna have the opportunity to play at an ASCAP showcase. Tickets are only 5 dollars if you print this flier. I’ll be performing with my girls and my musicians and my dj and we’ll be in our outfits with our crazy hair and bad ass shoes. LoL. Hopefully you’ll be there in your bad ass outfit, too. I look forward to seeing it.