Lil Nanci

It’s hard to find an MC out there that isn’t frontin’ some fake street cred or trying to rep some gangsta lean he learned on the internet. Enter Lil’ Nanci: the young singer mixes hip-hop (the real kind, not that corporate b.s.), jazz and funky soul that is both honest and original.

Nanci was born in Baltimore, MD but raised in San Diego, CA where she learned to sing before she learned to speak. At age eight, she joined her church choir and was soon singing her own solo’s. She continued to develop her chops in performing arts, choir and drama in junior and high school before flying to the other coast to study in Atlanta, GA at Clark Atlanta University.

Taking her experience from her high school hip-hop crew, Mahogany Elements, she joined Infinite Jewelz, a group featuring local producer Elevation and DJ Jon Cannon. Her experience was highly beneficial as the writing and recording process for the album Infinity proved to be a period of creative self-discovery.

In 2002, she headed to Virginia to where she finished her studies in music at Norfolk State University where she still resides. In 2007, she released her solo debut, Something Beautiful, and immediately followed it up a year later with Process of Illumination.

Both albums feature a unique style of soul/jazz and hip-hop reminiscent of early Kanye West and MF Doom. Vocally, she’s been compared with singers such as Sade and Erykah Badu though her range extends much farther.

“Most of my music is autobiographical,” she admits, “but the message it reflects is that we're all human and we've all had our struggles. That's my aim...to be the voice/soundtrack of the everyday, around-the-way girl that just wants to be heard, felt and never overlooked.”