Neeno Sky says the sky is not the limit
By Douye Yaboh
No matter how many times you uproot him, Neeno Sky blooms everywhere he goes.
Image courtesy of Neeno Sky.
What’s the story behind your artist name, Neeno Sky?
I’ve been doing music for a minute. At the beginning, it was more for fun. When I started getting serious about it, I wanted to rebrand myself. I got the name “Neeno” from the movie New Jack City with Wesley Snipes who played the character Nino. I liked how Nino was tough and how he became successful despite the negatives. That was my favorite movie, and it reminded me of how I grew up in The Bronx and the neighborhood I grew up in. When you grow up in The Bronx, you can see a lot of bad things, but my personality and mentality got me out of a lot of trouble. I was a leader. My friends trusted me for my judgment, so I led the wolf pack in a way. And then the “Sky” is from my saying that the sky is not the limit. So rebranding is the reason I created the name.
I was thinking that your name had maybe been inspired by the R&B duo Nina Sky.
When I created the name, I actually didn’t think anybody had it. But when I was typing it into YouTube, the name Nina Sky popped up. I was like “Why? Why? Why?” But I made it mine.
You immigrated to the Bronx from Accra, Ghana. How did you navigate the culture shock? Was it easy to adapt or did you feel out of place?
I was actually born in Colorado. When my parents started going to school, they needed my grandma to help take care of me and my brother, so when I was five, they sent the two of us home to Ghana. I stayed there until the age of eleven or twelve. I grew up in Ghana. I speak two dialects actually — Ga and Twi. Then, my dad sent for us, and we came to The Bronx. To be honest, it was tough when we got here because coming from Africa, my accent was really thick. Sometimes, I wouldn’t even want to talk because people would laugh at me.
I’d like to think that has changed, at least a little bit.
We’re cool now. Being African is really cool now. That was one of my goals — I wanted to stand out. In Ghana, I always stood out, but when I came to New York, I was feeling alone. In middle school, I dealt with the “African booty scratcher” stuff. My dad told me that I couldn’t fight in school, so if anybody pissed me off, I couldn’t do nothing about it. I even had to run away from people in middle school a bunch of times. One day, one of my uncles was like, “If anybody pisses you off, you better fight.” Then I fought a lot. I hated bullies. If any of my friends got bullied, I would step in and try to save them. I told myself, “I was tough in Africa. Why am I being soft here?” When I started standing up for myself and other people, people started following me and trusting me. I became popular in high school.
You said that moving to The Bronx was your formal introduction to hip-hop. Do you remember the first rapper you listened to?
When I came here, it was Diddy. I liked his swag and style. Every kid in high school was trying to dress flashy, so I joined them. The artist that really resonated with me was Akon. He was African, and he was singing. I was like, “Oh, I can do this.” So I started rapping. I started writing rhymes — one line here, two lines there.
What was the first hip-hop album you bought?
The first album I ever got was “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” by 50 Cent.
Just about every African in New York loves that album.
Think about it. The reason every African likes that album is the fact that 50 Cent was struggling. Everybody hated him, but he wasn’t having it. He chased his dreams like a hustler. A lot of Africans related to that, and I related to it, too.
For many, pursuing a career in the arts as a child of African immigrants can be a lifelong tug-of-war. How has your family reacted to your passion for music?
My dad was a corporate guy, so he wasn’t having it. I had to be a little secretive about it. Later on, my dad realized that his kids were going to do what they wanted to do anyway. But I had my share of being told that my dreams didn’t sound realistic.
It’s good that they’re supporting you now.
They’re very supportive now. They have no choice.
Although your sound currently rests comfortably at the intersection of afrobeats and hip-hop, do you think you’ll one day decide to go fully in one direction or the other?
My goal is to be on the top of both charts. I’m versatile, but I’ve focused on afrobeats more because it’s harder to move from hip-hop to afrobeats than it is to move from afrobeats to hip-hop. In the future, I feel like I’ll be one of the most versatile artists that this world has seen.
Who is your favorite afrobeats producer? Would you ever want them to produce a song for you?
I honestly don’t have a favorite producer. In afrobeats, there are many different producers who are really good and can create instrumentals at the same level as everybody else. I have a favorite afrobeats artist. Wizkid is like the Drake of Africa. Hit after hit, every year. He’s very calculated. As a musician, I pay attention to how he writes his verses, how he puts out music at the right time, his videos, his style and swag, his authenticity. All of that.
If you can share, what are you currently working on? What can we expect from you in the upcoming months?
I probably have about ten tracks that I’m trying to release as singles and some videos. My manager and I are working a lot harder, and we’re working with placement agencies. I’m excited to finish all my songs, get videos behind them, and show the world what I’ve got. I released a song titled “Open & Close.” It wasn’t supposed to be a song. It was just supposed to be a freestyle. I had no intentions of making it a song. I did a remix for Zlatan, and he posted it, so I figured that I had to put something out for people. “Open & Close” came up. I connected with Mike Swann and Juwon. The song went well and people loved it, so I was like, “Let me work on some singles.” Hopefully some months from now, I’ll be releasing a single and a dope video. I take my time and am very difficult when it comes to visuals. I want it to be perfect.