Cover Story Article - Industry Certified (V12.2)

Gratitude for Beautiful Moments:

An Interview with Neika Simone

Written by Lydia Plantamura

Music has always been an escape for Neika Simone. Enchanting and soulful, she writes alluring songs that express a range of emotions. Her highly acclaimed EP, Beautiful Moments, has been ascending the charts on SmoothJazz.com, while her hit single, “My Door,” has maintained a stable spot at the top of The Urban Influencers list for R&B and Soul.

“I would be in the worst trouble of my life and I’d go and sit at the piano and play, and my mind would be gone,” Neika says. “The whole situation—the trouble, the sadness, or whatever it was—would go away… I could go and play on that piano and just be lost. That was my getaway.”

Born and raised in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, Neika began singing at a young age in the church youth choir. By the age of 7, she was enrolled in piano lessons, and writing original songs by the time she reached high school. Shy and quiet with low self-esteem, her talent gave her great confidence and served as an outlet for expression. The name “Simone” was given to her in honor of the iconic vocalist, Nina Simone. It proved fitting for the aspiring artist. A classically trained pianist and vocalist, she was awarded scholarship funding to Elizabeth City State University, home to some of the top music industry programs, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music with a concentration in piano. Neika later relocated to Virginia to attend Norfolk State University where she earned a Master’s in Music Education with a focus on voice.  

Neika Simone continued to grow as an artist, exploring her craft and finding her own style. In college, she experimented in the studio with other students in the same music program. These were producers, engineers, and mixers looking for vocals to add to their projects. After an adlibbed session, Neika was quickly dismissed. She left discouraged but was followed out by a student who complimented Neika’s vocals, pointing out that, although the producers were looking for singers geared more toward hip-hop, she had a voice well-suited to the nuances of jazz. From there, her descent into the style progressed naturally. Neika admired the classiness, elegance, and sophistication of great vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, and Sarah Vaughn. She held a reverence for the qualities they express in their music. They were graceful and phenomenal women in general.

A life-long learner, Neika Simone pursued work in academia. A teacher for over a decade, she has educated students of all levels and age groups in music, chorus, and piano. She started with elementary and then shifted to high school and middle school, also taking on more responsibilities outside the classroom.

“I grew professionally,” Neika explains. “I became a mentor. I had student teachers who came and learned under me. I became the department co-chair and took lots of leadership positions. I got to work and learn and do other things in the county. That was cool to grow professionally in that way. I’ve been able to get a different perspective from just being in the classroom which I do appreciate.”

That position was stability for Neika, an anchor when life was full of turbulent waves. During that time, she experienced divorce, great loss, and major surgery.

“I just couldn’t get my footing,” Neika says.

At the end of her twenties, she separated from her husband. Too young for marriage, she learned a lot of lessons about love in the process. Neika and her ex are very civil and wish each other the best. She views it as an opportunity to learn and grow. While rediscovering who she was, Neika began exploring music again, doing a little bit of singing and performing. When she hit her 30s, however, life went haywire...

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“Life doesn’t always give you what you want,” Neika explains. “Sometimes you have to work for it. You have to wait for it. You have to be persistent… Sometimes you have to find the positive. Because if you focus on the negative, it will eat away at you. It will take you to a dark place. No one is going to be positive 100% of the time—that’s unrealistic—but finding a way to be okay and grow from that is so important. It’s about our attitude. Sometimes that attitude can carry us much farther than anything else.”

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