Fresh on the scene with their official single “No Days Off” featuring the Migos, NLA consists of Nina Moody from Jackson, Florida, Jessica Benson from Baltimore, Maryland and Janeen Casey from Little Rock, Arkansas. These three uber talented ladies were literally handpicked based on their hard work coming up on the Atlanta music scene. With collective musical influences spanning from Usher to Chris Brown to Destiny’s Child to TLC, Total, and Aaliyah. This group is as diverse as it is magical! NLA is giving you the feel of classic R&B with a club edge, and are more ready than ever (after four years of development) to make their mark on the music scene. NLA is signed to Good Look Entertainment and was curated by industry veterans, Keith Thomas and Terrence Carter. NLA has also recently joined forces with Migos for their new single “No Days Off.”
Take a listen to their new single below.
AllHipHop Caught up with NLA to talk the state of R&B, the need for R&B groups, their sound and more! Check out the interview below.
With the state of R&B and with the inability of R&B groups to last on today’s scene, how do you plan to make your mark, have longevity, and keep the genre alive?
We plan to put out good music that anyone can relate to. We aren’t really worried because the music matters most. Even though we haven’t seen a R&B group in a while, once you put something out that’s real, people can’t help but to gravitate to it.
Who are your biggest influences?
TLC, SWV, En Vogue, Destiny’s Child, Total……..but of course The Supremes and all that came before us. We pay homage and take a little from each group for inspiration.
Describe your sound.
We really have a urban sound. Right now we have been dabbling in the trap world. We want to make sure we make something the urban community can relate to…. what’s in the streets…. what people can feel.
What sets you apart from other groups?
There aren’t really any other girl groups out at the time, so we don’t really know how to compare or measure where we stand there but, we are really good friends, and what we have hasn’t been pieced together. The chemistry is really there, and we are making music that we love. We understand how important it is and how much of a blessing it is that we genuinely like each other. We all had our journeys, and we are still together. This separates us from the girl group world that has so many issues that people run from.
What do you think of the current state of R&B and what will it take for there to be a resurgence in the genre?
I think the current state of R&B is sad, so to be honest I think that in order for it to be revived, us as a community has to embrace what makes it so amazing. We bring that cool factor. We aren’t trying; it’s really what we do. We are trying to get back to that feeling that you had in the ’90s that made you love music. There are no girl groups off the top of my head that I can recite the lyrics to their songs. That’s sad, but we can definitely bring that [girl group] to the table at this point.
What’s next for NLA?
We are putting together an EP. We don’t have a release date yet, but we have put together an amazing body of work. Right now we have an amazing single out with Migos called “No Days Off” that has been receiving crazy radio play. We are constantly rehearsing and recording. Soon we will have a visual out for “No Days Off”. We are ready to go!
What other artists have you gotten the chance to work with?
We’ve worked with Shanell from Young Money, Rock City, Ester Dean, Yung LA, and Verse Simmonds.
If you had a wish list who would you want to work with?
Drake…..Nicki Minaj…….Fabolous
Lastly, is there anything else you would like to leave with your fans?
Continue to support us, and continue to follow us. Embrace us for what we are trying to do and bring back. We promise we will not disappoint; the music is amazing. It was even hard for us to even pick a single. We just really went back to the basics and hope fans can appreciate what we are bringing. Follow us on @NLAMusic on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.