Alabama Nick is here to put on for his home state of Alabama, so much so it’s in his name. The emerging artist has had dreams and aspirations of becoming an entertainer since a very young age, getting his start in acting before switching over to music. Now, he plans to do whatever it takes to make Alabama be known in the rap game.
Nick states, “I’m trying to start a movement here to help propel Alabama to the forefront of the rap game cause I feel we get left out of a lot of stuff.”
With the drive and motivation to build his own name and legacy, Alabama Nick frequently creates music with his nephew and artist Chefboy Tyree.
The results are turnt up, trap bangers with lyrics that resonate and touch all those who listen. Most recently, he released his latest single titled “1992,” holding fans over until the release of his forthcoming song and visual for “WMD.”
AllHipHop: Why do you feel like Alabama is left out of things?
Alabama Nick: Alabama’s one of those states that’s musically overlooked, and I don’t think we get the credit we deserve. I don’t know why that is. We’ve had some people get signed to major deals out here, but it was never nothing that continued and carried along. I’m trying to boost that legacy to let people know there’s some talented artists down here, and we deserve a lot more credit.
AllHipHop: What part of Alabama are you from?
Alabama Nick: I’m originally from a little town called Salem Alabama, it’s really a little blip on the map. It’s a little country town.
AllHipHop: What was it like growing up in Salem?
Alabama Nick: Growing up in Salem was interesting to say the least, a lot of country stuff going on. I grew up knowing the value of hard work. If you don’t work, you don’t eat down there man. You’re around a lot of family and everybody knows who you are.
If you picture any small town backwood town with country things going on like drug use and petty crime, Salem, Alabama is the epitome of that man. It’s really country, really desolate. It’s just country, that’s the best way I can describe it.
AllHipHop: What does it mean to be a “Country Boy”?
Alabama Nick: Yeah, that’s where I come from. That’s my roots, that’s how I was raised. I got deep-rooted country roots, it’ll always be with me. That’s what I represent.
AllHipHop: Biggest influences coming up?
Alabama Nick: I’m an old school rap guy. My influences range anywhere from Outkast, Goodie Mob, UGK, people from that era. Common influenced me a lot growing up, I really respected his rap. I’m from the era of The Lox, that whole Bad Boy movement. M.O.P., Biggie, Pac, all that. I’m all around the spectrum.
AllHipHop: At what point did you realize this music thing was for real?
Alabama Nick: You know, I’ve always known. My whole life, I realized I had my musical talent. I’ve always had a lot for rap and hip hop, but I fell out of the game for a number of years. I’m excited to get back serious with it. Back in 2019, I was just thinking that Alabama really doesn’t have a staple of representation. I said ”man, I gotta do something here.” That’s my time to get back in the game and try to get it poppin’.
AllHipHop: When’d you pick up the name, Alabama Nick?
Alabama Nick: I picked up the name Alabama Nick when I was in the military for a couple of years. Everywhere I go traveling around the world, when people found out I was from Alabama, they immediately called me Alabama, Alabama, Alabama. I finally adopted it into my name. When I was thinking of what my rap name was going to be, “man you know what, Alabama Nick!” I put it together like that and it stuck, took off from there.
AllHipHop: Talk about creating a meaningful record like “1992,” that speaks volumes to what’s happening today.
Alabama Nick: We created “1992” right in the height of the George Floyd situation, the George Floyd murder. We were fed up, we said “we gotta make a song that represents this time and what we stand for.” We went to the studio, started writing and listening to some beats. “1992” came out, that’s what we produced. I love the song, it came out great. I get a lot of compliments on it. It’s a great representation of the Black Lives Matter movement and taking a stand in the country against police brutality.
AllHipHop: Talk about creating music with your nephew, Chefboy Tyree. I know you guys collaborated on “Gummy” recently.
Alabama Nick: That’s my real-life nephew. Really talented guy, talented artist. He’s a producer, he makes beats. It’s family, so we gotta collab. We work pretty well together. He did a lot of production on my first mixtape, we got a lot of songs that we collab on together. He’s the key component of me really getting back in the game and finding my sound. It’s a family situation, we’re like brothers. It’s one of those situations man. He’s a real talented artist and a great guy, a big part of my production and my sound.
AllHipHop: What can we expect from your forthcoming single, “WMD”?
Alabama Nick: From “WMD,” you can expect mad energy. It’s a hyped up trap track with a lot of bass and 808. The influence comes from the TV series “The Wire”. The song is produced by the acclaimed Mitchell Froom and the video directed by Solo Creative is pretty awesome. The single is being released by Casanova Records under The Orchard Sony Music umbrella, so get ready to see it blasted on billboards and ads all over the place. The video’s got a cool storyline, a lot of movement, flash & bounce. The track is definitely gonna be a classic that’ll get people moving.
AllHipHop: 3 things you need in the studio?
Alabama Nick: I have to say a little bit of alcohol, [laughs] definitely some good vibes going, I need a couple of good people around me, I usually have my cousins in the studio around me. The more brains you have in the studio, the better the vibes in the studio, the level of creativity goes up. Good people around me, a little bit of alcohol to relax and set the mood, and good energy.
AllHipHop: What can we expect next?
Alabama Nick: I’m working on a new EP, I haven’t titled anything yet but I’ve been in the studio everyday working on tracks. I’m really excited to get that jumped off because my first project was basically a mixtape. It was some songs we did and had in the vault. This one, I’m really taking my time and stepping up my production quality. Ready to get it poppin’. I’m excited about new material I got coming out, dedicated to this new EP. I’m working on 2 EPs at the same time, and will drop them a week apart. One, the vibe is going to be totally different, relaxed. The next one is going to be that dirty trap stuff.
AllHipHop: What’s the reality of the independent grind?
Alabama Nick: A lot of hard work. You get a lot of no’s, you get a lot of people not believing in you. But at the end of the day, the reality of it is real. It’s a real grind for an independent artist. Getting it poppin’ and getting a fanbase, getting people to take you seriously and getting your stuff out there. Once people see your final product, they hear it and it’s good, then they can’t deny you.
Shout out to all the independent artists out there, I know it’s a grind. It’s a struggle. You hit a lot of roadblocks because you don’t know who to trust. It seems like a lot of people are out there to take your money, seeing what ways they can come up off of you. It’s a grind, you have to be smart about it. You definitely face challenges being an independent artist that you don’t face being with a major label backing you. My advice to any independent artist out there is to stay focused on the grind. Stay focused on putting out good quality music and just hit ‘em. Keep hitting them man, keep hitting them.
AllHipHop: Anything else you want to let us know?
Alabama Nick: Please follow me on my social media, @AlabamaNickOfficial on IG. You can look me up on Facebook: Alabama Nick. I got a page, definitely check me out on there. Youtube man, we’re trying to get the Youtube popped off more. We’re building subscribers, Youtube is a really hard one to build.
I was fortunate enough to get a VEVO channel, you can check that out. Got a few videos on my Vevo, and “WMD” will definitely be on my Vevo, Youtube, Facebook as well. If you want to email me for a feature, alabamanickmusic@gmail.com. I work with a lot of independent artists, getting features out there and putting plays together. I’m easy to get at so holla at me.