Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur catches up with an old friend to discover how much things have truly changed with Nikki Lynette.
You’ll never forget Nikki Lynette. She’s such an interesting, weird, and genuine person that any contact with her becomes a permanent instant impression. We became friends a little over 13 years ago in a period when there was an entirely new community emerging within Hip-Hop. Nikki, a native of Chicago, was one of those active participants. Very much counterculture, even within Hip-Hop, she stood out. After that period, often regarded as “The Blog Era,” things changed.
Nikki Lynette’s film “Happy Songs About Unhappy Things” recently had a sold-out screening in Los Angeles in front of a decidedly Hollywood crowd. Nikki reveals the movie’s premise and how a mental health crisis had her face to face with death in an attempted suicide after the mixtapes, parties, and events subsided. A multifaceted performer, writer, and visual artist, Nikki has fought on numerous fronts for equity and inclusion, but now finds real purpose as a mental health advocate. Transitioning from an indie artist to a playwright and film director, she has “Get Out Alive” and “Happy Songs About Unhappy Things,” both of which deal with depression and mental health. Nikki serves on the board of directors for the Chicago chapter of NAMI, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization. Her work is being developed with the support of the Tony Award-winning production company Octopus Theatricals.
AllHipHop: So tell people about it and what prompted you to create this visual work of art.
Nikki Lynette: Again, my name is Nikki Lynette. I don’t know if some of y’all remember me from the blog era where I had this really crazy mixed tape series called Roses and Guns. I was having the time…
AllHipHop: Oh, by the way, you used to call yourself the other Nikki because Nicki Minaj was out almost in a similar timeframe.
Nikki Lynette: I like the name the other Nikki. I still like it. So I had a really bad mental health crisis between 2015 and 2017 and I had a mental break and I took a long time away from performing or creating anything. One of the first things that I did when I came back was license my music to Spike Lee for “She’s Got To Have It.”
AllHipHop: That’s right. I remember that. The Netflix series…
Nikki Lynette: Yes. And so when I met Spike and I went to the, she’s got to have it premiere. I told him I had this idea to create a film, but I was a little nervous because the idea was weird and I felt like it might alienate some folk, but call in others. And Spike was like, “So what? You just need to make it unapologetic. Other people don’t mind when you left out and they not unapologetic, so you shouldn’t be apologetic what you want to do.”
And so I was mad energized. Yeah. Other people ain’t apologetic and I’m going to just do it. And I didn’t realize how expensive making films was and I was poor. I was super poor because I had had a mental health crisis. I hadn’t been working in that long. And so it took from 2018 until 2023 for me to finally raise the money to do this film the way I wanted to do. And that’s partially because I have my musical about depression Get Out Alive. That started popping. And so my film had to take a backseat to the play and now I got the budget. It’s in festivals and it’s starting to get love. I’m excited.
AllHipHop: You stuck with it and I applaud you for that because it takes a lot just the creation process. But then when you start looping in funding and producers and support, and this is a very hearty piece of art. It’s not just iPhones and simple cameras. Talk about the production value and all that.
Nikki Lynette: As we know as people who consume Hip-Hop, who are in the culture, we know that our aesthetic, our style, our music has always been used to sell and further other people’s agendas. And so after my mental break, I realized I couldn’t just go back to doing art for the sake of art. It wasn’t enough to make me want to deal with the f#ck sh#t like the Hollywood stuff, the industry stuff. It wasn’t enough. And so I decided to make my work about mental health advocacy. I’m a social impact artist and in that way, it makes me a little bit better with tolerating that stuff. I have social anxiety. I don’t really like to be outside like that. I like to do it. I’m a performing artist. I like to do it on my terms and then go home. But in this piece, you see Hip-Hop used as a vehicle for communication.
We built sets, we built costumes, we created props. It was fully full-on creative. There was actual production value. And I feel like when it comes to a lot of times with black art, we don’t get to do that because we don’t get the budget. We don’t get to get our full idea out of our brains. There are people watching this right now who are just as capable as me and the only difference between them and me is they didn’t get their budget yet.
AllHipHop: What’s next for the project? And we’re going to get, you see, I don’t want you to shun Black people or give up on us because you have this Hollywood situation going on.
Nikki Lynette: I’m screening at Dream Con. Dream Con is a Black con. Yeah, that’s July 26-28.
AllHipHop: I think that the general population needs to see this. In general, I think that you’ve resonated with people, even my daughter, and people that you might not realize that you impact.
Nikki Lynette: I have no concept of my impact or my reach until I go outside. I’m an introvert, so I never know that people know me or have seen my work, or are affected by my work until I go to a screening or until I go to an event and people know who I am. I don’t assume people know me. I don’t assume anybody cares. I know that people with mental health issues know my work. And that’s what’s most important to me. Fame as a concept terrifies me. Clout as a concept terrifies me because it’s something that has to always go. You have to lose it in order for clout itself to have value. And I don’t want to shoot for those metrics. They feel like small wins. So, I never know how many people know my work, but then I get, I don’t know if you noticed, but Jamie Foxx and Datari Turner are producers.
AllHipHop: Was going to get to Jamie Foxx, but I didn’t want to lead with that.
Nikki Lynette: No, it’s because Ari has been following my work for a while. It started with him. He saw the film adaptation of my musical that I’m in the midst of optioning “Get Out Alive.” And he’s been following my work since then. And so they came on board with this project when they saw what I was doing with it. And we’re in the process of working toward actually getting a series for it. And so I never know how people react to my work until moments like that are very validating and inspiring.
AllHipHop: But I want to ask you real quick about being so vulnerable and being so open and authentic. It is refreshing on one end. And then for someone like myself, I can never put my insides out to the world the way you do and also online because then there’s an exchange. And sometimes people can be mean or judgmental or you know what I mean? And that’s something I’ve never gotten used to.
Nikki Lynette: Well, it’s okay, because I’m mean. So you know what I’m saying? I am equally as capable of being loving and warm and compassionate as I am of being a b#tch who you really shouldn’t f### with. I am not the one. And if you’re kind and sweet, I love you and I’m here for you and I’m supportive of you, but don’t f#ck with me because I’m here to do something. And it’s not to pay attention to you. You know what I’m saying? And so I don’t really mind, for me, it helps keep me accountable to my recovery because I am a suicide survivor. I do live with C-P-T-S-D (Complex post-traumatic stress disorder). I’m considered treatment resistant because f###### meds don’t work for me. So I have to stay on my wellness plan. I have to stay in therapy. I have to stay in conversation around my wellness. It’s important. And so I don’t really mind talking about it.
Another thing is I’m actually on the board of directors for NAMI Chicago, which is a pretty prominent mental health organization. I know the numbers. I see the statistics in real-time. So I understand that although there are a lot of voices online talking about mental health, not a lot has changed in terms of legislation, in terms of access to care. And the mental health numbers right now are abysmal. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 29. They are struggling. They are having a hard time Men account for 70% of all people who die by suicide. But women are half of all suicide attempts. The numbers are terrible across the board. And so I understand that the work that I do is important because I just don’t want nobody to struggle. I struggled.
I don’t want nobody to go through what I go through. Even now, I live with symptoms that are hard. I can go months without only getting two hours of sleep a night and nothing fixes it. Nothing changes it. I have to believe in wellness. I have to believe that things can get better or what the hell do I have?
AllHipHop: No, I feel you don’t understand. Yeah. But first of all, you’re not new to the entertainment or the performance. You’re a veteran.
Nikki Lynette: I’m new to theater and film in that space. They’re like, ah, nice to meet you man. You never know your worth until you go outside of your community. And then in other communities and other countries, people respect your talent and value you and put money towards stuff. Only in Hip-Hop do we downgrade the value of each other’s work.
Nikki Lynette: Yeah, I’m not available for that. I’m not available for that. And so that’s kind of the reason why I like to take this culture into other mediums. I take it into film, I take it into theater. I already got buzz as a rapper. The first money I ever made as an adult and life was off rap. I feel like if I can make it in this s###, I can make it anywhere. Can’t nobody gatekeep and treat you worse than in Hip-Hop. So I did it and I brought that hustle to film and theater and I feel welcome in those spaces and where I find closed doors, I always find a way to open. And I definitely feel like I learned that through Hip-Hop. So in that way, the culture has benefited my career.
AllHipHop: You’ve always been a bit counterculture anyway, even within Hip-Hop.
Nikki Lynette: Yeah. And now we got the people. We got Rico Nasty and we got people like Doja Cat. They know right? Back in the day, they wouldn’t have given them no play. They wouldn’t know. That’s a fact. Because I went through hell in them days to get my Ws. But they can’t keep us from getting them now. They can’t. Everybody emo now. Everybody alternative now. You know what I’m saying? Everybody got their nose pierced. I was ahead of my time.
AllHipHop: Nah, you were. That’s a fact. That’s a fact. That’s a fact. What’s next? What’s next? I mean you kind of told us, but tell us again.
Nikki Lynette: We are screening at Dream Con. I don’t know the date yet. We’re still sorting it out. I have a West Coast college tour. Well, let’s just say I’m doing a tour in September because there is a Chicago date as well. So there’s this tour in September for Suicide Awareness Month. And then I’m screening in London for World Mental Health Day. And I’m very, very excited about that. I love London. If you are a Black artist, go to London. Go, just go. Just go and check out the scene. Go to their open mics, go to their theater scene, go where you are celebrated – go.
AllHipHop: I know some incredible people in the UK. I have to make it over there.
Nikki Lynette: You do. Well, thank you so much. And for everybody that’s watching this: “Happy Songs About Unhappy Things.” You come to check it out. I’m trying to get it into New York, so hopefully. Thank you so much, and thank you for the love.
AllHipHop: Onward upward.
For more on Nikki Lynette, go to: nikkilynette.com