By starrymag | January 7, 2014

Nic is the 7^th Eliminated Contestant in the episode that aired Wednesday,
February 2, 2005

ROAD TO STARDOM airs Wednesdays at 8 PM ET/PT on UPN

 

 

Q) Why did you decide to apply for the show?

 

A) It’s really hard to get a deal in this day and age. Rap is pretty much really over exposed now and there are so many people now competing for record deals that you kind of have to do something different to get the exposure. This was a great opportunity for exposure and so I went into it to get a deal and some exposure.

 

Q) What was your audition process like for the show?

 

A) I think mine was pretty much like everyone else’s. It was just waking up early, probably about 2-3 in the morning to go wait in line. We got in line at like 4-5 in the morning and we were lucky enough to be like 50^th in line. We auditioned for Mona and Michelle and then finally Missy. I auditioned with someone in my rap group (I call him my brother), but he is the other part of my rap group and we auditioned as a duo. We got called back and then we auditioned. As it happened, they picked me over him.

 

Q) What was it like meeting Missy Elliott?

 

A) It was the opportunity of a lifetime. When we auditioned, they asked who I would rather have go on the show and I said I would rather him go because I knew I had some other things going on and other opportunities. Again, it was Missy. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, she’s a legend and you can’t say enough about her and her music speaks for itself. It was great and I was definitely happy they picked me and that I didn’t force them to take my brother over me. It was a great experience.

 

Q) What did you learn about music and the entertainment industry from being on the show?

 

A) I think I learned the valuable lesson of editing. I anticipated that everyone was going to become somewhat of a character in the storyline that they created. You just never know how you are going to be edited and depicted as that character. That was the lesson that I learned and also that the villain can be redeemed, but that the hero has a lot to live up to. I didn’t necessarily mind being the villain, but it was tough to see myself be the villain. Personally, I think that I try to be someone who encourages people a lot more and tries to look for the positive qualities in people a lot more than they showed. It was cool; I am mature enough to handle being the villain.

 

Q) How did you feel performing in front of music legends Dallas Austin and Tina Marie?

 

A) These are people that their names speak for themselves and they have been in the business for twenty years and what not (even more than that I should say). I wasn’t nervous, I was never nervous performing in front of Missy, Mona or any of them. It was a blessing and an honor. I just took everything they said and I was open to everything they said. I really tried to figure out why they were saying it, their motivation for what they were saying. It was great input and a blessing.

 

Q) Who do you plan on keeping in touch with anyone from the show?

 

A) I keep in touch, on a regular basis, with Eddie and Nyline and Marcus occasionally. Eddie, Nyline and I speak probably every day.

 

Q) What made you originally decide to become a rapper?

 

A) It was just something I did and where I was raised in the inner city. The whole hip-hop fad hit me like it did everyone else like in the 80’s and the late 70’s. I was into all the aspects from DJing and break dancing to writing rap. Every aspect I was just in. It just became second nature to me. I wrote my first rap at age six, but I never really anticipated making money at it or it saving me from the ghetto. I just did it because I loved it. It was therapeutic and something I just loved to do.

 

Q) What advice do you have for future contestants?

 

A) I live by one principle, always be sure this is what you are supposed to be doing. Be sure this is what God’s plan is for you because you don’t want to be disappointed going down the road, traveling a road that is just not meant for you. You can find that out by getting around some really honest people like family and friends and testing your talent with them first so you don’t embarrass yourself. Once you find out this is your will and your dream and your destiny just don’t make a Plan B. Don’t let them discourage you, no matter what their input is because if this is really meant for you than don’t make a Plan B. Because you are just stifling your growth and postponing what is meant for you.

 

Q) Did you feel bad after Missy and her dancers talked to you about saying those things to Nyline?

 

A)As a man, I felt bad that they were personally offended. When they started speaking about my mom, my sister and my son then I thought they took it completely out of context. Before we went into the battle, everyone backstage kind of made a verbal agreement that we weren’t going to take anything personal. That is exactly what a battle is; everyone is trying to say the most radical things to get under the other person’s skin. It wasn’t anything personal with Nyline and me. Things that I was rapping about were true at the time; she was trying to get into my bunk. We were single, but we spent a lot of time together. So, the things I was rapping about were true spit and when they were offended it was kind of shocking to me because I never meant it to be taken that way. If I have any regrets, that would be one because they took it so far.

 

Q) How did you feel being judged by your peers?

 

A) I didn’t mind. I don’t really mind being judged by anybody. Everybody has opinions and I don’t think I offended anyone. Obviously, Frank B and I didn’t get along, but everybody else I pretty much had a cool relationship with. I don’t think they were necessarily judging from a performance standpoint. I think they were basing a lot of their judgments on personal feelings. I just think maturity wise, I’m a lot bigger than my feelings get. I don’t really make a lot of judgments out of emotions or get too over emotional about things. I just call a spade a spade and keep it moving.

 

Q) You and Frank B had a beef on the show. Is it squashed now?

 

A) I don’t think it will be squashed until I get the last word, but there was never any animosity from my end. I think that everybody has a negative comment and how they were portrayed as a character. One thing that they couldn’t edit in for me was anything negative about Frank B because I didn’t go around trying to dog him in my interviews. I respected the fact that he wrote so diligently and that he really took that so seriously. I was always trying to look for the good in him as opposed to the bad. I saw Frank B for what he was and I saw his rap style for what it was, which is to say the most radical thing that you could possibly say, to put another person down. My rap style and my form is to speak the truth at all cost so I think our battles would be completely different. I didn’t know him well enough to even rap about him. Now that I have gotten to see character and step back and see who he was as an individual I am able to respond in my rap and my reply with a lot more truth than he was able to.

 

Q) Who would you have most liked to battle?

 

A) I am not really a battle MC. I don’t live my life trying to think of these radical things to hate people, that’s not my form of rap. I think that I wish I would have gotten to reply to Frank B the most. It will come; buy the album there will be a reply on there.

 

Q) Missy had issue with you using you using your looks to get advancement in the competition. Have you changed your strategy for audience attention?

 

A) No, not at all. Everybody has an opinion and this is what I do. I realize that looks are a big part of the audience that I am trying to reach. That is something that Missy chooses not to take advantage of or is not a big concern for her. I think that my music and my writing speak for itself and, unfortunately, I think that people only got to see me rap about girls and that they never got to hear anything I had to say spiritually or politically or any other issue than sexually. That’s cool, because there is a place for that as well.

 

Q) Who are some of your favorite music artists?

 

A) I am a little bit older than the other contestants so I have a long history. I like LL Cool Jay, The Roots, Mos Def, but I also like Stevie Wonder and Prince. I appreciate that type of music as well.

 

Q) What are you going to do now that you are no longer on the program?

 

A) It is business as usual. I had a plan before I got on the show, I had a plan being on the show and I have a plan afterwards. Right now I start recording an album and I continue doing TV like I was doing before. I will try and maximize all the opportunities that come my way like recording my album, TV, movies, that kind of stuff.

 

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

 

A) I am going to be real! Get used to seeing me. The album will be coming up. Thank you, if you’re a fan, I really appreciate you seeing past the villain title and trying to see my heart and my motivation. Thank you for supporting me.