Nick Diminico has a deep commitment to music. So much so that when his parents stopped allowing him to take his electronics to school as a kid, he started carrying a walkman in his pocket everyday.
From Nas' 'God Son' to Hov's 'Blueprint 2,' Nick was heavily influenced by the tapes he would get from his family.
"I wanted to emulate the stuff I was listening to as a kid," he says. "I was always invested in hip-hop music, but it was always through my family's lens. Now I get to express my passion for hip-hop through my own artistry."
Nick's lens is colorful. A mix of influences across genres, has birthed a unique alternative sound that has deeply resonated with his fans.
Atlanta Decoded caught up with Nick to discuss his musical journey, and the creation of his brand new EP, 'NINTEND<3'.
You’re from New York right?
Yeah, I’m originally from Buffalo, NY, but I’ve been down here my whole life…since I was 5 or 6.
What part of Atlanta did you grow up in?
When I first moved down here I was in Norcross, then we moved to Lawrenceville, and I been living out here ever since.
How you like Lawrenceville?
I love it. I know it’s like suburbia and shit, but there’s a certain quaint joy you get from it. It’s peaceful.
How is living in the suburbs for you as an artist? Do you still feel like you have the environment you need to create?
I wasn’t really able to get that inspiration for real until I started coming to the city more. There’s so many different walks of life in Atlanta. I’ve met a bunch of different types of people here, so I’ve picked up on so many different types of music and style.
You’re a part of a collective: 'Never Back Down Music Group'. How’d you guys all come together.
I’ve known them for more than 10 years. Those are my best friends. It’s crazy because a lot of people don’t have the opportunity to hang out with people they’ve known for that long. But we met at the Boys & Girls Club. We realized we were all really creative, and music was something we could really do.
You still put out music under your own name though. So how does collaborating actually work with you guys.
We always try to work with each other. We record each other. We even pass beats back and forth to each other. We want to be a collective that can garner notoriety, but we also want to be individuals. We’re helping each other.
We have four artists/producers, a sole producer, a videographer, a photographer, I do a lot of the graphic design and merch. We all have certain things we’re really good at, so we just brung it all together to really build something out of it.
So talk about the creation of your new EP, ‘Nintend<3’.
I actually made Nintendo because after I released my Heart Millennium project, I put a poll up on Instagram asking if people wanted a mixtape or an EP next. Everybody voted for a EP…which was funny because I literally had a whole mixtape done, and I was hoping people would vote for that. But I decided to make a new EP.
The first song I made was 'G Shock' and after I made that, it just kinda put me in a mode. I ended up getting the whole project done in two weeks.
What made you title the project ‘Nintend<3’?
There’s a little Nintendo soundbite in ‘KEEF’. When I put that in there, it fit so well, I was like I might as well just call it that.
Did you produce the whole EP, or did you collaborate on it?
I produced everything on the project. I usually produce all of my music, unless I say otherwise.
Lyrics wise…I use to write a lot, but as of late I’ve just been punching in. A couple years ago I noticed all of these big guys in hip-hop…Migos, Thug, Travis; they were making all their songs without really writing. Whatever came to their head, they just put it down. And if it was a hard bar, they would just leave it. I like that workflow a lot better because you can throw song structure out. You’re more-so trusting your own intuition on how a song is gonna turn out.
As both a producer and an artist, which one do you think comes more natural to you?
I feel like the producing definitely comes more natural for me. A lot of the time when I’m making a song, sometimes I just can’t catch a pocket…or I can’t figure out what sounds cool. So I’ll just stop recording all together. I’ve stopped torturing myself.
Do you produce for other artists too?
I have a couple of songs with a couple of different homies, but it’s hard. A lot of the times whatever you produce, it ends up on the cutting room floor. They don’t use it. It’s just kind of sitting there. So now, if they’re not pulling up to the crib, I don’t make the beat.
When I make beats I try to bring someone out of their comfort zone, and because of that, I think it’s kind of hard for artists to figure out what they wanna do with my stuff.
Who are your top three producers right now?
I think my favorite producer right now is Pi'erre Bourne. A close second would probably be F1lthy; just because he’s pretty much made a whole genre by himself. He’s just everywhere right now. And I also fuck with Cardo. He’s very underrated.
What’s your favorite song of yours? Where would you direct a new listener?
‘Luv 4 You’, ‘I Know’, ‘I.I.W.I.I.’, and 'Countach'.